Case of Lehigh County mother accused in 2-month-old daughter’s death headed to trial | Lehigh County

COPLAY, Pa. – A Coplay, Lehigh County woman accused in her child’s death is headed to trial.

Katrina Pantuso, 35, is charged with felony counts of Involuntary Manslaughter and Endangering the Welfare of Children and a misdemeanor charge of Recklessly Endangering Another Person, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

At her preliminary hearing Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge Linda D. Vega Sirop, all charges against Pantuso were held for court, the DA’s office said.

The DA’s office said Pantuso’s next hearing is a formal arraignment scheduled for 9 a.m. June 11 before Judge James T. Anthony.

Pantuso remains in Lehigh County Jail under $100,000 bail, according to the news release.

Around 1:45 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2025, Coplay Borough Police Chief Ryan Emerich responded to 120 S. Front St. in the borough for a report of an infant not breathing, the DA’s office said.

Despite efforts from first responders at the scene, the DA’s office said the infant was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

She told police she had been co-sleeping with her daughter in her bed, according to the DA’s office. Next to the bed, police found a bassinette as well as a leafy substance suspected to be marijuana on a nearby desk, according to the news release.

The DA’s office said Pantuso’s blood was tested on the day of her daughter’s death and showed positive results for the presence of methamphetamine, cannabinoids and methadone.

An autopsy completed by a doctor with Forensic Pathology Associates also lists the infant’s cause of death to be Probable Asphyxia and notes the “combination of bed sharing in an adult bed with pillows and blankets with an adult under the influence of a sedating medication such as methadone and a lividity pattern consistent with face-down positioning suggests that the death may have occurred due to asphyxia and/or overlay.”

The report also noted injuries Pantuso’s daughter had on her face and scalp that may have been caused by overlay, but noted “inflicted head trauma cannot be excluded,” according to the DA’s office.

The DA’s office said evidence showed that Pantuso had been warned several times about co-sleeping and educated about the dangers of doing so.

The investigation also revealed that the bassinette found next to the bed had been provided to Pantuso as part of the effort to prevent her from co-sleeping with the infant, according to the news release.