Mother's intuition got Struthers child out of harm's way, official says

STRUTHERS

Yvonne Wilson, diversion officer at Struthers City Schools, said a recent investigation into purported abuse of a kindergartner began with a gut feeling.

“It was mother’s intuition that something just wasn’t right,” Wilson said.

In the recent case, Wilson said she became concerned about the child’s absences since the child first entered the school system in November 2015.

Other signs, including bruises on the girl’s body, also raised alarm bells for Wilson – and for the school nurse and the child’s teacher, Wilson noted.

Lisa Marenkovic, 27, and Beau Geidner, 27, both of Struthers are facing felony child-endangering charges. Police searched their Fourth Street home Monday on a warrant.

Marenkovic is the child’s mother, and Geidner is Marenkovic’s boyfriend. They are being held in the Mahoning County jail on bonds of more than $100,000 each. Their next court appearance is a Wednesday morning pretrial hearing in Struthers Municipal Court.

After the arrests, Mahoning County Children’s Services gained emergency custody of the child.

Wilson credited cooperation between school officials and local law enforcement for getting the 5-year-old out of harm’s way.

Read more about the case in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.