On March 19, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan and Coplay Borough Police Chief Ryan Emerich announced a woman is charged after taking drugs and co-sleeping with her 2-month-old daughter, killing the victim.

Katrina Pantuso, 35, of Coplay, was arraigned March 13 on felony charges of involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of children and a misdemeanor charge of recklessly endangering another person.

Pantuso is in Lehigh County Jail under $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for 10 a.m. March 20 before Magisterial District Judge Rashid Santiago.

Around 1:45 p.m. Nov. 4, 2025, Emerich responded to 120 S. Front St. in the borough for a report of an infant not breathing, according to the news release for the DA’s office. Despite efforts from first responders at the scene, the infant, identified only by her initials as L.P., was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

L.P. died from probable asphyxia. The manner of death could not be determined by the county coroner, according to the report.

Pantuso is L.P.’s biological mother. She told police she had been co-sleeping with L.P. in her bed. Next to the bed, police found a bassinet as well as a leafy substance suspected to be marijuana on a nearby desk.

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 L.P.’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 the death may have occurred due to asphyxia and/or overlay.”

The report also noted injuries L.P. had on her face and scalp that may have been caused by overlay but noted “inflicted head trauma cannot be excluded.”

Pantuso’s cellphone was analyzed by the Officer David M. Petzold Memorial Digital Forensics Laboratory of Lehigh County.

Messages were recovered showing Pantuso had used drugs the day of her daughter’s death and there were previous occasions she had fed L.P. and fallen asleep, dropping the victim on the floor.

Evidence showed Pantuso had been warned several times about co-sleeping and was educated about the dangers of doing so. The investigation also revealed the bassinet found next to the bed had been provided to Pantuso as part of the effort to prevent her from co-sleeping with L.P.

This case was investigated by Emerich and Lehigh County Special Victims Unit Detective Thomas Galloway and will be prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Sara A. Moyer.