Warren man indicted in death of common-law wife’s 3-year-old son

WARREN — A Trumbull County grand jury indicted Arthur A. Harper, 43, of High Street Northeast, on charges of murder, child endangering and felonious assault in the Nov. 30 death of his common-law wife’s son, Russell Cottrill, 3.

Harper called 911 at 6:38 p.m. Nov. 28 to report that Russell was unresponsive. The boy died two days later in a Cleveland hospital after suffering what a Warren police detective called “severe head trauma.”

Russell’s mother, Judith Owens, told The Vindicator on Dec. 4 she was reserving judgment on what caused her son’s death, saying: “I try not to judge people, regardless of the outcome. That’s just me. This thing in particular, [Harper] is going to have to live with the rest of his life,” adding later, “We all make mistakes.”

Owens was not home at the time the boy became unresponsive.

For the complete story, read Thursday's Vindicator and Vindy.com