MOOREFIELD, W. Va. — A Missouri couple accused of killing and burying their infant child in Hardy County will face additional charges filled by the West Virginia State Police.
Joseph A. Christy, 32, and Summer L. McDaniel, 26, are now charged with two counts each of child neglect resulting in death, concealment of a dead human body and conspiracy to commit a felony.
The two already are facing felony child neglect charges.
Christy and McDaniel were arrested in Morgantown on the morning of July 5 after the two fled from authorities in a stolen Jeep Cherokee. The vehicle was believed to be stolen in Iowa.
The pursuit went onto I-79 before authorities could bring it to an end.
The two were initially charged with child neglect because their four children — ages 11, 7, 4, and 2 — were in the vehicle and unbuckled through the duration of the chase.
Upon separate interviews, it was revealed the couple had buried their infant child in the George Washington National Forest in Wardensville. Christy would later lead State Police in Hardy County to the burial site where the remains were discovered and then sent to the state Medical Examiner’s Office to determine a time and cause of death.
Upon the results of the examination, probable cause was developed and on July 11, arrest warrants obtained from the Hardy County Magistrate Court by Trooper First Class C. S. Hartman were served on the couple to add the additional charges to the case of the 26-day-old infant’s death.
Christy and McDaniel remain in North Central Regional Jail. The four other children are currently in the custody of the state Department of Health and Human Resources.