Niles woman to remain in prison for her infants' deaths in '70, '71

Staff report

COLUMBUS

A former Niles woman who pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in 2003 in the 1970 and 1971 deaths of two of her infant children has been denied parole for 10 more years.

Judge Andrew Logan sentenced Gloria Greenfield, now 64, to one to 20 years in prison in the deaths, which were uncovered many years later by the Trumbull County Coroner’s Office.

The infants, who were less than 30 days old when they were killed, died of asphyxia, said Chris Becker, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor.

At the times of their deaths, the coroner ruled they died of natural causes, but the Trumbull County Coroner’s Office changed the causes of death in 2002, and Niles police began investigating.

The cause of death for three of Greenfield’s children is homicide. Charges connected with the third child were dismissed in exchange for her guilty plea.

The babies were killed so that Greenfield could collect insurance money, Becker said. She received about $3,000 per child, Becker said.