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'IT'S JUST WRONG,' ADOPTIVE MOM SAYS OF EXHUMATION

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'IT'S JUST WRONG,' ADOPTIVE MOM SAYS OF EXHUMATION

October 20, 1993

Janice Haidet

Dayton Daily News

       

Last December, hundreds of white balloons with pink streamers sailed skyward at 3-year-old Mollie Carroll's funeral.

This June, it was hundreds of balloons in wild colors for Josiah Carroll, 12. The balloons were like the children, said their adoptive mother, Kathleen Carroll of Cedarville.

Mollie's balloons "were just as dainty and pale as she was," Mrs. Carroll said, adding that Josiah's represented his vibrant personality. She said the balloons represented the children's spirits leaving their bodies behind.

Now, those bodies have been unearthed from their graves as an investigation into how they died continues. "I don't know that there's any words in any language to describe what happened (Monday)," Mrs. Carroll said.

Following three weeks of legal wrangling, the 12th District Court of Appeals dissolved an order preventing the exhumation of Mollie and Josiah - and Greene County authorities moved swiftly to exhume their bodies.

"They have new bodies in heaven that are perfect and wonderful. My children don't need those bodies anymore. That's not what bothers me," Mrs. Carroll said. "What bothers me is those were the bodies that I held and loved and comforted and took care of, and now, this has undone everything for anybody and everybody that loved my children - and it's just wrong."

Greene County Prosecutor William F. Schenck and other officials are continuing to investigate the possibility of wrongdoing in the children's deaths. Five disabled children adopted by Kathleen Carroll and her husband, Timothy, of Cedarville, died in a nine-month period.

Because the children were buried in Preble County, Schenck had to ask Preble County authorities to give permission for the exhumations.

That permission was granted, but attorneys for the Carroll family appealed. The appellate court allowed the exhumations to proceed.

The bodies of Mollie and Josiah are awaiting examination from experts who believe both children might have been smothered.

Authorities have said they're suspicious about two other deaths as well. Information about the deaths of Hannah, 6, and Noah, 3, were gathered during a coroner's inquest this summer.

Officials say all the investigation is necessary to find the truth about what happened.

No other charges have been filed in the three remaining suspicious deaths.

1993 Oct 20