PARKS: It was almost as if 4-year-old Kristen Tatar didn't exist until her badly decomposed body was found wrapped in plastic and shoved in a picnic cooler that was discarded in a garbage can behind her parent's home. Neighbors didn't know she lived in the small Kepple Avenue house in Parks Township, Children Youth and Family Services officials rarely saw her, and her presence was noticeably missing from the home. "What was glaringly absent was a picture of Kristen," Armstrong County District Attorney Scott Andreassi said of the home's walls, which were covered with other photographs. The couple believed to be the girl's parents, James Anthony Tatar, 41, and Janet Lynne Crawford, 35, have been charged with murder for a crime investigators say is one of the most gruesome they've ever seen. Both are being held in the Armstrong County Jail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday. Investigators said from the outside the one-story, aluminum-sided home seemed normal -- adorned with a small swimming pool and a youth-sized basketball hoop -- but the couple's dark secret was uncovered Thursday evening after police obtained a warrant to search the home. Kristen's body, which weighed just 11 1/2 pounds, was found stuffed in a 1-foot cooler and placed in a garbage can, which State Police Sgt. Steve Ignatz said was deliberately hidden. He said the garbage can didn't smell because it was tightly wrapped in heavy plastic bags which Tatar took from his workplace. Armstrong County Coroner Robert Bower said Kristen had the physical makeup of a 1- to 2-year-old. He said it appeared the girl had been dead for weeks, but said it still is unclear exactly how long she had been dead, or how she died. "This is a disturbing case -- it's one of malnutrition, dehydration and neglect," Bower said. "I can't remember anything as bad as this particular case. "We have a 4-year-old who lost her life needlessly. This child had a horrible, horrible life." Andreassi said that Kristen "was neglected to death." "This is one of the most horrendous of cases we've ever seen in this county," the district attorney said. Investigators said they are trying to find out if Tatr and Crawford are biological parents of the children. DNA and blood tests will be performed, Bower said. But Andreassi said police believe that both are involved. Police documents show Tatar was the father and Crawford gave birth to Kristen five-weeks prematurely in January 1999. The two also have a 6-year-old boy, who police said shows no visible signs of abuse. Bower said Kristen was born with an esophagus problem that caused her to vomit, but said she had surgery to fix the problem. It's unclear when or where the surgery took place, he said. Police were called to the home after they were contacted by Children, Youth and Family Services officials. The organization took custody of Kristen for a brief time two years ago because of neglect, police said. The case was referred to Armstrong County CYFS by Westmoreland County children authorities when the couple moved. It's unclear where the couple lived in Westmoreland before moving to Parks, police said. Ignatz said a CYFS official visited the home June 19, and the couple showed them a 4-year-old who they said was Kristen, but he said the worker was unfamiliar with the case and didn't know if it was her. Police said the last time CYFS officials saw Kristen for sure was in December. The couple often would create excuses as to where Kristen was. When asked why Armstrong County CYFS hadn't seen the child since December, Director Dennis Demagone declined to comment. Demagone said he couldn't answer a reporter's questions about the case because of confidentiality standards. Tatar was arrested at the home, while Crawford was later arrested in Everett, Bedford County. State Police Lt. Steve Dubovi said Crawford was visiting a former boyfriend's relative, and the couple's son was with her. Neighbors said they didn't even know that Crawford and Tatar had a daughter, and it seemed that the couple had a normal relationship with their son. "The son had nice toys out in the yard," Donna Kunselman said. But she said the couple kept to themselves and didn't let the boy talk to neighbors. She said the couple was very private, but that she heard an argument coming from the home Wednesday night. That's the day that CYFS officials went looking for Kristen. They returned the next day with the state police armed with a search warrant. The couple's landlord who lives next to the home had no comment. When contacted at his home, Crawford's father, Daniel Irwin, refused to comment.

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