YOUNGSTOWN Baby's drug death is ruled an accident

A city police detective said the department would seek an involuntary manslaughter indictment against the grandmother.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Trumbull County coroner's office has ruled that the death of a 15-month-old boy who ingested 10 to 50 times the therapeutic level of a prescription painkiller was accidental.
Justin W. Hoschar likely ingested between nine and 13 of the 20-milligram oxycodone pills while unsupervised by a caregiver who was likely intoxicated and unable to properly care for him, said forensic pathologist Humphrey D. Germaniuk in an autopsy report completed today.
Justin died Dec. 10 at Forum Health Tod Children's Hospital. He had been taken to the hospital Dec. 7 in a comatose state.
Germaniuk ruled that he died of an overdose of oxycodone. Oxycodone is a prescription painkiller, known by the brand name OxyContin.
The boy's grandmother, Mary Ann Barnett, 45, of Julian Street, was caring for the boy at the time of the overdose. Julian and his older sister had been living with her in the South Side home, police reports show.
Barnett has not been charged with his death, but Youngstown Police Detective Sgt. Daryl Martin said the department will ask the prosecutor's office to seek an indictment on an involuntary manslaughter charge by presenting the case directly to a Mahoning County grand jury.
Police Capt. Robert Kane said the involuntary manslaughter charge would be based on child endangering.
"She certainly was responsible for the baby's well-being," he said. "She was reckless in that regard."
Unsupervised action: Germaniuk reports that it is unlikely that someone intended to kill the child by forcing him to ingest the pills. He said it is more likely that the child swallowed them while unsupervised.
He bases the ruling on police reports that show that investigators found several loose pills in the home and that the grandmother was high on drugs and unaware of her surroundings on the day the child was admitted to the hospital. Further, Germaniuk reports, a bubble gum wrapper was found in the child's stomach.
"This would be more suggestive of an unsupervised and perhaps hungry or simply curious child putting things into his mouth," Germaniuk writes. "The environment is certainly consistent with such a scenario."
The child could ingest the pills on his own because they are small and easy to swallow, Germaniuk reports, and an outer coating has no taste.
Arrest: Barnett was arrested Dec. 8 after police found suspected OxyContin and other loose pills in her home.
She has pleaded no contest in Youngstown Municipal Court to three misdemeanor drug charges in connection with the matter and awaits sentencing. Two felony drug charges have been bound over to a grand jury.
She told court officials in December that Justin and his 2 1/2-year-old sister were living with her because the children's parents -- her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend -- were unable to care for them.
She told police she takes OxyContin for pain but doesn't have a prescription and buys it on the street.