W.Va. man pleads guilty to 2019 drowning of East Huntingdon baby

For the second time in a year, a West Virginia man pleaded guilty in the drowning of an 11-month-old girl in East Huntingdon three years ago.

Derrick Anthony Bass, 32, formerly of Uniontown, was ordered to serve up to 34 years in prison for the third-degree murder of the child, whose body was found by her mother hidden under a pile of blankets in a playpen after the woman returned home from work on July 13, 2019.

Sarah Miller had been dating Bass for just a few days when she left her daughter, Niomie, at home to be cared for by Bass, police said.

Bass was arrested several days later near Cleveland and initially denied any involvement in the baby’s death, claiming he left the child with a neighbor. According to court records, he eventually told police the baby was unresponsive while in his care and that he ran water on her face and back in an attempt to revive her, then left the home with his two children, two televisions and 27 DVDs.

In court on Wednesday, Bass pleaded guilty to the murder charge as well as counts of abuse of a corpse, theft and receiving stolen property. He apologized but offered no explanations for his actions.

“I can’t say what really happened. I wish I could go back but I can’t. I want to be a better person,” Bass said.

Assistant District Attorney Jackie Knupp said attempts to reach Miller to discuss the plea bargain were unsuccessful.

“I tried to reach her but we’ve been unable. We’ve done everything we could,” Knupp said.

Prosecutors charged Bass with a general count of criminal homicide and previously said they would seek a first-degree murder conviction, which carries a mandatory life prison sentence. Bass pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of third-degree murder in August after prosecutors conceded evidence of an intentional killing would be difficult to prove and agreed to accept a 20- to 40-year prison sentence.

Before that sentence could be imposed, Bass withdrew his plea in February.

Following Bass’ guilty plea on Wednesday, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears immediately imposed the terms of the negotiated deal that included four other unrelated cases.

Bass was ordered to serve 15 to 30 years for the baby’s murder and an additional 2 to 4 years in prison for the October 2018 aggravated assault of another 14-month-old baby in Monessen. In that case, police said Bass caused injuries to the child’s head and a burn on his palm.

Bass also received concurrent sentences after he pleaded guilty in three other cases: a theft of a rental car in July 2019, retail theft at a grocery store and providing false identification during a police stop for a suspected traffic offense.