Police say a coroner estimated the child had been dead for more than 24 hours before officers arrived at the Pratt Court home.
WAYNESBORO, Pa. — A Waynesboro woman was charged with felony child endangerment after police said her 4-year-old son was found dead in their Pratt Court home Tuesday and a coroner told investigators the child appeared to have been dead for more than 24 hours.
The case is still in its early stages, but court papers and local reporting describe a child who was sick over Easter weekend, was not taken for medical care and was later found dead in a home where police also reported controlled substances and drug paraphernalia within his reach. The boy’s cause and manner of death had not been released by Friday, leaving autopsy findings to shape whether prosecutors pursue charges beyond the single felony count now filed against his mother, Amie Ruleman.
According to charging documents described by local news outlets, Ruleman told investigators her son became ill Sunday, April 5, and had been vomiting. She said she gave him Tylenol on Monday morning, April 6. Later that night, around 7:30 p.m., she said she and the boy were on a couch when she fell asleep. Ruleman told police she woke around 4 a.m. Tuesday and saw the child kneeling on the floor with his head and arms resting on a chair. She said she believed he was sleeping and went back to the couch after using the bathroom. When she woke again around 11:30 a.m., police said, the child was still in the same position. Investigators said she took a photo and sent it to a relative before trying to wake him around 12:35 p.m. When he felt cold to the touch, she called 911 about 1 p.m.
The timeline in the court papers became more serious after the Franklin County coroner viewed the child at the scene. Investigators said the coroner told them the boy appeared to have been dead for more than 24 hours before officers arrived. The coroner also said the child appeared sick and malnourished, and police said he weighed about 25 pounds. Charging documents further allege that Ruleman admitted she had missed five or six scheduled doctor appointments for the boy and that he had not been taken to a doctor since 2024. Police said she described his diet as chips, mini pancakes and chicken nuggets, and told investigators he would often eat clothing. Authorities have said the boy had autism. They also said a search of the home turned up controlled substances and drug paraphernalia in areas the child could have reached. Even with those allegations now public, officials had not released an official cause of death by Friday.
The public record so far gives only a narrow view of the child’s last days, but it lays out the questions now driving the case. Investigators are focusing on when the boy died, what medical condition or conditions he may have had, what care he did or did not receive and whether the home environment added to the danger. Because the child was 4 and, according to police, had autism, the allegations also center on how fully he depended on adults for food, medical attention and daily supervision. The papers described a child who was reportedly ill over a holiday weekend and then was not taken for treatment. They also described a long stretch of time between the mother’s first account of seeing him motionless and her call for emergency help. In the absence of an autopsy finding, those details have become the backbone of the criminal case and the main reason the death has drawn attention far beyond the small Franklin County borough.
Legally, the case remains at a preliminary stage. The only filed charge as of Friday was one felony count of endangering the welfare of children. Waynesboro police listed the incident time as 1:06 p.m. April 7 and the arrest date as April 8. Court records cited by media reports said bail was set at $1 million, and Ruleman remained jailed. Those same records list a preliminary hearing for April 21. Police have said evidence is still being gathered and analyzed, and an autopsy was scheduled to help determine the exact cause and manner of death. That report is likely to be the next major turning point. If the medical findings identify a direct criminal cause tied to the death, prosecutors could decide to add or revise charges. If the findings remain inconclusive or point to a different medical picture, the current endangerment count could remain the central charge while the investigation continues.
On Pratt Court, the case has landed with a mix of shock and grief. Neighbors told local television stations they first assumed the police and emergency vehicles had been called for a fire or for an older resident in distress. Ashley Weedon, who lives nearby, said, “I never expected that it was a 4-year-old.” Her reaction echoed the disbelief neighbors described as officers converged on the block Tuesday afternoon. The neighborhood attention has also grown because the case leaves basic questions unanswered. Officials have not publicly said what killed the boy, whether any additional medical history will be released or whether anyone else could face scrutiny as investigators keep reviewing statements, records and physical evidence. For now, the criminal allegations rely on the mother’s account, the coroner’s early observations and what officers say they found inside the home. Prosecutors wrote in the charging papers that there was “sufficient probable cause” to believe neglect contributed to the child’s condition.
As of Friday, authorities had not released the boy’s cause or manner of death, and Ruleman remained jailed on $1 million bail on the child endangerment charge. The next public step is the April 21 preliminary hearing while investigators wait for autopsy results that could reshape the case.
Author note: Last updated April 10, 2026.