Three Lebanon city residents have been charged in connection with the negligent death of an infant in a September house fire.
According to a press release Oct. 31 from the District Attorney’s office, city police filed charges on Oct. 25 against Brian Navarre, Jessica Miller, and Barbara Miller.
They were arraigned before Magisterial District Justice John Ditzler, who set bail in the amount of $250,000 for Brian Navarre and Jessica Miller and $150,000 for Barbara Miller.
Brian Navarre lived in the home with the grandmother, 59-year-old Barbara Miller, and his children, the release from the District Attorney’s office said Thursday. Navarre worked overnight shifts, an investigation revealed, and Miller provided care in his absence even though “Navarre knew Miller could not ascend or descend stairs to care for any of the children inside.”
According to the release, city police and firefighters were dispatched on Sept. 13 to the area of 1330 Brandywine St. for an active fire.
“Despite valiant efforts to combat the blaze, an infant asleep on the upper floor of the structure died,” the release said. “Other occupants of the home sustained serious injuries and required medical care.”
According to details provided in September by Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello, the Lebanon Fire Department was dispatched at 9:52 a.m. for a multiple dwelling fire. A second alarm followed at 9:54 a.m., after first responders learned that a baby was trapped on the second floor.
Capello said that a “brave neighbor and a worker from a nearby business attempted to gain entry to the second floor with no success due to the heavy smoke and heat.” Lebanon police also attempted to enter the structure.
City fire units arrived on scene at 9:55 a.m.
According to Capello, Barbara Miller was airlifted to Lehigh Valley Burn Center with second-degree burns. Three children — listed by Capello as two girls, ages 5 and 2, and a 4-year-old boy – were also transported to Lehigh Valley Burn Center for treatment. The fourth child, later identified as 1-year-old Noah Navarre, perished in the blaze.
Miller and her 4-year-old grandson were initially listed in critical condition, while both granddaughters were hospitalized for smoke inhalation but were treated and released. Miller told LebTown in September that the children were all out of the hospital and in foster care.
An investigation into the cause of the blaze revealed that Navarre had gone to work, leaving the children in Miller’s care, including the infant in a bedroom on the top floor. “Another child in the home located a lighter, utilized the lighter, and started the fire which ultimately took the infant’s life,” the release said.
The children’s mother, Jessica Miller, “was supposed to arrive at Navarre’s home and provide care. She failed to arrive, failed to make childcare arrangements, and instead left her young children in the helpless care of their grandmother,” the investigation further revealed.
“After the fire and the infant’s death, the mother made numerous online pleas for financial assistance from the local community. She purported herself to be the true victim of the fire,” the release from the District Attorney’s office noted. “A local GoFundMe, started by local community members, also raised thousands of dollars for Navarre.”
The GoFundMe, as of Oct. 31, had raised more than $17,000 toward a $100,000 goal.
Further investigation into the family’s history showed that the home “was left filthy and the children resided in deplorable conditions,” and the children were denied dental care for years.
“But for the gross neglect and failure to provide adequate care for their children, this baby would still be alive today,” District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said in a statement. “That infant died in one of the most painful and terrifying of manners – by fire, unable to call for help or help himself. A parent’s one true duty is the protection of his or her child above all else.”
The defendants “woefully failed and deserve every penalty our system can impose,” Hess Graf added.
Anyone with information relevant to this investigation should contact the Lebanon County Detective Bureau and/or the Lebanon City Police Department.
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