Bell woman charged with endangering children

A Bell woman was jailed Monday after state police said they found two children outside her home this month in cold weather.

Police said Melissa Ann Chaya, 41, reportedly ingested prescription medication and yelled at the children, who fled outside to hide. She is charged with two felony counts of child endangerment.

Troopers were called to her Route 819 home just after 9 a.m. Jan. 13 and found the children, who were wearing coats but were cold, according to court papers. Police said the temperature was in the 30s at the time.

Inside, police said Chaya appeared to be ill lying on a couch with an empty bottle of prescription medication nearby. The bottle had been filled with 60 pills six days earlier. A doctor ordered she be hospitalized for an evaluation and, as she went with EMS workers, she yelled at the children, according to court papers.

She was taken by an ambulance to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, police said. Troopers got a search warrant for her medical records and found she tested positive for fentanyl, an opioid, according to court papers.

The children were taken to a relative.

Charges were filed against her Monday. Chaya is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison on $10,000 bond. A Feb. 8 preliminary hearing is set. She did not have an attorney listed in online court records.

She was sentenced in 2012 to two years in an intermediate punishment probationary program in Westmoreland County court on child endangerment and simple assault charges stemming from incident investigated by state police, according to online court records.