COLUMBIANA COUNTY COMMON PLEAS COURT Couple pleads innocent in baby's death

The child died of dehydration and overheating.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- A couple have pleaded innocent to charges in the death of their 5-month old child Feb. 15 at the couple's former apartment in East Liverpool.
Alan Jakes Jr., 24, and Renee N. Boyd, 23, now both of Virginia Ave., Midland, Pa., each face one count of involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, and one count of endangering children, a third-degree felony.
They entered their pleas Friday when they were arraigned before Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge David Tobin.
The judge released them on recognizance bonds.
Called ambulance
Boyd found the boy and called paramedics, said County Assistant Prosecutor Tim McNicol. The police came, started an investigation and ultimately an autopsy was performed to determine the cause of death.
McNicol said the child died of dehydration and overheating.
"The child was left alone for an extended period," McNicol said.
The parents had left the boy "in excess of 12 hours, overnight, and well into the next day," McNicol said.
The couple have another child who is in their custody and is apparently doing fine, according to the assistant prosecutor.
The couple held hands in the courthouse hallway before their arraignment. During the brief hearings, the lawyers representing them corrected the street number of their residence in Midland.
Each said they were indigent. They will have court-appointed lawyers.
Boyd and Jakes will be tried separately before different judges.
wilkinson@vindy.com