Mother let 4-year-old daughter go 2 weeks without eating until she died of a colon infection in their freezing house: Police

A woman in Pennsylvania is behind bars after authorities say her 4-year-old daughter died due to a severe bacterial infection in her colon and was found “cold to the touch” in a house without heating.

Sarah Brubaker, 36, has been charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. She is in the Clearfield County Jail, with bail set at $1 million.

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On the morning of Dec. 20, 2025, Brubaker was at her house in DuBois, Pennsylvania, when she found her young daughter “cold to the touch,” according to a criminal affidavit obtained by regional NBC affiliate WJAC. The city is in the central area of Pennsylvania, about 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Brubaker and the child’s father — who has reportedly since died — tried to care for the girl before taking her to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

An autopsy later found that the girl died from pseudomembranous colitis, described by the Mayo Clinic as “advanced inflammation of the colon that can cause serious or life-threatening diarrhea.” The medical examiner reportedly ruled the death a homicide caused by neglect.

The DuBois Police Department interviewed the defendant, and she allegedly said her daughter had not eaten for at least two weeks and had been having diarrhea. She added that the girl had balance issues and had been feeling weak.

When investigators secured a search warrant for the family home, they apparently found troubling conditions.

While the home appeared “very clean and orderly” and even contained Christmas decorations, it was frigid, with the heating system shut off, and ice had been forming on the inside of the windows, per the court document. The heating system — a free natural gas well on the property — wasn’t broken; it had been intentionally shut off, WJAC reported.

And while there were two working refrigerators inside, neither had food in them, and no lights were being used in the home.

Brubaker allegedly admitted that they were going through difficult financial times, though she did not pursue available help, including an investment fund of $100,000 or more that her family could reportedly access.

The defendant had her preliminary arraignment on Wednesday. She is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing next week.

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