2ND DEATH OF CARROLL CHILD RULED HOMICIDE

2ND DEATH OF CARROLL CHILD RULED HOMICIDE

November 25, 1993

Janice Haidet

Dayton Daily News

A second Carroll death has been ruled a homicide, and the fate of the Cedarville family's remaining youngsters continues to be debated.

Greene County Coroner Manoj Desai made the ruling in the death of Josiah Carroll, 12, last Thursday, apparently unbeknownst to other officials. Greene County Prosecutor William F. Schenck said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the ruling. He has spent the past three days in Greene County Juvenile Court, where the Carroll family has been embroiled in an intense custody battle. Kathleen and Timothy Carroll, who had adopted 10 children, want to regain custody of Samuel, 5, and Isaiah, 12, two disabled youngsters who were removed from their home Aug. 17 in the wake of a coroner's inquest looking at four suspicious deaths, including Josiah's.

The custody hearing recessed Wednesday and will resume Friday.

"It's helpful to us in determining whether there should be a prosecution," Schenck said. "The possibility of prosecution in the case remains very high."

Schenck said he is consulting with two additional experts for their opinions on whether Josiah was smothered, before deciding whether to take the case to a grand jury for consideration of charges.

"We're aware of no new evidence to support the homicide ruling, but if the government decides to prosecute anyone, we're ready to go forward," said John H. Rion, who represents Mrs. Carroll and her adopted son James, 17, who was acquitted of charges earlier this month in the bleach-burning death of Hannah, 6. Her death in 1992 was the first in a series of five deaths of disabled children adopted by the Carrolls.