Couple ordered to stand trial in baby’s death

PALMERTON, Pa. (AP) — Prosecutors say a northeastern Pennsylvania couple denied their infant daughter food and water before she died early this year.

At a preliminary hearing Thursday, authorities said 11-month-old Kayla Taschler lost three pounds — about a third of her body weight — between November and her death in January.

Investigators in Carbon County say Kim and Jacob Taschler also smoked marijuana after strapping Kayla into a car seat for 16 hours and not checking on her.

Defense attorney George Dydynsky called the autopsy report “junk science” that didn’t conclusively determine what killed Kayla.

District Judge Bruce Appleton ordered the Taschlers to stand trial on charges including involuntary manslaughter. A formal arraignment is scheduled for August.