Woman charged in child abuse death investigation in Penn Hills

PENN HILLS, PA — A woman has been charged in connection with an ongoing investigation into the death of a 3-year-old boy.

At 12:43 p.m. on March 11, County 9-1-1 was notified of a report of a 3-year-old boy not breathing in the 300 block of Dorothy Drive.

The child was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The Allegheny County Police Department’s Homicide Unit was requested and detectives initiated an investigation.

Through their investigation, detectives were made aware of the hospital’s initial examination which revealed the boy showed obvious signs of physical abuse, including multiple healing and active bone fractures.

Through witness interviews, detectives determined the child’s mother, 23-year-old Lagomau Malu, physically abused the child on multiple occasions.

Malu is facing multiple charges to include aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children.

She was taken to the Allegheny County Jail pending preliminary arraignment.

On March 12, County Police charged the child’s father, 32-year-old Adam Chirico, in connection with this incident.

Chirico is charged with endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person.

The investigation into the child’s death is ongoing pending the determination of cause and manner of death from the medical examiner’s office.