JUDGE TO LET CARROLLS TALK TO ACCUSING SON

JUDGE TO LET CARROLLS TALK TO ACCUSING SON

ISAIAH SAID HE SAW ADOPTIVE BROTHER KILL 12-YEAR-OLD

July 6, 1994

Dayton Daily News

A judge agreed Tuesday to allow Timothy and Kathleen Carroll of Cedarville to interview their 11-year-old adopted son Isaiah, who investigators say told them he saw his brother put a pillow or blanket over the face of a sibling prior to the sibling's death.

Richard Cole, a visiting judge in Greene County Juvenile Court, approved an interview. Five of the Carrolls' 10 adopted, disabled children died in a nine-month period.

Isaiah, who has cerebral palsy and communicates with gestures, is currently in foster care.

Greene County Prosecutor William Schenck is seeking permanent custody of Isaiah and two of the Carrolls' other adopted children, saying Isaiah told investigators he saw his brother, James, smother 12-year-old Josiah Carroll in the boys' bedroom June 14, 1993.

But attorneys for the Carrolls dispute that, saying Isaiah never defined any act of homicide. In a custody hearing last Thursday, investigators and speech pathologists said only that Isaiah told them he saw James hurt Josiah by putting a blanket or pillow over his face as he lay in bed.

Schenck said three forensic specialists have concluded that the death was a homicide. However, no charges have been filed.

James Carroll, now 18, was charged with a delinquency count of involuntary manslaughter in the September 1992 bleach-burning death of his 6-year-old sister, Hannah. He was found innocent last November.

Cole made no decision on Schenck's motion for permanent custody of Isaiah and Samuel Carroll, 5, who are both in foster care. He also made no decision on whether to remove Hosea Carroll, 10, from the Carroll home.

Mrs. Carroll said she is eager to have her family reunited.

"I wish he had made his decision today," she said of Cole. "But God's timing is perfect, and we're going to wait and trust in that."

John Rion, attorney for the Carrolls, said he hopes they will be able to interview Isaiah sometime this week.

Cole did rule that no interviews of Isaiah would be permitted without the court-appointed guardian being present. And he allowed the Carrolls' pastor, the Rev. Wesley Brubaker, to administer religious sacraments to Isaiah and Samuel once a week.