Prosecutor says girl died of head injuries

WARREN — Fourteen-month old Destiny N. Seybert died of head injuries, but Jamie A. Champlin will not face the death penalty because he’s not accused of killing her intentionally, an assistant prosecutor said.

Champlin, 27, of 173 Royal Mall Drive in the Royal Mall Apartments in Niles, pleaded innocent Tuesday morning to murder and endangering children in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. His bond was continued at $750,000, and he remains in Trumbull County Jail.

Michael Burnett, an assistant county prosecutor, said the murder charge accuses him of killing the girl as a result of him assaulting her and causing blunt force trauma to her head.

He’s also charged with endangering children because he was the child’s guardian at the time she was assaulted. Champlin was alone with the girl, babysitting her, at the time the assault occurred, Burnett said. The girl was the daughter of his live-in girlfriend, Jennifer Kuhn.

To charge Champlin with a crime that would have made him eligible for the death penalty, police would need to show that Champlin intentionally killed the girl, Burnett said.

The assistant prosecutor refused to say whether any type of instrument was used to injure the child’s head or otherwise describe the method used to injure her. The girl did have bruises on her body, but they were not life-threatening, he said.

If convicted, Champlin could be sentenced to 23 years to life in prison.