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PROVO — The parents of a 1-year-old girl who died of a heroin overdose have been charged with child endangerment.
Casey Joseph Cormani, 31, of Cedar Hills, and Cassandra Leydsman Richards, 32, of Lehi, were each charged Friday in 4th District Court with endangerment of a child, a second-degree felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor.
The couple are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
Cormani and Richards were arrested June 7, six months after their 1-year-old daughter, Penny Mae Cormani, died of a heroin overdose large enough that police said it would have killed an adult.
In an investigation that began shortly after the girl's death, Cormani and Richards told police they had been staying a short time with another couple in a Provo apartment at 509 W. 1800 North prior to their daughter's death.
Richards told police that on Dec. 2 Penny had been playing in the front room of the home while the mother did laundry. She put the girl down for a nap around 11 a.m., Richards told investigators, and found her unresponsive an hour later with blue lips, according to police affidavits. Richards called 911 and paramedics took Penny to Utah Valley Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
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Provo police arrest parents in 1-year-old's heroin overdose death
A man and woman were arrested Tuesday for investigation of felony child endangerment in connection with the heroin overdose death of their 1-year-old daughter in December, police said.Both couples at the home have a history of drug use, according to police. Investigators reported finding drug paraphernalia such as burnt foil and straws in plain sight in multiple places around the home, including on the floor, on a coffee table and in a bathroom trash can.
The parents denied any illicit drug use, telling detectives "that they consume their medications orally as prescribed," and that the drug paraphernalia found in the house belonged to the homeowners, the affidavits state.
Both Cormani and Richards, who have prior drug convictions, have faced additional criminal charges since their daughter's death.
On Dec. 4, just two days after Penny's death, Lehi police responded to another drug overdose where Cormani "was present," court documents say. Cormani was found with items of drug paraphernalia on his person in that incident. On March 30, he pleaded guilty to class A misdemeanor drug possession and class B misdemeanor drug paraphernalia possession in connection with the case.
Richards pleaded guilty on March 11 to a class B misdemeanor drug paraphernalia charge stemming from a Dec. 5 incident. She also pleaded guilty on April 12 to felony theft and forgery and misdemeanor attempted forgery for incidents that occurred between Dec. 25, 2015, and Jan. 4 of this year, according to court records.
