Man from Pittsburgh's Greenfield charged in infant's 2020 death said he was sleepwalking

A man from Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood who police said told investigators that he dropped his infant son down the stairs while sleepwalking is facing homicide charges two years after the child’s death, according to police.

Cory Neidert, 31, also is charged with reckless endangerment and child endangerment in connection with the February 2020 death of 7-week-old Luca Neidert.

Police said Neidert called police just after 5 a.m. Feb. 1 and reported the infant had fallen down the stairs. A criminal complaint filed in the case said Neidert told the emergency dispatcher that he’d just woken up and didn’t know what happened.

Police said neither Neidert nor the child’s mother would perform CPR on the child, even at the dispatcher’s prompting. Both were reluctant to go with the child to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, though his mother eventually did while Neidert stayed behind, police said.

The child was pronounced dead about an hour later, and his death was ruled a homicide. Authorities said the autopsy indicated he was thrown or tossed down stairs to a cement floor.

Neidert told investigators he believed he was sleepwalking and dropped the infant down the stairs but had “no recollection of doing that,” according to the complaint. He said he had a history of sleepwalking but only recalled a few instances. Police said Neidert’s blood-alcohol content during his interview was about 0.110, which meant it was likely around 0.185 at the time he called 911.

Later that day, Neidert reported to police that he found a scratch on his leg that he said was evidence he’d fallen down the stairs, likely with the infant in his arms, according to the complaint.

Police said the child’s mother, in an interview with investigators, hedged as to whether Neidert actually sleepwalks and conceded that she had never seen him do so, according to the complaint.

Multiple witnesses told police the infant was a fussy or colicky baby who did not sleep for more than a few hours at a time, according to the complaint. Several said they did not know Neidert to sleepwalk.

It was not immediately clear why there was a nearly two-year gap between the child’s death and Neidert’s arrest on homicide charges, which were filed Monday.

Sheriff’s deputies said Neidert turned himself in at Pittsburgh Municipal Court at about 7 p.m. Monday. He remains in Allegheny County Jail, held without bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 21. Court records did not list a defense attorney Tuesday.