Woman Sentenced to Prison After Son Dies of Overdose, Daughter Sexually Assaulted in Hotel

The mother of a Dauphin County child who died of a drug overdose in a hotel room will spend at least six years in prison for child endangerment.

Janae Murray, 41, of the Paxtang area, also allowed a 14-year-old girl in her care to take illegal drugs and be sexually assaulted by Murray’s 36-year-old boyfriend in 2021, court documents say.

The attacks began when the girl was 14 and continued until she was 15.

Dauphin County Judge William Tully handed down the six- to 16-year prison sentence last week when Murray appeared before him to plead guilty to seven counts in two separate cases — one for each child.

Another woman had legal custody of the children at the time of both incidents, according to court documents. The children ran away to join Murray, who put them up in hotel rooms while she worked at a restaurant.

The first child, a 14-year-old boy, overdosed on fentanyl on October 29, 2021 at the Red Roof Inn on Corporate Circle in Susquehanna Township. Police said Murray rented the room for himself from October 27 to October 30.

The woman’s conviction ends a series of criminal cases related to the custody of the children during the period they ran away from their guardians.

Police at the time said the boy who died bought fentanyl for Cheyenne McGinness, a woman now 26, in the hotel room. McGinness was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to corruption of minors for exposing the boy to drugs.

Adalberto Rodriguez-Roman, who gave the teen fentanyl, pleaded guilty June 11 to drug delivery resulting in death and was sentenced to four to eight years in prison.

Police first found the 14-year-old boy at the Susquehanna Township hotel and took him to Hershey Medical Center for treatment.

During that time, the teen told police she learned how to “shoot heroin” and “smoke meth” from Murray’s boyfriend, Joseph Bohn. Her hospital toxicology report showed she had cocaine, marijuana, benzodiazepines and amphetamines in her blood, and that Murray was aware of her drug use, according to police.

The teen later told police in a 2022 interview that Murray knew Bohn was sexually assaulting her, but looked away. Murray sent a message on December 21, 2020 to the girl, acknowledging the ongoing sexual assault and reprimanding her for it.

“How could you do this to me?” Murray sent the teen a message. “What’s wrong with you.”

Murray told the girl she would go to police to file a complaint against Bohn the next day, police said. But Murray never ended up reporting the sexual abuse to police, Dauphin County Prosecutor Katie Adam said.

A recorded phone call two days before the reprimands showed the teen speaking to Bohn on the phone where he was booked into the Perry County Jail on unrelated charges, according to court records. The teen asked if she could take a pregnancy test and a DNA test, but Bohn discouraged her from taking a DNA test.

“(The teen) is concerned that Murray will take a DNA test and that it will lead to charges,” police wrote. It turns out the teen wasn’t pregnant, Adam said.

Bohn pleaded guilty to sexual assault and related charges on April 29 and was sentenced to three to six years in prison by Dauphin County Judge Deborah Curcillo.

Murray pleaded guilty to two counts of endangering the welfare of children, two counts of interfering with child custody and possession with intent to distribute, all felonies. She also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of corruption of minors.

Prosecutors dropped two criminal charges of sexual exploitation of children and unlawful contact with a minor against Murray.

“As a mother, Murray failed in the worst way possible,” Adam said. “His death was preventable.”

The girl is safe and has recovered from her drug use, according to Adam.

“These kids took the right path years ago, and she couldn’t stay away from them,” Adam said.