PROVO (Staff Report) — A couple was arrested on Tuesday on charges of felony child endangerment in connection with the heroin overdose and subsequent death of their 1-year-old daughter in December, police said.
Casey Joseph Cormani, 31, and Cassandra Leydsman, 32, were booked at the Utah County Jail following an inquiry that commenced after their baby daughter, Penny Mae Cormani, died in December last year.
Although no formal charges had been filed against Cormani or Leydsman, police officials say that initial investigations had confirmed that the parents were responsible for the death of their child.
Police said they found “numerous” drug-related items in the Provo home where the toddler was found unresponsive. Autopsy of toddler confirmed that she had died of a heroin overdose.
Leydsman told investigators that she found Penny unresponsive after putting her down for a nap. She then called police and took the young girl to Utah Valley Hospital, where she died.
Cormani and Leydsman deny any involvement in their child’s death but Court records show that both them and the homeowners, who are close friends of the couple, all have drug-related criminal histories.
