§ 4303. Concealing death of child.
(a) Offense defined.--A person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree if he or she endeavors privately,
either alone or by the procurement of others, to conceal the death of his or her child,
so that it may not come to light, whether it was born dead or alive or whether it
was murdered or not.
(b) Procedure.--If the same indictment or information charges any person with the murder of his or
her child, as well as with the offense of the concealment of the death, the jury may
acquit or convict him or her of both offenses, or find him or her guilty of one and
acquit him or her of the other.
(Oct. 4, 1978, P.L.909, No.173, eff. 60 days; Mar. 31, 1995, 1st Sp.Sess., P.L.985,
No.10, eff. 60 days)
1995 Amendment. Section 18 of Act 10, 1st Sp.Sess., provided that the amendment of section 4303 shall
apply to offenses committed on or after the effective date of Act 10.
Cross References. Section 4303 is referred to in section 2106 of Title 20 (Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries);
sections 5329, 6344 of Title 23 (Domestic Relations); section 1515 of Title 42 (Judiciary
and Judicial Procedure).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
16
cases (
6 in the last 5 years), 1988–2026 · leading case:
Com. v. Krock, S., 282 A.3d 1132 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2022).
Com. v. Krock, S., 282 A.3d 1132 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2022).
· cites it 2× “Rather, the issue on appeal concerns whether Krock was “[an] other person supervising the welfare of [the] child[ren],” 18 Pa.C.S. § 4303(a)(1), at the time of the accident.”
Commonwealth v. Moran, Aplt, 104 A.3d 1136 (Pa. 2014).
· cites it 2× “[J-99-2013] - 15 the scope of the definition of benefit beyond conduct proscribed by § 4701’s predecessor statute, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4303 (repealed),11 to include “every possible type of offer made or designed to influence official action.”
Commonwealth v. Ogin, 540 A.2d 549 (Pa. 1988).
· cites it 2× “[2] 18 Pa.Cons.Stat.Ann. § 4303 (Purdon 1983).”
K.T. v. L.S., 118 A.3d 1136 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015).
“18 Pa.C.S. § 4303 (relating to concealing death of child).”
Off. of Disciplinary Couns. v. Cappuccio, 48 A.3d 1231 (Pa. 2012).
“On March 10, 2009, Respondent entered a guilty plea to three counts of endangering the welfare of children, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4303(a)(1), one count of criminal use of a communication facility, 18 Pa.”
K.T. v. L.S., 118 A.3d 1136 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015).
“18 Pa.C.S. § 4303 (relating to concealing death of child).”
J.M.P. v. M.C.K. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2017).
“18 Pa.C.S. § 4303 (relating to concealing death of child).”
Com. v. Chapman, K. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019).
“§ 780-113(a)(30) and 18 Pa.C.S. § 4303. ____________________________________ * Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.”
Com. v. Gudino, A. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2021).
“§ 2502(c)), endangering the welfare of a child (“EWOC”) (18 Pa.C.S. § 4303(a)(1)), and recklessly endangering another person (“REAP”) (18 Pa.”
Com. v. Smith, T. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2023).
“§ 3126(a)(7); and 26 counts of endangering the welfare of children, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4303(a)(1). He was sentenced on June 23, 2010, to an aggregate term of 24 years’, 8 J-A29011-22 months’, and 1 day to 76 years’ incarceration.”
S.F. v. Pa Dhs (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2023).
“5 Before the hearing, CYS requested a stay because Petitioner was charged with a misdemeanor count of 18 Pa. C.S. § 4303, Endangering the Welfare of Children (EWOC), and criminal proceedings had commenced.”
In the Interest of: A.S. Appeal of: R.S. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2025).
“The [dependency] court also heard testimony regarding anger issues and a conviction for the ____________________________________________ 2 18 Pa.C.S. § 4303(a)(1). -2- J-A09020-25 criminal charge of endangering the welfare of children regarding Father[3] .”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4303(a) — 1 case
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4303(a)(1) — 6 cases
Com. v. Krock, S., 282 A.3d 1132 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2022).
“Rather, the issue on appeal concerns whether Krock was “[an] other person supervising the welfare of [the] child[ren],” 18 Pa.C.S. § 4303(a)(1), at the time of the accident.”
Off. of Disciplinary Couns. v. Cappuccio, 48 A.3d 1231 (Pa. 2012).
“On March 10, 2009, Respondent entered a guilty plea to three counts of endangering the welfare of children, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4303(a)(1), one count of criminal use of a communication facility, 18 Pa.”
Com. v. Gudino, A. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2021).
“§ 2502(c)), endangering the welfare of a child (“EWOC”) (18 Pa.C.S. § 4303(a)(1)), and recklessly endangering another person (“REAP”) (18 Pa.”
Com. v. Smith, T. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2023).
“§ 3126(a)(7); and 26 counts of endangering the welfare of children, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4303(a)(1). He was sentenced on June 23, 2010, to an aggregate term of 24 years’, 8 J-A29011-22 months’, and 1 day to 76 years’ incarceration.”
In the Interest of: A.S. Appeal of: R.S. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2025).
“The [dependency] court also heard testimony regarding anger issues and a conviction for the ____________________________________________ 2 18 Pa.C.S. § 4303(a)(1). -2- J-A09020-25 criminal charge of endangering the welfare of children regarding Father[3] .”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.