Police charge West Deer couple with hiding infant son's death

Marguerite Victor asked her son James twice last week how his 5-week-old son was doing.

James Victor told her on Wednesday and again Friday: “The baby's fine,” Marguerite Victor recalled in regard to her infant grandson, James Victor Jr. “Everything's OK.”

Marguerite Victor said she learned Saturday that her son didn't tell her the horrible truth.

James Victor and Nicole Dull, the baby's mother, found the baby dead in his crib early Wednesday, according to a criminal complaint filed by Allegheny County police. The West Deer couple told police they were distraught and fearful they would be blamed for his death, so they drove their son's body to an Avalon hotel, where they unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide.

The couple then drove to a Butler County hotel, where police found them and their son's body Friday evening — by then dead for three days. He was tucked in an infant carrier.

“He wouldn't be able to tell me something like this. Something this tragic, how do you tell your mother?” Marguerite Victor, 84, of Ross, said Saturday.

Allegheny County police Saturday charged Victor, 51, and Dull, 31, with abuse of a corpse, concealing the death of a child and criminal conspiracy. Both remained in the Allegheny County Jail Saturday.

Autopsy results on James Victor Jr. are pending, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office said. Investigators were waiting for toxicology and other test results before ruling on how he died.

“They would never do anything to harm that baby,” said Mary Cushman, 74, of West Deer, Dull's grandmother.

Allegheny County police didn't return phone messages seeking comment.

According to a criminal complaint written by Allegheny County police Detective Patrick Miller, the couple said they put the baby to sleep in his crib in their West Deer home around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. The couple said that around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, the baby was cold and not breathing, and CPR didn't revive him.

The Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Family had been involved with the couple, according to the complaint. Victor told police the couple feared they would be blamed for the infant's death, the complaint stated.

Marguerite Victor said after the baby was born July 10, he spent three weeks in a local hospital undergoing drug withdrawal treatment.

CYF caseworker Angela Ciarimboli declined comment Saturday.

Victor told police that because he was familiar with the North Side, the couple took the baby's body Wednesday to the Avalon Hotel, located nearby on Route 65. There, the couple attempted to commit suicide, the complaint stated, though police did not say how.

The couple left the hotel Friday, and a housekeeper at about 2:40 p.m. found Ciarimboli's business card and a note taped to a mirror in which the couple said they “were not ready to turn over (the baby's) body,” the complaint stated.

Police broadcast a description of the couple and Dull's car Friday afternoon, asking officers to check area hotels and motels.

Police found the couple and the baby in the Super 8 Motel in Butler Township, Butler County, Friday evening.

Cushman said Dull and her daughter Gia, 9, lived with her for several years. She said Dull was a drug user and had been in jail for stealing to pay for her habit.

Victor and Dull had criminal records, according to online court documents. He had convictions for drug and theft offenses, while Dull was convicted of theft, receiving stolen property and other offenses.

Dull underwent treatment for addiction to heroin and painkillers, Cushman said.

She added that Dull and Victor met during drug treatment counseling sessions.

Marguerite Victor said her son has two grown daughters, and has been on disability. He was excited about being a father later in life, she said, though he “looked terrible, worn out” when she recently saw him.

Victor added she saw the baby only twice since he was born.

“I can't believe what I've heard. I can't understand any of this.”

Cushman said she was too upset to remember when she had last seen the baby, but that he strongly resembled his father.

“You could see in his face how proud he was of the baby,” Cushman said.

Cushman said she didn't know what happened with the baby until Friday's news reports.

Gia said she last spoke to her mother at 1 a.m. Thursday, and, “She said she loved me and was very proud of me and a good big sister and then she said a prayer.”

Bill Vidonic is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5621 or bvidonic@tribweb.com. Luis Fábregas is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7998 or lfabregas@tribweb.com.