Overview
- Hospital staff found a seemingly healthy one-day-old newborn in medical distress in a private recovery room at Tower Health Reading Hospital on May 2, and the infant was flown to Penn State Hershey Medical Center for advanced care.
- The baby died the next day and a May 5 autopsy ruled the death a homicide caused by multiple traumatic internal injuries, according to the forensic pathologist who reviewed the case.
- Berks County investigators say the injuries were not from the birthing process and were inflicted while the child was under the supervision of parents Kevin Canaan and Yeniffer Tavarez-Cepeda in the maternity room.
- Prosecutors charged Canaan and Tavarez-Cepeda with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children and the couple was taken into custody this week and denied bail.
- The case has moved into the criminal process with arraignments and further hearings expected, and investigators relied on hospital wellness-check records to narrow the timeframe of the alleged abuse.