6/27/17
by News Department on 06/27/17Trial begins today...
Schuylkill County prosecutors will begin presenting their evidence today against 54 year old Pietrina C. Williams, of Mahanoy City, who they allege killed a child in January 2016 at her Mahanoy City residence.
According to the Republican Herald, Mahanoy City police charged Williams with causing the death of 15-month-old Navaeh Doyle who was found dead about 2:20 p.m. Jan. 10, 2016, in the defendant’s 519 W. Centre St. residence.
Prosecutors said Dr. Neal Hoffman, a board-certified forensic pathologist, conducted the child’s autopsy on Jan. 14, 2016, at Reading Hospital & Medical Center, West Reading, and determined Doyle died from “asphyxia by smothering.”
Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David J. Moylan III ruled the manner of death as homicide after the autopsy.
District Attorney Christine A. Holman and Assistant District Attorney Debra A. Smith are prosecuting the case against Williams, who is represented by Assistant Public Defender Kent D. Watkins. President Judge William E. Baldwin is presiding over the trial.
