A Bradford woman and her infant daughter were found dead in the
family’s Pleasant Street home on Friday.
The bodies of Tonya Haight, 24, and her three-and-a-half week
old infant daughter Tamara were found around 9 a.m. Friday at their
residence, 56 Pleasant St.
“At this time, they are considered suspicious deaths, not
homicide,” said District Attorney Ray Learn, who was at the scene
Friday afternoon. “We’re investigating the circumstances
surrounding the two deaths.”
Autopsies are scheduled for today at the Erie County Medical
Examiner’s office.
“We’re awaiting the results of the autopsy and toxicology,”
Learn said.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in support of
a search warrant for the home, Bradford City Officer Chris Lucco
responded to a 9-1-1 call for an unresponsive infant at the
residence at 9:04 a.m. Upon arrival, Lucco was met by Curtis
Cushman, a resident of the house, who related the baby was in the
back of the house.
When Lucco went to that area, he was met by John “JJ” Haight.
The officer asked, “Where’s the baby?” Haight responded, “They are
gone. They are gone,” and motioned towards the kitchen.
Lucco checked the infant and found her unresponsive, cold to the
touch, fully clothed and soaking wet. There was no sign of
respiration, the records read.
Haight told the officer, “The other one is in the bathroom.” The
officer asked, “The other what?” Haight replied, “The other
girl.”
Lucco looked in the bathroom and found an unresponsive female,
known to him as Tonya Haight, laying on her back on the floor with
her head towards the door. She was partially dressed, with her
pajama bottoms around her ankles and her underwear around
mid-thigh. Her upper body, head and hair were wet. She was bluish
in color, cold to the touch and showed no signs of respiration, the
records read. Blood was coming from the corner of her mouth, the
records read.
At that point, Lucco asked everyone in the house to leave,
secured the scene and contacted Pennsylvania State Police Records
and Identification — which is the forensic unit. Lucco then applied
for a search warrant with District Judge Dom Cercone, and it was
granted.
About 2:40 p.m., two morticians from Hollenbeck-Cahill Funeral
Homes Inc. removed the bodies from the home.
Bradford City Police are investigating the incident. They were
assisted at the scene by the state police, Learn and McKean County
Detective Jerry Okerlund.
About 4 p.m. Friday, police cleared the scene and allowed the
residents back into the home. There had been eight people living
there.
The house is located on the north side of Pleasant Street,
between Pearl Street and Jackson Avenue.
A neighbor, Kevin Healy, of 49 Pleasant St., said police and
investigators had been at the house since around 10 a.m. Healy said
the family moved into the house, a rental, about a month ago. The
court records indicate the house is owned by Philip and Margaret
Caltagirone.
Jan Turner, of 90 Summer St., said she often saw young children
playing in the front yard. They had a dog, a St. Bernard, according
to the neighbor.
