Dad of toddler found decomposed in crib had been granted sole custody

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

A man who told police he put bags of garbage in his young daughter’s room to mask the smell of her decomposing body was granted sole custody of the toddler during a divorce last year.

Eric Warfel, 34, of Medina, a suburb south of Cleveland, was ordered held on a $1 million bond on Thursday after being charged with abuse of a corpse. He was arrested Wednesday after a cable television technician was allowed inside his apartment to upgrade the service and found the body of 21-month-old Ember Warfel in her crib.

A magistrate in Medina read from a report at the bond hearing that said Warfel told police Ember died June 18 and he hadn’t informed family members or anyone else about her death.