SCRANTON -- Police charged a mother and father in the death of their young child in Lackawanna County.
The parents turned themselves in Thursday afternoon in Scranton to face charges related to the death of their 5-week-old child.
Anthony Donvito and Amanda Salvatori, both of Scranton, face endangering the welfare of children and reckless endangerment charges.
According to court papers, back in January, the couple fell asleep with the child in bed with them. Drug tests later found that both of them had taken several prescription drugs before going to sleep. They awoke around noon the next day to find the child had died, likely from suffocation.
Police interviewed Donvito and Salvatori's other child, a three-year-old girl, who told police she tried to wake her parents when she heard the baby gasping for air.
The couple's defense attorney, Paul Walker, told Newswatch 16 the parents were not expecting to face criminal charges.
"You have a baby. There's no instruction manual. You try to raise the baby as best you can. I mean, people who get older and have more experience should know that you don't lay down next to a baby and fall asleep, but sometimes you do that as a young parent just to comfort the child, you know, and it's just an accident," Walker said.
Salvatori was released after her arraignment. She spoke with Newswatch 16 about the charges.
Donvito was taken to the Lackawanna County Prison on $2,000 bail.
Scranton police said that since the child's death does not appear to have happened intentionally, the parents likely won't face any more serious charges.
