A 36-year-old Montgomery County man is charged with killing a 2-year-old boy in August 2021 in a Wilson Borough home, the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office reported Friday morning.
Borough police responded about 2:15 a.m. Aug. 15 to a home of a relative where James Wyant was living in the 2200 block of Forest Street, the district attorney’s office said. A woman let them in, and they found Wyant on the third floor performing CPR on the child, police said.
The 2-year-old, who had bruises across the left side of the face and wasn’t breathing, was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in Easton where the boy was pronounced dead at 3:03 a.m., the district attorney’s office said.
The ensuing autopsy determined the cause of death was battered child syndrome with smothering, the district attorney’s office said. The death was ruled a homicide.
Wyant surrendered Friday morning at Yetter’s office. He will be housed in Northampton County Prison pending further court action.
The investigation was turned over to a county investigative grand jury and it recommended Wyant be charged with one count of criminal homicide, two counts of recklessly endangering a child and one count of simple assault, court papers say.
Wyant, whose listed address is in Pennsburg, was arraigned about 10 a.m. before District Judge Richard Yetter III, who denied bail, saying Wyant was a flight and public safety risk.
Wyant’s attorney Philip Lauer declined comment after the arraignment.
Wyant’s preliminary hearing on the charges is tentatively scheduled for 10:30 a.m. July 12 in Central Court in Easton.
Tony Rhodin can be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
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