Parents Indicted In Death Of 1-Month-Old Son

DUNDALK (WJZ) --Two people were indicted Monday in the death of their 1-month-old son in July.

Twenty five-year-old Eugene Joseph Buchta of the 2800 block of Harford Road in Fallston and 25-year-old Rachael Anne Johnson of the 200 block of Patapsco Avenue in Dundalk were charged with first-degree child abuse and related charges.

According to the charging documents, Baltimore County Police and Fire responded to an apartment in the 1800 block of Marshall Road in Dundalk on July 3 around 7 p.m. for a report that a baby was unconscious and not breathing.

The infant was pronounced dead an hour later  Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Police learned that the night before, Buchta was giving the infant a bath in a small bathing tub. He left and when he came back the child was submerged. When he took his son out of the water, he noticed the water temperature was hot.

Instead of taking the baby to the hospital, Buchta and Johnson decided to put ointment on the infant.

Almost 24 hours later the baby became unresponsive, so they called 911.

The medical examiner determined the the infant died from complications of thermal injuries and the manner of death was homicide.