COLUMBIA, Pa. — A Lancaster County woman accused of leaving her 3-month-old baby to die in a parked car while she was using methamphetamine waived her preliminary hearing on Wednesday, the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office announced.
The case against Emily Rose Weaver, 32, of Columbia, will now proceed to trial, prosecutors said.
Weaver is charged with third-degree murder, endangering the welfare of children, and involuntary manslaughter in connection to the October 4 death of her daughter, Jeannie Rose Golden, whose body was found in Weaver's vehicle that afternoon.
Weaver was found unresponsive in the second-floor bedroom of her Fairview Road home by two witnesses who came to check on her after she failed to pick up her other children from school, according to police. The witnesses knew of Weaver's previous drug problems and were concerned for her welfare, police said.
When the witnesses woke Weaver, she told them she could not find her baby. One of the witnesses then went to Weaver's vehicle and found Golden, who was "beyond help," according to police.
All of the vehicle's doors and windows were closed, police said. The car was parked in direct sunlight, with the high temperatures that day exceeding 80 degrees, according to police.
When questioned by police, Weaver allegedly admitted to using methamphetamine twice in the days leading up to the incident. She said she intended to use the drug again that day after dropping her other two children at school, but did "not remember" doing so, police said.
Weaver told police she did not remember anything that occurred between the time she arrived home that morning and when she was awakened by one of the witnesses who came to check on her, according to investigators.
Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni determined Golden died due to asphyxia due to hypothermia and ruled the child's death a homicide.
Weaver has an extensive criminal record, court documents show. She was charged with endangering the welfare of a child by Millersville Boro Police in 2018, pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor drug offenses and a summary traffic violation in 2019, and was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty to robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and endangering the welfare of a child in 2018.
Weaver relinquished parental rights toward her other two children in 2021, according to investigators.
West Hempfield Township Police Detective Robert Bradfield filed charges.
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Ponessa is prosecuting the case.
