Boyfriend charged in 3-year-old's death denied bond

WARREN

A Warren Municipal Court judge on Thursday ordered that Arthur A. Harper, 43, be held in the Trumbull County jail without eligibility to make bond.

The judge entered a not-guilty plea to Harper’s felony child-endangering charge and said Harper is not eligible for bond because he is a flight risk.

Harper is charged in the death of his girlfriend’s son, Russell Cottrill, 3, who was unresponsive Saturday evening in the High Street Northeast home where he lived with his mother and Harper.

The boy died in a Cleveland hospital Wednesday of “severe head trauma,” Warren police said.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s office said an autopsy was performed Thursday, but no ruling on the cause and manner of death has been made. A spokesman said he didn’t know the reason why a ruling is not available or how long it will be, but he said the spelling of the boy’s last name is Cottrill, not the spelling given by Warren police.

Harper could face additional charges depending on the results of the autopsy, police said.

A High Street neighbor said Wednesday that Harper had been living with the boy and his mother since the summertime.

Harper posted a message on his girlfriend’s Facebook page Monday evening, saying of Russell, “rip and u will be loved and miss by everyone.”

His girlfriend posted Wednesday that doctors harvested Russell’s heart, kidney and liver. “I just got word from Cleveland that my son will save three [lives],” she said.