Pa. man charged with trying to smother girlfriend's child

URSINA, Pa. (AP) — State police say a 25-year-old western Pennsylvania man tried to smother his girlfriend’s 3-year-old boy when he was supposed to be putting the child to bed.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for 25-year-old Cody Schartiger, who remained jailed today a day after his arrest on charges including aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.

Police say the boy’s mother found her son sitting in a chair and “gasping for air” shortly after Schartiger went to put the boy to bed at Schartiger’s home in Ursina on Oct. 3.

Police say a medical report says the boy had marks on his face and bite marks on his lips typical of someone struggling to breathe while being asphyxiated.

State police say they found other signs of physical abuse on the boy.