Fallston Man Indicted in Infant Death: Police

A couple has been indicted on charges including first-degree child abuse in connection with the death of their infant this summer, the Baltimore County Police Department reports.

According to police, the couple said they did not seek help immediately after finding their baby boy submerged in a bathtub containing very hot water.

Eugene Joseph Buchta, 25, of the 2800 block of Harford Road in Fallston, and Rachael Anne Johnson, 25, of the 200 block of Patapsco Avenue in Dundalk, were indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree child abuse, second-degree assault and neglect of a minor, court records show.

Police said that Buchta left while in the midst of giving the baby a bath in a small tub at approximately 10 p.m. on Thursday, July 2, and when he returned, the boy was submerged.

Upon taking the one-month-old out of the tub, Buchta noticed the water was “very hot,” police reported.

Buchta and Johnson put ointment on the baby, according to the report, which noted they opted not to take the infant to a hospital.

At approximately 7 p.m. on Friday, July 3, the couple called 911 after the baby became unresponsive, the report said.

When first responders arrived at their apartment in the 1800 block of Marshall Road in Dundalk, the baby was neither conscious nor breathing, according to the report.

Less than an hour after the infant arrived at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, he was pronounced deceased, the report said.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the death was a homicide caused by complications from thermal injuries, according to police.

Booking photos of Eugene Joseph Buchta and Rachael Anne Johnson courtesy of the Baltimore County Police Department.