Local

Trial to open for Uniontown couple in boy's death

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — A southwestern Pennsylvania couple goes on trial this week in the beating death of a four-year-old boy 2 1/2 years ago.

Twenty-nine-year-old Patrick Haney Jr. and 30-year-old Heather Forsythe of Point Marion are charged in Fayette County in the September 2011 death of Forsythe's son, Trenton St. Clair.

Prosecutors allege Haney systematically beat the boy over several weeks and that Forsythe knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it. They say they plan to seek the death penalty if Haney is convicted of first-degree murder.

The (Uniontown) Herald-Standard  reports that jury selection in the case is slated to begin Monday.