PA Michael A. Daum, 4, found dead on neighbor’s lawn in Buckingham Township, 26 Jun 1972

[Find Brenda]

Mysterious Death of a 4-Year-Old Boy in Bucks County, PA

Buckingham Township, PA – On the night of Monday, June 26, 1972, the body of 4-year-old Michael Allen Daum was discovered on a neighbor’s lawn in Buckingham Valley, prompting a state police investigation into a possible homicide. Michael, the son of Mr and Mrs. Robert H. Daum of Route 413, was found unresponsive around 10:30 p.m. by neighbors Kenneth Wood, 18, and Philip Wharton, 16, also of Route 413.

According to Winifred Wood, Kenneth’s mother, she heard an older boy or young man shouting and crying, calling out a boy’s name twice. Concerned, she instructed Kenneth and Philip to investigate. She initially thought the figure on the lawn might be a life-sized doll belonging to one of her ten children. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was Michael and noted injuries to his face. Mrs. Wood immediately contacted Michael’s father, who lived next door, urging him to come quickly.

Buckingham Township Police Sgt. Elmer Leopold responded to the scene and attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but efforts to revive the boy failed. Michael was rushed to Doylestown Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Bucks County Coroner Dr. Stanley Goodwin reported that an autopsy revealed Michael died from a combination of suffocation and aspiration of stomach contents, with marks of external violence on his face and neck contributing to his death.

“There was obviously another party involved,” Goodwin stated, ruling out natural causes.

State Police Detective Donald P. Lauriha of the Warrington Barracks confirmed at the time that while an accident had been ruled out, conclusive evidence of a homicide was not.

“We’re checking out several suspects,” Lauriha said in the days after the incident, noting that evidence collected at the scene was sent to a laboratory for analysis.

In 1972, Bucks County District Attorney Kenneth G. Biehn emphasized the investigation involved State Police, Bucks County detectives, and Buckingham Township Police. “This is not something you just get all of a sudden,” Biehn remarked, underscoring the suspicious nature of the case.

The circumstances that led to little Michael’s death remain a mystery.

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to a resolution in this case.

CONTACT:

Any persons with information regarding this case are asked to contact Troop M CIA Unit at 610-861-2026 or PSP Tips Toll Free at 1-800-472-8477 or online at https://www.p3tips.comtipform.aspx?ID=107

All callers to PSP Tips could be eligible for a CASH REWARD for information that leads to an arrest, the solving of a crime/cold case or the location of a wanted person/fugitive or missing person

SOURCES:
Researched and written by PA Unsolved on Facebook

 

[Find Brenda]

I sure would like to hear what people from his neighborhood have to say about this case.

 

[Ladyotm]

Hopefully they have some usable forensics and can use DNA to solve this crime. How did he get out of the house?

 

[nao]

Moo...well if I heard my neighbors yelling for their child....and then immediately find their child dead in my yard. I would be thinking, why are they yelling for their child. It seems a very small timeframe from missing to dead...moo
.

 

[rob525]

This is kind of odd. I guess the first child / young man yelling Michaels name could have been a sibling looking for him while not seeing him laying in the neighbors yard?
I wonder how this could have happened? My first thought was that he was choked unconscious and then aspirated stomach contents thus suffocating. But, how would he have gotten into the neighbors front yard? Did someone not in his own home do this? Was it random? Just seems so weird.

Is there any medical condition i.e. allergic reaction etc., that could have led to this outcome and left the marks on the face that may have been mistaken for violent trauma?