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Three people charged in Clairton child endangerment case

A woman is in custody and her parents are being sought by police after Allegheny County police filed child endangerment charges against all three individuals.Dannayja Cain, 21, was booked into the Allegheny County Jail earlier this week and faces two counts of child endangerment.Cain's parents, Daniel Cain, 40, and Tesha Barnett, 40, had not been arrested as of Friday evening. They are each charged with seven counts of child endangerment and one count of criminal conspiracy.The investigation into the three suspects began Wednesday when Clairton police responded to a report of two toddlers wandering Crest Street. The criminal complaints said the two toddlers were without an adult and in a “state of confusion.” One juvenile had “soiled” her shorts while the other child was wearing no clothing from the waist down, according to the complaints. Officers found a cellphone belonging to Dannayja Cain on the children, according to the complaints. Through the phone, a Clairton officer was able to contact Tesha Barnett, who told the officer that she and the children's father were at soccer practice with another child. Barnett allegedly told the officer that she had left three children in the care of her eldest daughter, Dannayja. When officers arrived at the Cains' home on Arch Street to speak with Dannayja, they found the home in “deplorable condition,” according to the complaints. Police later managed to locate Dannayja, who had several warrants for her arrest. Police took her to the Allegheny County Jail. As the investigation progressed, Allegheny County Police took responsibility and determined that Daniel Cain and Barnett were responsible for the Arch Street home. “The house appeared to be in complete disarray, with trash lying everywhere,” a county police officer wrote in the complaints against Cain and Barnett. Police claimed that “the amount of trash, food scraps and human waste found in Tesha Barnett and Daniel Cain's home can only be attributed to weeks of utter neglect.” While Pittsburgh's Action News 4 and another television news crew were attempting to speak with a neighbor near Arch Street, two people approached. They identified themselves as Daniel Cain and Tesha Barnett. Both denied knowing anything about the allegations and said their home was “clean.” They declined an interview and walked down the street. A few minutes later, an officer in a Clairton police vehicle drove up near the home and asked Pittsburgh's Action News 4 which direction the suspects might have gone. A second officer in a different patrol car asked a similar question several minutes after that interaction. On Friday evening, Clairton police said Cain and Barnett were not yet in custody. An official told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 it's possible they had access to a vehicle that was out of sight and that they may have left the city.

CLAIRTON, Pennsylvania —

A woman is in custody and her parents are being sought by police after Allegheny County police filed child endangerment charges against all three individuals.

Dannayja Cain, 21, was booked into the Allegheny County Jail earlier this week and faces two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Cain's parents, Daniel Cain, 40, and Tesha Barnett, 40, had not been arrested as of Friday evening. They each face seven counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of criminal conspiracy.

The investigation into the three suspects began Wednesday when Clairton police responded to a report of two toddlers wandering around Crest Street. Criminal complaints said the two toddlers were unaccompanied by an adult and in a “state of confusion.” One of the teens was “soiling” her shorts while the other child was bare from the waist down, according to the complaint.

According to the complaints, officers found a cell phone belonging to Dannayja Cain on the children.

A Clairton officer was able to reach Tesha Barnett by phone, who told the officer that she and the children's father were at soccer practice with another child. Barnett reportedly told the officer that she had left three children in the care of her eldest daughter, Dannayja.

When officers arrived at the Cains' Arch Street home to speak with Dannayja, they found the house in a “deplorable condition,” according to the complaints.

Police later located Dannayja, who had several arrest warrants, and took her to the Allegheny County Jail.

As the investigation continued, Allegheny County Police took over and determined that Daniel Cain and Barnett were responsible for the Arch Street home.

“The house appeared to be in complete disarray, with trash scattered everywhere,” a county police officer wrote in the complaint for Cain and Barnett.

Police claimed that “the amount of garbage, food scraps and human waste found in the home of Tesha Barnett and Daniel Cain can only be attributed to weeks of complete neglect.”

While Pittsburgh's Action News 4 and another television news crew attempted to speak with a neighbor near Arch Street, two people approached us.

They identified themselves as Daniel Cain and Tesha Barnett. Both denied knowledge of the allegations and said their house was “clean.” They declined an interview and walked down the street.

A few minutes later, an officer in a Clairton police vehicle drove up near the home and asked Pittsburgh's Action News 4 which direction the suspects might have gone. A second officer in a different patrol car asked a similar question a few minutes after that interaction.

As of Friday evening, Clairton police said Cain and Barnett were not yet in custody. An officer told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 it was possible they had access to a vehicle that was out of sight and that they may have left town.

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