Grand jury indicts mother in beating death of infant son

By D.A. Wilkinson | January 27, 2011 at 12:03a.m.

LISBON

Columbiana County Prosecutor Robert Herron said a woman has been indicted on a homicide charge in connection with the death of her child.

The grand jury returned the indictment Wednesday.

Miranda Todd, 23, has been in custody at the Columbiana County Jail since December after David Talbert, a Salem Police Department detective, said that there were indications she might leave Ohio.

She had been charged previously with endangering children in connection with the death.

Herron said the grand jury indicted her on charges of homicide, involuntary manslaughter and endangering children.

Columbiana County Coroner Dr. William A. Graham Jr. previously declared the death of Derek A. Dennison a homicide. Dr. Graham’s autopsy and investigation report on the 7-month-old boy indicated a pattern of abuse.

The boy was taken to Salem Community Hospital and was pronounced dead about 12:38 a.m. July 23, 2010.

Authorities had said Todd had been living on North Ellsworth Avenue in Salem. Her arrest listed an address on McCracken Road in Salem Township.

The coroner, and Atty. Tim McNicol, the assistant county prosecutor who handles child-abuse cases, have agreed that there were no injuries that could have occurred naturally to a child that age.

Her bond was set previously at $250,000 and is continued.