Three indicted, two arrested in marijuana-linked death of Athens County infant
An Athens County grand jury indicted three adults over the February death of a three-month-old girl, including William McCallister, 32, who is wanted on murder and drug charges. The girl's parents, Justin Dye, 25, and Hannah Edinger, 29, were arrested on 28 October and each face a felony child-endangering charge.
🇺🇸 Nelsonville, Athens County, Ohio · Ohio, United States
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Arrested
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Charged
3
Deaths
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Three adults were indicted in Athens County over the death of a three-month-old
girl.[1][2][3][4]William McCallister, 32, is charged with murder, endangering
children, felonious assault, corrupting another with drugs and permitting drug
abuse.[1][2][3][4]The indictment’s two drug counts state that McCallister furnished or
administered marijuana to a juvenile.[1][2][3][4]
Deputies arrested them in the Chauncey area and took them to the Southeastern
Ohio Regional Jail.[5]Prosecutors said both parents let their daughter go to
a residence where she was caught up in the circumstances that led to her death.[1][2][3][4]Both pleaded not guilty in Athens County Court of Common Pleas and were
each given a $100,000 bond.[1][2][3][4]Hearings are set for 24 November for Edinger
and 3 December for Dye.[6][4]
Sheriff Rodney Smith said McCallister is alleged to have inflicted fatal
injuries on her.[6]An autopsy report was filed on 28 August.[1][3]The
prosecutor’s office said it waited for the cause of death before deciding on
charges.[6]McCallister’s whereabouts were unknown when the charges were
announced.[1][4]The sheriff’s office asked anyone with information to call
740-593-6633.[5]“Every child deserves to be protected from circumstances that
place their safety and well being at risk,” Athens County Prosecutor Keller J.
Blackburn said.[5]
The indictment dates the child-endangerment allegations from January, the felonious assault from 19 February, and the death charged in the murder count as on or about 21 to 26 February 2026.[2][4]
An arrest warrant for McCallister was issued after the indictment.[7]
The prosecutor’s office said Dye, 25, and Edinger, 29, left their infant daughter with William Alex McCallister on 21 February.[8]
No date is given for the grand jury indictment; the report is dated at the parents' arrests on 28 October 2026.
The sources do not say whether marijuana contributed to the infant's death: the sheriff described fatal injuries, while NBC4 calls the case a marijuana death and quotes the drug counts.
The indictment does not state how much marijuana was involved or whether the juvenile named in the drug counts is the infant.
No trial date or outcome is reported; the parents have pleaded not guilty and McCallister had not been arrested when the reports were published.
The news pages carry booking photographs and a generic image rather than a photograph of the arrests or court proceedings, so no media is listed.
All three accounts draw on statements from the Athens County Sheriff's Office and prosecutor's office; no court filing was opened.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in WTAP: The sheriff's office arrested the girl's parents while the third defendant remains at large.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in WTAP: Justin Dye, 25, and Hannah Edinger, 29, were arrested on 28 October and each faces a felony child-endangering charge.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in WTAP: The girl was left in McCallister's care on 21 February and died on 26 February.
The Yahoo News page is a syndicated copy of the WCMH article already cited in the report, so it adds no independent corroboration.
Fresno County prosecutors charged nine people after Operation No Smoke Zone seized more than 185 pounds of marijuana at seven Spot Smoke Shop locations. All nine pleaded not guilty on November 2, 2026 and are due back in court on December 3.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced felony charges on 30 October 2026 against Fuel On owner Majid Syed and two Ridgway store employees, Adnan Pillay and Haji Afzal, for allegedly selling pure marijuana or illegal THC products over the counter at Fuel On convenience stores in Cameron and Elk counties.
A federal judge held that a Marquette County deputy unlawfully extended a 2023 traffic stop by 17 seconds for a drug-dog sniff that found marijuana and a gun. The court denied qualified immunity and left damages for trial after the state charges had already been dismissed.
A Banning jury convicted Merlin Perales Ortiz, 24, of first-degree murder and conspiracy on 29 October 2026 for the 2020 robbery-killing of 20-year-old marijuana dealer Wesley Flores Miranda in Riverside. Ortiz, held without bail, is due to be sentenced on 18 November and is expected to receive life without parole; her two co-defendants pleaded guilty in 2021.