Commonwealth v. Cokonougher

The defendant and Kevin Murphy, who had lived together for five years but were unmarried, had a second son, Kyle Murphy, on July 18, 1988. The couple’s first son, Kevin, Jr., was not living with his parents at the time of Kyle’s birth. Prompted by reports of neglect, the Department of Social Services (DSS) had removed him on Feb*55ruary 12, 1988.1 Despite this, the first few months of Kyle’s infancy seemed unremarkable. In November of 1988, however, Kyle became rundown and listless, beset with a chest cold and an ear infection. Kevin Murphy gave him a prescribed antibiotic on the evening of…