Hempfield infant suffers burn while parents party, police allege

State police on Monday arrested the parents of a 3-month-old Hempfield baby, accusing them of failing to seek immediate medical treatment when the boy was accidentally scalded by a baby sitter while they attended a St. Patrick's Day party.

Kayla E. Marol, 28, of Hempfield and Keelan J. Walker, 27, of Jeannette were arraigned on charges of endangering the welfare of children and reckless endangerment filed by state police in connection with the March 17 incident.

District Judge Joseph DeMarchis ordered Marol and Walker held in the county prison after they failed to post $10,000 and $5,000 bond, respectively.

Authorities began investigating the incident after Walker called for an ambulance at 2 p.m. March 18 “to get his son to the hospital” for treatment of a burn on his left arm, according to court documents cause filed by Trooper Steven Papuga.

The baby was taken by ambulance to UPMC's Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, and Papuga reported that he contacted the county children's bureau.

According to Papuga, Walker told him that when he arrived home from the party about 6 a.m., he felt he was “too intoxicated.”

“I figured I'd take care of it when I woke up,” Papuga reported Walker as saying.

The teenage baby sitter told the trooper that she called Marol about 12:30 a.m. and sent her a message via social media to tell her the child was accidentally burned.

“(The baby sitter) related that Kayla told her to put a warm washcloth on it. She related Kayla did not come home immediately. ... She came home about 3 a.m.,” Papuga reported.

Marol told police that when she returned to her Lenhart Avenue apartment, the baby's arm appeared to have “a couple of little blisters on it,” Papuga reported. “(Marol said) she put ointment on it and wrapped it up with gauze. ... She then went to bed.”

Ambulance personnel told Papuga that when they arrived about 2 p.m., the baby's diaper was soiled and Marol “just woke up,” the trooper said.

According to online court dockets, Marol has a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 24 before DeMarchis for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol with a child in the car. She was arrested on that charge March 16.

Neither Marol nor Walker had hired attorneys, according to court documents. Preliminary hearings for the pair are tentatively scheduled on May 3 before DeMarchis.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ppeirce_trib.