Montour County Coroner says no signs of homicide or trauma in 6-month-old's death despite police reports
Sep. 26—SHAMOKIN — Montour County Coroner Scott Lynn said on Tuesday there were no signs of homicide or trauma after an autopsy was conducted on a 6-month-old child.
An autopsy was performed on the infant after Shamokin police arrested Krystal Semerod, 38, of Pennsylvania Avenue in Sunbury. Officers accused Semerod in the infant's death after a doctor at Geisinger Medical Center, in Danville, said tests confirmed the baby was shaken, according to a court document.
Lynn said at this point there are no signs of homicide or trauma, but his office is waiting on toxicology and microscopic findings.
"At this point we are waiting for those results, which could take months," Lynn said Tuesday.
Shamokin police also charged Semerod with endangering the welfare of children, following an investigation that started between Sept. 16 and Sept. 19. in Sunbury and leading to Shamokin.
Shamokin police say when they arrived at Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital on Sept. 19, they were informed the child was in critical condition and had been airlifted to Geisinger Medical Center, in Danville, police said.
Police said they were unsure of the location where the child was injured. They consulted with Sunbury police officers during the probe, according to court documents.
Shamokin Police Chief Ray Siko spoke with the hospital officials, who said Semerod told them the incident may have taken place on Race Street in Shamokin, according to court papers.
Sunbury Acting Police Chief Travis Bremigen met with Siko and the two determined, through Sunbury's probe, the incident did occur in Shamokin, officers said.
During the investigation, Shamokin police spoke to a Geisinger Medical Center doctor who told them tests were being performed on the infant, but there was no brain activity, according to court documents. The physician allegedly told police one of the tests performed on the child confirmed that it was shaken baby syndrome, according to court documents.
One of the men in the home, Benjamin Gray, told police that Semerod and the infant were sleeping in his bed on Sept. 16 into Sept. 17, and he fell asleep in a chair, according to court documents.
Gray, who has not yet been charged in the case, said Semerod woke him up, saying the baby was not breathing, police wrote in court documents.
Gray told officers Semerod did not call 911, but instead, he borrowed a car and drove the child to Geisinger in Shamokin, police said.
Gray said Semerod was in the passenger seat, and the child was in her lap, police said.
Semerod and the child were dropped off at the hospital and Gray said he did not go inside because he did not like hospitals, police wrote in the criminal complaint.
Gray said that at about 4 a.m. Sept. 17, Semerod came back to the Race Street home and told him she was going to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville because the infant had to be transferred there, according to court documents.
Gray told police Semerod comes to visit twice a month and that she believes he is the father of the child, but that a birth certificate does not list him as such, according to court documents.
