Body of 5-month-old left at funeral home, father charged

ALLENTOWN, Pa. --A man who gave his 5-month-old daughter an adult pain and sleeping medication and later found her dead was arrested and charged early Thursday, police said.

Tri Minh Doan, 31, of Allentown, drove the baby's body to a funeral home Wednesday afternoon after running other errands, and someone at the funeral home called police.

Doan was arraigned early Thursday on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and abusing a corpse. He was lodged in the Lehigh County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail. It was not immediately known if he had an attorney.

Doan gave the baby a dose of adult Tylenol PM on Tuesday night because he wanted her to sleep, and found her dead later Tuesday night, according to an arrest affidavit. Tylenol PM carries a warning not to give it to children under 12.

Doan put the dead girl in a sport utility vehicle on Wednesday, drove to a store in Lancaster, where he covered her body with a pillow and went in to buy food and chewing gum, according to court documents.

He then returned to the Allentown area, ran other errands, then took the body to the Trexler Funeral Home, where he asked about services, court papers said.

Assistant Police Chief Joseph Hanna said he remained at the funeral home until officers arrived and was later interviewed at police headquarters.
Coroner Scott Grim said an autopsy would be performed Thursday.