Meyersdale couple jailed in sons' deaths
A Somerset County couple was jailed Thursday for the deplorable conditions in their home that led to the deaths of their two young sons when the boys accidentally locked themselves in a cedar chest.
Somerset President Judge John Cascio denied pleas of leniency for Nathan Leydig, 29, and Heather Baker, 26, both of Meyersdale, who both pleaded guilty in January to one count of endangering the welfare of children in connection with the deaths. They hugged and kissed before they were handcuffed by sheriff's deputies and taken to the county jail.
Baker was sentenced to serve two to 23 months in jail, while Leydig, who also pleaded guilty to an unrelated public drunkenness and resisting arrest charge, was given a three- to 23-month sentence.
The couple's two youngest boys, Anthony Leydig, 5, and Alyjah Leydig, 3, were found dead in the cedar chest on Oct. 20, 2004. The lid had locked after the boys climbed inside.
Cascio admitted struggling over determining an appropriate sentence for the couple because "of the tragic set of circumstances."
Although a coroner's jury ruled out filing homicide charges against the couple, it did recommend District Attorney Jerry Spangler file criminal charges against the couple because of the squalid conditions inside the family's former residence at 101 High St., Meyersdale.
Cascio noted that while the deaths were a tragic accident, "the neglect and conditions in the home put in motion the events that led to the tragedy."
He also fined the couple $1,000 a piece and ordered them each to pay $423 in court costs. Both will serve three months probation after their release from jail. The couple also were ordered to serve 25 hours of community service.
The couple's attorney, Martin Sheerer, of Pittsburgh, told Cascio the couple already had suffered enough because of the deaths of their two sons. He said the couple's older son, Andrew, 7, was taken away from the couple after the incident and now lives with Leydig's parents in Somerset.
Baker and Leydig now reside with Baker's mother, Brenda Bradshaw, in Meyersdale. Sheerer said the couple took parenting classes through children and youth services and visit Andrew on weekends, by Cascio's orders.
"It seems to me the court should try to help this family heal. These are nice young, people, not bad people," Sheerer said.
"Heather and Nathan have sadly already experienced the worse thing I can fathom ... the deaths of two children," he said.
A tearful Baker told Cascio that she wanted her oldest son back.
"I just would like to get this over with and get on with our lives and bring my son home," Baker said.
Leydig comforted his wife by placing his arm around her shoulder as she spoke to the judge. He told Cascio he was also eager "to get on with our lives."
Bradshaw broke into tears as Cascio announced the sentences.
"I'll come and visit you as much as I can," she said as sheriff's deputies handcuffed the couple.
Later, Bradshaw said she was surprised by the sentence. "I love both of them and stand behind them," she said.
Sheerer said it was the toughest case he's been involved with in 43 years.
"These young people have already suffered so much," he said.
He said he may appeal the sentences.
Leydig told police he came home from work about 2 a.m. on Oct. 20 and went to sleep in a second-floor bedroom where the chest was kept. He assumed the boys were safe in bed.
Baker was asleep on the couch with Andrew in the first-floor living room.
An autopsy disclosed the boys likely died sometime between 10:30 p.m. and midnight. The parents discovered the boys in the chest the next morning.
Police examined the chest and found it could accidentally lock if slammed shut.
Police accused the couple of violating a duty of care by permitting their children to play unsupervised and by keeping them in a house fouled with animal feces, deer remains, rotting garbage and spoiled food.
In an unrelated incident last May 1 in Somerset, Leydig was charged with resisting arrest and public drunkenness by state police.
