Father starved his daughter, 1, and left her by trash pile for 13 hours to die
A father was found guilty of starving his one-year-old daughter and leaving her in a car seat to die inches away from pile of trash.
Michael Wright was convicted of murder on Thursday and now faces 20 to 40 years in jail for the death of his 23-month-old daughter Lydia Wright in February 2016 in Uniontown, Pensylvania.
Prosecutors said the little girl weighed only ten pounds when she died, which is only half of what doctors say a child should weigh at her age.
Wright reportedly ate meals in front of the girl, who was emaciated and dehydrated, the Herald-Standard reported.
Police said the toddler was left in a car seat for over 13 hours in the family’s filthy home and stopped breathing as she began to foam at the mouth.
The little girl was strapped into the seat and left while Wright laid on a mattress with his young sons. Prosecutors say he never checked on the girl
Assistant District Attorney Melinda Dellarose said the room was so filled with toys and trash that their was only a few inches of space between the girl and a heap of rubbish.
Mom 'who killed two of her kids as they slept tries to kill herself in jail'Dellarose told the jury: ‘That’s the last thing she saw.’
Lydia had been dead for two hours before she was taken to the Uniontown hospital by her mother, Andrea Dusha, 29, who pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in exchange for her testimony.
Prosecutors say Dusha had been experiencing withdraws from methadone after she lost her insurance to pay for it, as well the water and sewer service at their home.
Wright’s attorney, Jeffrey Whiteko told the jury: ‘I’m not going to tell you Mr Wright is father of the year. I’m not even going to tell you he’s a good person.’
He continued: ‘I was not there on the day in question. I do not know what happened. I know the child was sick. I know she had food in her stomach.’
Son jailed for trying to suffocate ill mum to 'send her to a better place'Whiteko was referencing previous testimony that Lydia was suffering a stomach virus and had ‘a few small particles of food’ in her stomach, an autopsy found.
Wright is set to be sentenced on May 24. Dusha will appear in court next week to be sentenced and is expected to get a 9 to 19 years sentence.
As he was escorted to jail, Wright announced: ‘I’m innocent.’