UPDATE |

Johnstown, PA (WJAC) — Cambria County District Attorney Greg Neugebauer released a statement Thursday clarifying the reasoning for the specific charges in the case of a Johnstown grandmother accused of causing the death of her 3-month old grandson.

Johnstown police charged Peggy Lightcap, 40, with child endangerment after the baby allegedly died from a methadone overdose last September.

According to Neugebauer, authorities reportedly indicated that they cannot "prove" that the child died from an overdose, despite the coroner's ruling that the death was a homicide.

Investigators claim that since the baby only ingested a small amount of the methadone, "they cannot prove that he died from methadone toxicity."

Thus, the DA's office states that the child died from sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), with contributing factors.

Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees says that he is sticking by his original ruling, however, that the child died as a result of a methadone overdose along with other contributing factors, like SUDI.

Both the District Attorney’s Office and the Coroner’s Office, view this heart-wrenching case as an opportunity for public awareness of the dangers of putting our youth in harm’s way. This tragedy was wholly avoidable, and we pray for the safety and welfare of our community.

ORIGINAL |

Police say a Johnstown woman is facing charges related to the death of her three-month-old grandson who they say died from a methadone overdose.

According to Johnstown Police, 40-year-old Peggy Lightcap faces charges related to endangering the welfare of children.

Investigators say they were called to the 900 block of Ash Street for the suspicious death of a child Sept. 26.

They say they met with the mother of the child and the child’s grandmother, Lightcap, who told them the child was upstairs on the bed.

According to the complaint, the mother told police that she woke up at 11 a.m. to feed the child and then fell back asleep.

She explained that she later woke up again and noticed the baby wasn’t breathing, police say.

According to the complaint, Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees was called to the scene and an autopsy was performed.

Lees says the autopsy found the child’s death was caused by methadone toxicity and he ruled the child’s death a homicide.

Methadone is an opioid often used to help with treatment for addiction to heroin or narcotic painkillers, according to WebMD.

Police say the coroner’s office contacted them in Nov. with the results of the autopsy.

Investigators say they interviewed both the mother and Lightcap about how methadone could have gotten into the baby’s system.

They say Lightcap explained that she was the only one in the house who was on methadone and speculated that the drug could have been transferred to the child when she kissed him on the mouth.

In another interview in Jan., police say Lightcap remained adamant that she did not give the child methadone, but she speculated that she could have gotten the drug on her finger when taking her dose.

She said the baby was teething at the time and she would constantly be checking his gums, according to police.

As for the reason Lees ruled the baby’s death a homicide, in a statement to 6 News, he said the Cambria County coroner’s office must be an advocate for infants and children that die in these types of cases.

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