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Timothy Ray Walton's infant was found on his mobile home's floor in Ephrata — unresponsive — at 8:10 a.m. on Jan. 19, as detailed by police in the affidavit of probable cause.
The baby boy was rushed to WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The autopsy conducted on Jan. 22 autopsy determined that the baby died from complications of asphyxia, according to the county coroner.
In an interview with the police, Walton said he was with his infant son in his bedroom starting around 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 18. Between then and 3 a.m. Walton drank two cans of Four Loko, which contains 8 to 14% alcohol, and he admitted to smoking marijuana as he played video games, as explained by police in the affidavit of probable cause.
Walton fell asleep in his bed next to his son, who awoke for a feeding at 3 a.m., after which the pair returned to the bed and went back to sleep — only for Walton to suddenly awake at 7 a.m. and find he had rolled over — on top of his son suffocating him, police claimed in the affidavit.
After he discovered his son was not breathing, Walton ran to another family member's trailer and they helped him begin CPR, he told the police according to the affidavit.
Walton later tested positive for marijuana and the empty Four Loko cans were recovered by police from the trailer as evidence.
Following the investigation, Walton was arrested on April 3 on the following charges his latest court docket shows:
- Felony Involuntary Manslaughter.
- Felony Endangering Welfare of Children - When Parent, Guardian, or Other Commits Offense.
- Misdemeanor Marijuana - Small Amt Personal Use.
His preliminary arraignment was held before Judge Torrey J. Landis who set his bail at $75,000 at 12:50 p.m. the same day, as detailed in his docket. He has been released according to Lancaster County Prison records.
His record includes convictions/guilty pleas for DUI, theft, drug-related and traffic-related offenses in Berks and Lancaster counties, court records show.
A preliminary hearing for this case has been scheduled before Judge Landis at 1:30 p.m. on April 24.
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