A Bath, Northampton County, woman whose 3-year-old son, James, died of a fentanyl overdose, entered a guilty plea in Carbon County court on Tuesday.

A second defendant in the case also entered a guilty plea to a lesser charge.

Britney Grace Burke, 32, pleaded to one count of involuntary manslaughter, a felony 2, in the death of her son. On Jan. 25 the boy’s father, Gage Joshua Duch, 28, pleaded to one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a felony 3. His plea was part of a deal with the district attorney’s office.

If Burke failed to enter a plea to the involuntary manslaughter charge, then the commonwealth was permitted to withdraw its offer to the endangering count.

In exchange for the plea, a felony 3 count of endangering the welfare of a child was dropped.

Also entering a plea Tuesday was Rebecca Lynn Walck, 23, of Palmerton. She pleaded to one count of recklessly endangering another person. In exchange for the plea felony 2 count of involuntary manslaughter, and felony 3, endangering the welfare of a child, were dropped by the DA.

The fourth person charged in the incident, Anthony Hannibal Pudvah, 31, of Nesquehoning, is currently serving a state prison term on drug-related charges. The charges in this case are at the pretrial stage, according to court records.

President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II accepted the pleas.

The incident occurred on Feb. 11, 2020.

According to affidavits filed by state police, the family lived at 121 S. Allen St. in Nesquehoning at the time of the incident. Walck and Pudvah also lived in the apartment and provided child care to the child on the day of his death.

Troopers said Burke called 911 to report the child unresponsive just before 7 p.m. on Feb. 11. Nesquehoning police and EMS arrived and the child was transported to St. Luke’s Miners Campus in Coaldale, where he was pronounced dead after attempts to resuscitate him failed.

District Attorney Michael Greek requested the death investigation be handed over to state police.

During interviews, Burke and Duch lied to troopers about their drug use, and added that Walck and Pudvah visited the home to watch the child earlier that day, troopers said.

The pair also lied about Duch’s whereabouts at the time the child was found unresponsive. Duch, upon his request, was taken to Burke’s parents’ home and family members said the child had no known illness, injuries or diseases that could have accounted for his death.

A search warrant of the home was executed early Feb. 12 and drug paraphernalia for heroin and fentanyl use was found within items belonging to Walck and Pudvah.

Later that day, Duch and Burke called troopers and admitted that they lied about their drug habits, their association with Walck and Pudvah and their activities on the day their son died.

The couple again noted that the child was left with Walck and Pudvah for a few hours before his death, but Duch then admitted to cleaning the scene and throwing away drug paraphernalia prior to troopers executing the search warrant.

On Feb. 14, an autopsy of the child was conducted and the cause of death was determined to be fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl toxicity and was suspicious.

On March 12, Walck and Pudvah were taken into custody by the Attorney General’s Office on drug-related charges and then interviewed by state police regarding the child’s death.

Walck said Duch and Burke were her drivers for the last four to six months and paid her and Pudvah with drugs.

Walck also said the pair moved in with Duch and Burke a few days earlier.

She told police about the drug use in the home and confirmed watching the child the morning of his death, but said he appeared healthy when she was watching him.

She then went back into her room when Duch and Burke returned home. A few hours later she and Pudvah transported Duch to a few locations to obtain drugs and it was while they were in Hazleton that they received a text from Burke saying the child was dead.

Walck said that she and Pudvah didn’t come forward earlier about this because they knew there was a warrant out for Pudvah’s arrest and she had open cases for other criminal matters.

Pudvah was also interviewed and told the same story as Walck, also saying that he, Walck and Duch were in Hazleton when they received a text from Burke about the child’s death.

Walck case

Court-appointed defense attorney Brian Collins told the court that Walck came from a good family but fell into the drug scene and became an addict.

She gave birth to a daughter a few weeks ago.

Walck told the court, “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. I want to take care of my daughter and put everything in the past.”

She said she realizes that drug addiction is an everyday battle even when getting help.

Nanovic said, after consulting with Collins and assistant District Attorney Brian Gazo, he understood the reason for the stipulation which spared Walck from facing much more serious charges.

He placed Walck on probation for two years, which runs consecutive to a sentence she is currently serving of one to 24 months in jail followed by one year of probation. She has already served the jail time. She must also pay court costs of over $1,000 and a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation.

Nanovic deferred sentencing of Burke and ordered the adult probation office to prepare a presentence investigation report.

Duch is scheduled to be sentenced on April 8 at 9 a.m.