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Inset, left to right: Caleb Shane Decapio and Hope Lynn Taylor (Northern Regional Jail). Background: The area in West Virginia where the couple lived when their newborn died (Google Maps).
In West Virginia, a tragic case has emerged involving parents accused of severe neglect following the death of their month-old baby. Authorities discovered the infant in a home described as “deplorable,” with infestations, mold, spoiled milk, and piles of used diapers.
Caleb Shane Decapio, 21, and Hope Lynn Taylor, 20, have been charged with 28 counts each of gross child neglect, which poses a significant risk of death or serious injury, according to court documents.
The Brooke County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation after responding to a distress call about a non-responsive baby at a residence on Peacock Lane in Follansbee, as per a report by WTOV, an NBC affiliate from Steubenville, Ohio. Upon arrival, emergency personnel initiated CPR on the infant.
Brooke County Sheriff Richard Beatty informed WTRF, a CBS affiliate in Wheeling, West Virginia, that despite all efforts to save the child, resuscitation was unsuccessful.
According to WVNews, EMS workers declared the baby deceased at the site around 5:30 a.m., after approximately half an hour of attempted revival, as detailed in the criminal complaint against the parents.
According to the complaint, Taylor told investigators she had been breastfeeding the child and must have fallen asleep. When she woke up, Taylor said the baby was positioned between her and Decapio and unresponsive.
Roughly two and a half hours later, deputies executed a search warrant at the residence and reported finding what they described as “deplorable” conditions.
Authorities discovered between 80 and 100 soiled diapers in the bedroom where the child slept and about 20 baby bottles containing rotten milk or formula. Investigators also noted mold on food throughout the home and said the air inside was “difficult to breathe.”
“It was terrible,” Beatty said. “After 30-some-odd years in this business, I could say that it was one of the most deplorable conditions that I’ve ever seen or witnessed.”
Officials also reportedly observed injuries on the infant, including a bruise near the base of the skull and a small amount of blood on the child’s cheek, according to the complaint.
“I would tend to think there’s some serious neglect,” Beatty said.
While investigators believe parental neglect at least contributed to the newborn’s death, final charging decisions will be made by prosecutors.
The sheriff told WTRF that the initial investigation left him and his investigators shaken.
“Any suspicious death is a tough call, but the suspicious death of a 1-month-old child in condition such as that — yeah, it’ll leave a mark in our brains for a little while,” Beatty added.
Authorities said each of the 28 charges corresponds to a day the child allegedly lived in those “deplorable” conditions. If convicted on all counts, Decapio and Taylor could face decades in prison.
Both defendants are currently being held at the Northern Regional Jail on $100,000 bond, records show. They are scheduled to appear for their preliminary hearings on April 6.