Murder suspect charged with beating 14-month-old in Monessen
MONESSEN – A man who has lived in Monessen and Uniontown and is awaiting trial on charges he killed a baby in July is facing new allegations he caused head and other injuries to his 14-month-old son a year earlier in Monessen.
City police Monday filed aggravated assault and related charges against the suspect, Derrick Anthony “Hector” Bass Sr., 29, accusing him of causing internal injuries to the child’s head that left him unresponsive to police on the afternoon of Oct. 12, 2018, court records show.
Bass is being held without bond in Westmoreland County jail on charges of homicide and abuse of a corpse in the July 13 killing of 11-month-old Niomie Rose Miller in East Huntingdon Township.
Police arrested him two days later in Cleveland, Ohio, after the child’s mother, who was in a relationship at the time with Bass, found the girl dead under blankets in her residence.
Bass is scheduled to be arraigned today on the new charges, which also include reckless endangerment and simple assault, court records show.
Monessen police discovered the injured child when officers were called about 4:15 p.m. to 333 Manown St. to investigate allegations he assaulted his girlfriend, Sarah Kolenc, in front of their two young children, charging documents state.
After police arrived there, officers along with a caseworker with Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau noticed Bass’ son had a lot of bruises on his head, the affidavit indicates.
Police also noticed bumps on the child’s head, small cuts to the back of his head and red marks on his neck.
“The child being 1-year-old did not respond to people while we were trying to engage with the child …., an officer noted in court records.
Police called an ambulance because the child “appeared to stare off” and have internal head injuries. He was then taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, Kolenc said her son fell out of a playpen a day earlier and bruised his head. She later said she left the child with his father at home at 8 a.m. the day of the assault and his condition was not normal that afternoon.
A physician at Children’s determined the injuries were caused by abuse, police stated in the affidavit.
The child also had a burn to his right palm, bruising on his forehead, face and scalp and abrasions to his upper lip and left eye, charging documents indicate.