Warren woman sentenced to seven years in prison in 2017 death of boy, 3

Staff report

WARREN

Prosecutors acknowledge they don’t know exactly what killed Amari D. Allen, 3, while in the care of Lynette Talley last May.

But the story Talley told police wasn’t true, said Diane Barber, assistant Trumbull County prosecutor.

Talley, 64, of Southern Boulevard, pleaded guilty Friday in common pleas court to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter and received seven years in prison from Judge W. Wyatt McKay.

Talley was originally charged with murder after the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Amari’s death a homicide, the result of blunt-force trauma to the head.

Talley told police the boy’s May 5 head injury occurred at a home on Clearwater Street Northwest because he choked while eating chicken and noodles and fell back, hitting his head on the kitchen floor. He died May 8.

The coroner’s office said the boy’s head was struck by or hit against an object, but he didn’t die from what Talley said, and there was no evidence of choking, Barber said.

Talley was the boy’s legal guardian and the only adult present when Amari was injured. There were three children younger than Amari and one teenager in the house at the time. The teen told police something similar to what Talley said, Barber said.