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Murder charge shocks family, friends of Warren daycare worker
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
An indictment charging Sarah Kaiser, 29, of Southington with murder and assault in the death of 3-month-old Jacob F. Culp “floored” those who know her, Kaiser’s attorney said.
“We’re floored by the indictment that has come out of the grand jury,” said Atty. John Large, a friend of the Kaiser family who represented Kaiser in court Friday.
Kaiser, of McConnell East Road, was indicted Thursday on charges of murder, felonious assault and child endangering by a Trumbull County grand jury.
The baby died June 6 of abusive head trauma at Akron Children’s Hospital, where he was taken after being discovered not breathing June 1 at Church of God Day Care Center on West Broad Street in Newton Falls, where Kaiser worked.
The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the boy’s death a homicide Sept. 15.
He died from lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain as a result of blunt-force trauma to the brain and skull, the examiner’s office said.
Large entered innocent pleas for Kaiser as she stood with him before Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. Kaiser’s expression was blank, and she made no statements in court or in the hallway afterward.
Diane Barber, an assistant county prosecutor, asked Judge Kontos for a bond of $1 million, but Large argued that to be “more than excessive.”
Large added, “Ms. Kaiser has no criminal record, not even a traffic offense. She is a longtime employee of the day care where this incident happened or came to a head.”
Judge Kontos set bond at $500,000.
Kaiser was dressed in a prison uniform, having been arrested on Thursday evening. The murder charge carries a possible penalty of 15 years to life in prison. The other charges carry as much as 16 more years.
Large said after the hearing that Kaiser “absolutely ... believes she’s innocent.”
The Newton Falls Police Department was the first to arrive at the day care at about 1:30 p.m. June 1 on a report that the boy was not breathing.
Two police officers found the child unresponsive, so they deployed an automated external defibrillator and began chest compressions.
Chief John Kuivila also gave the child mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until medics with the Newton Falls Joint Fire District Rescue Squad arrived and transported him to ValleyCare Trumbull Memorial Hospital.
The boy had a heartbeat at TMH and later was flown to Akron Children’s Hospital, where he was in critical condition.
According to the child’s obituary, he was born Feb. 23, 2011, the son of Jonathan P. Jr. and Jennifer M. Adams Culp of Newton Falls. The parents did not speak to reporters after the hearing.
The family, including an older brother, are members of Grace Lutheran Church in Austintown.
The next hearing will be Jan. 9.