GREENE, Pa. -- A hearing for the parents of a boy found dead in a septic tank to regain custody of their other children ended in disappointment for the family.
Channel 4 Action News' Amber Nicotra reported John and Terri Smitsky, the parents of Wyatt Smitsky, were denied custody of their two daughters, Tally and Paige, by a Beaver County judge.
"It is difficult. These aren't just clients, they're friends," said Guiseppi Roselli, the family's attorney.
Wyatt was found dead in the septic tank on Sept. 5 on property near his Greene Township home.
The 4-year-old, who had a congenital heart defect requiring medication, disappeared while playing outside his home in the 600 block of Georgetown Road.
The boy was playing with two young sisters when he went missing, prompting an 18-hour search by hundreds of volunteers.
Hazardous materials crews eventually discovered the body in a neighbor's septic tank.
The Beaver County coroner ruled Wyatt died of asphyxia due to drowning. It remains unclear how the 4-year-old ended up in the tank.
No charges have been filed in the case. State police investigators haven't said whether they believe the death was a homicide, the result of negligence or an accident.
Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh said previously that the tank's lid was a 14-pound sheet of corrugated metal -- not a heavy, dense manhole cover, as previously described by state police.
Berosh said that it might have been possible for Smitsky to move the cover by himself.
After the boy's body was discovered, his two sisters, who are 3 and 6 years old, were placed in the temporary custody of their grandparents.
At Thursday's hearing the judge ruled the girls should remain in their grandparent's custody.
"(They're) crushed. Absolutely crushed. Mrs. Smitsky is having a difficult time dealing with it. Mr. Smitsky is doing everything he can to console her and he's dealing with everything surrounding him as well," Roselli said.
Police questioned John Smitsky following his son's death, but have not charged him.
Roselli filed a motion on Thursday to move the case from the juvenile center to the Beaver County Courthouse. He told Nicotra he fears the investigation could go on "forever." Although the Smitskys see their daughters every day, Roselli said it's not enough. And he said that since there aren't any charges, the children belong with their parents.
"If that changes, fine; at least we know why children (are) not being placed with the family. But the reality is unless there's a crime, unless there's a threat to the children, there hasn't been anything established there is; they should be with their parents," Roselli said.
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