PARENTS OF DEAD GIRL INDICTED
PARENTS OF DEAD GIRL INDICTED
Janice Haidet
October 17, 1992
Dayton Daily New
A Cedarville couple faces felony charges that claim their failure to seek medical help contributed to the death of their 6-year-old adopted daughter.
Timothy and Kathleen Carroll, of 3315 Straley Road, were indicted Friday on charges of involuntary manslaughter, an aggravated third-degree felony carrying maximum penalties of 10 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. However, if convicted, the parents could be granted probation. The charges stem from the Sept. 21 death of Hannah Carroll. A Down syndrome child and one of nine adopted children living with the Carrolls, Hannah died three days after her parents said she got into some household bleach, causing lung damage and burns on almost half her body.
"Nobody's saying they intentionally killed this child," said Greene County Prosecutor William F. Schenck. "There's nothing to suggest that the parents were home when the incident occurred. The question is why they didn't get medical care for this child who so obviously needed it."
Greene County Coroner's Chief Investigator William McCarthy said the bright red burns caused by the bleach extended from the child's shoulders to her thighs.
The Carrolls are to be arraigned Thursday before Judge Thomas M. Rose.
They are also expected to appear in Greene County Juvenile Court for a Nov. 6 hearing on the custody of the remaining seven children in the home.
A Columbus adoption agency that still had custody of Chloe, a newborn that the Carrolls were in the process of adopting, removed the child pending the outcome of the investigation of Hannah's death.
By indicting the Carrolls, the grand jury apparently believed a violation of the state's child-endangering law led to Hannah's death, Schenck said.
The Carrolls' attorney, John H. Rion of Dayton, criticized the grand jury following the indictments.
"At a time when this country is up in arms about the crime rate, this grand jury takes this good and decent family and puts them into the criminal courtroom," he said. "They will be exonerated."
The couple could not be reached for comment Friday.
Of the nine children living in the Carroll home, only James, 16, and Hosea, 9, are without mental or physical handicaps. Both James and Hosea, along with Mrs. Carroll, testified before the grand jury about the events leading up to Hannah's death, Rion said.
Rion was not permitted to present evidence before the grand jury. "This case demonstrates the danger of the grand jury process," he said. "This indictment was expected. It's a natural consequence when the grand jury only listens to what the prosecutors have to say and not what the defense attorney has to say."