Daniel Jeffrey Moist, 38, is charged with Third-Degree Murder, Involuntary Manslaughter, Endangering the Welfare of Children, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, and Leaving a Child Unattended in a Motor Vehicle, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta announced following a Thursday, July 2, news conference.
Moist was released after preliminary arraignment before Magisterial District Judge Susan Hutnik on $500,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, July 15, according to court records.
Emergency crews were called to the 4900 block of Hanoverville Road at approximately 4:17 p.m. after Moist called 911 while driving his daughter toward a hospital after discovering she was unresponsive in his SUV, according to the affidavit. A dispatcher instructed him to pull into the ID Logistics parking lot so EMS could respond there, investigators said.
Police found the 14-month-old girl dead in a rear-facing car seat inside Moist's 2019 Ford Explorer. Investigators also found a rear-seat mirror hanging in the vehicle that would have allowed the driver to see the child while driving, according to officials.
Moist left home that morning with both of his daughters. He dropped his 7-year-old daughter off at Pen Argyl High School for sports camp around 9 a.m. and was supposed to take his younger daughter to Learning Locomotion daycare on Bangor Road in Easton, where he routinely dropped her off each Thursday, police detailed in the court documents obtained by Daily Voice.
Instead, investigators said Moist stopped at a Friendly Fuel Mart on Route 191 to buy two beverages before continuing to his workplace at 6255 Sterner's Way in Bethlehem. Vehicle data and surveillance video showed he arrived shortly before 9:40 a.m., entered the building at 9:54 a.m., returned to his SUV for about 10 to 15 minutes around 2:15 p.m., then went back inside until shortly after 4 p.m., according to the affidavit.
"When he closed that door, she was condemned to death in that hot sun," Baratta said during Thursday's news conference.
"The area where the car was parked was unshaded, in an open parking lot," Baratta said.
Authorities said temperatures climbed into the 90s that day.
The investigation found that Moist's wife, Alexandria, arrived at the daycare shortly after 4 p.m. and learned their daughter had never been dropped off. She immediately called Moist, who returned to his vehicle and discovered the toddler dead, according to investigators.
While speaking with Moist at the scene, officers noticed he had glassy, bloodshot eyes. Moist pointed officers toward a vaping device on the floor of a patrol vehicle, and investigators later identified it as a THC vaping device, according to the affidavit.
Police obtained search warrants for Moist's DNA and blood. According to the affidavit, Moist told investigators he was nervous because he knew THC would remain in his system. Laboratory testing later found active marijuana compounds, including Delta-9 THC at 12.9 ng/mL and 11-OH-D9THC at 4.2 ng/mL, as well as inactive THC metabolites.
Investigators also recovered a receipt showing Moist had purchased two Rhythm THC vaping devices from The Apothecarium in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, two days before the child's death, according to the affidavit.
The criminal complaint alleges Moist introduced THC into his body while responsible for caring for his daughter before leaving her unattended in the heated vehicle for hours, resulting in her death.
"The District Attorney urges all drivers to remain vigilant, especially as temperatures rise, and to ensure that no child is left unattended in a vehicle," the DA's office said.
"Temperatures inside a parked vehicle can increase rapidly on hot days, quickly reaching dangerous and potentially life-threatening levels."
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