According to Kannah Dew’s obituary, her “infectious smile” lit up everyone. But at just 17 months of age, her life was snuffed out.

On Feb. 24, 2015, she was rushed from a trailer at the Mountainview Mobile Home Court in Lehigh Township to Palmerton Hospital. But by the time she arrived, she was unresponsive and had no pulse. She was pronounced dead at 8:29 p.m.

Carbon County’s Coroner later determined that she was the victim of a homicide. Over a year later, homicide charges have been filed against Bangor resident Gary Foley, 32, who was watching the baby while her mother worked. The mother, Heather Marie Surget, 28, of Great Meadows, N.J., has been charged with child endangerment..

Both Foley and Surget have been preliminarily arraigned and are incarcerated at Northampton County jail. Surget’s bail has been set at $100,000, with no 10 percent option. Because Foley is facing homicide charges, he is incarcerated without bail.

Lehigh Township police first became aware of this matter when Foley called 911 on Feb. 24 to report “something wrong with my baby.” He told a dispatcher that Kannah was not breathing and that a funny substance was coming out of her nose.

While Northern Vallay Ambulance rushed Kannah to the hospital, police began to question Foley, who told them he had known Surget for little more than a week and had moved in with her. While she was working, he was babysitting Kannah and her two other children, ages 4 and 2 months, as well as his own 4-year-old son. He told police he had been feeding hot dogs to the children. He had placed Kannah on the floor to change her diaper when she began to choke and a dark substance started coming from her mouth and nose.

In addition to taking Foley’s statement, police noticed that the conditions of the home were “deplorable.” Dirty dishes littered the table and countertop, with garbage piled up and bugs crawling on the table and countertop. There was no running water and the pipes had frozen. Despite an outside temperature of just 21 degrees, there was no heat other than some space heaters.

Kannah’s mother told police she had met Foley online about a week before this incident, and that when she left for work that day, the children seemed normal.

The autopsy revealed that Kannah had died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, resulting in a fractured skull.

In addition to seeking toxicology reports, Lehigh Township police and Northampton County Detective Paul Romanic forwarded the autopsy results for review by an expert, who determined that the blunt force trauma was not an old injury, but recently inflicted.

Because Foley is accused of killing someone under 12 years of age, he could face the death penalty. District Attorney John Morganelli, however, has cautioned that his office is still investigating and will make that determination later.

The child endangerment charge against Surget is a third degree felony carrying a maximum sentence of seven years and a $15,000 fine.

Lehigh Township Police Chief Scott Fogel indicated that the other children were removed by Northampton County Children and Youth, adding that there are indications of abuse of them as well.

Morganelli called this “a very serious case and another example of individuals who have absolutely no responsibility with respect to taking care of numerous children, endangering their welfare, and in this case, the life of one of them.” He acknowledged he is relying on circumstantial evidence, although various people have been questioned.

“What we do know is that Foley is lying to us,” he concluded.