Details remain sketchy about what happened Friday at a Pleasant
Street residence where a Bradford woman and her infant daughter
were found dead.
McKean County District Attorney Ray Learn said Sunday the
investigation is ongoing, and the cause of death is still
unknown.
On Friday, Bradford City Police responded to a 911 call around 9
a.m. and found the bodies of Tonya Haight, 24, and her
three-and-a-half-week-old daughter at their residence at 56
Pleasant St. In the afternoon, Learn ruled the deaths “suspicious,”
but not homicides.
On Sunday, Learn said officials must get more information before
they can make a statement about the incident.
“We can’t make any determinations (about the cause of death)
until the toxicology results are sent back to the medical
examiner,” Learn said.
Several individuals have been interviewed in relation to the
incident, Learn said, noting again that the district attorney’s
office can’t make any conclusions until toxicology results come
back.
Officer Chris Lucco said Sunday that nothing clearly indicates
that the deaths were murders, and no arrests had been made as of
Sunday.
It’s currently “a very active investigation,” Lucco said.
On Saturday, autopsies of Haight and her child were conducted at
the Erie County Medical Examiner’s office. McKean County Coroner
Mike Cahill said on Sunday that it may take four to six weeks to
get toxicology results back from the lab.
Cahill said the toxicology results, combined with the results
from the autopsies, will lead to finding a definite cause of death
for Haight and her child.
“Once that day is here, we’ll be able to wrap things up,” he
said. “(The toxicology results are) the last piece of what we need
to make a decision.”
Bradford City Police are investigating the incident, with
assistance from state police, Learn and McKean County Detective
Jerry Okerlund.
On Friday, Lucco responded to the 911 call for an unresponsive
infant, according to an affidavit of probable cause. When he
arrived at the house, he was met by a resident, Curtis Cushman, who
said the baby was in the back of the house.
As Lucco started there, he was met by John “JJ” Haight,
according to the affidavit. Haight told him about Tonya Haight, who
Lucco found upstairs.
The bodies of Tonya Haight, who was partially clothed, and her
child were wet, bluish in color and cold, according to the
affidavit.
Lucco contacted the Pennsylvania State Police Forensics Unit and
was granted a search warrant from Magisterial District Judge Dom
Cercone.
At 4 p.m., police cleared the scene and allowed residents back
into the home, which had eight people living in it.
Neighbors said the family moved into the house about a month
ago. The house was a rental and is located on the north side of
Pleasant Street, between Pearl Street and Jackson Avenue.
