Parents Found Dead in Home After Child Tells Teachers Mom and Dad Won’t Wake Up

A man and woman were found dead in their Pennsylvania home after their seven-year-old daughter told school officials that her parents wouldn’t wake up, police said.

Officials reported that Christopher Dilly, 26, and Jessica Lally, 25, were discovered dead in their McKeesport, Pennsylvania, home, apparently dead from drug overdoses, WPXI News reports.

The couple’s seven-year-old daughter had gone to school and mentioned to her teachers that her parents would not wake up as she readied herself for school that morning.

“That’s like the hardest thing because that’s a 7-year-old,” Jessica Lally’s sister, Courtney Lally, told the media. “That’s a 7-year-old that did that.”

Courtney Lally went on to lament that drugs had really turned her sister into a different person.

“My sister wasn’t the person she became when it came to drugs. She wasn’t the person I knew. It was like the drugs had taken over and at first we didn’t know it was heroin,” Lally said. “She loved her kids — she did. She loved her mom, she loved me, she loved us.”

The deceased had three other children and all were living in the home. Present was a nine-month-old, one three, and another five. The four children were taken into the custody of the Allegheny County Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

The sister said she would seek custody of the children.

After an investigation, police said neighbors had not noticed any major changes in the couple’s actions, and their sudden overdose deaths were a shock.

The McKeesport School District issued a statement:

Our school district took immediate action after we were notified of the concerns shared by one of our students on their route home. We alerted all appropriate officials and ensured the students’ safety. Each school in our district offers counseling to any student who needs it. We will be available for the family affected by this tragedy.

Police ruled out foul play but said an autopsy will confirm suspicions that the deaths were caused by drugs.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.