Father pleads to lesser charge in baby's death

LISBON -- A father has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless homicide in the dehydration death of his daughter.
Alan L. Jakes Jr., 26, of Midland, Pa., entered the plea Monday in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court.
He originally had been charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering children. Jakes will be sentenced later. He could face up to five years in prison.
Authorities said he and his wife left one of their children, Machaly, then 5 months old, in a room at their apartment in East Liverpool on Feb. 15, 2005.
The mother, Renee N. Boyd, 24, was recently sentenced to four years' probation on a charge of reckless homicide, a third-degree felony, which carries a one- to five-year prison term.
She is serving the first six months at Eastern Ohio Corrections Center in Lisbon, an intensive probation program.
Authorities said the couple had left the infant alone overnight for more than 12 hours. When Boyd returned home, she called paramedics. An autopsy was performed, and the cause of death was determined to be dehydration and overheating.
Officials said the baby had been wrapped in a blanket in a hot room. The adults had failed to properly monitor the child, the prosecutor's office said.