BUCYRUS—Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold accepted the guilty plea of Diane Ross, 50, of Galion.
Ross pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment, a felony of the third degree punishable with up to 36 months in prison.
The charges resulted from an incident on May 18th. According to reports, someone from the home called 911 but then hung up. As emergency personnel were tracing the call, Avita Hospital informed them they were treating a toddler with a gunshot wound to the face. The child was transported by medical life flight to Children’s hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
A negotiated plea agreement was presented to Judge Leuthold, but he did not impose it. Instead, Leuthold ordered a pre-sentence investigation and told the court he had the right to accept the plea or reject it. A pre-sentence consists of an intense background investigation and mental health evaluation.
Even though Leuthold did not sentence Ross Wednesday, he did hear victim impact statements from two family members who emphasized the irresponsible behavior of Ross, who failed to secure the firearm and keep it out of the toddler’s reach.
But the most heart-wrenching statements came from Christian’s own mother, who said she was not seeking attention but had this incident not happened, her son would have started pre-school, she would’ve been planning her wedding and preparing for her new career as a Registered Nurse. In part, she told the court she just wants her son back and that Ross was reckless and blatantly neglected her son:
“I want my son back. I want to see him on his IPad. I want to play superheroes outside with him. My heart is broken, my soul is crushed, my faith is shattered.”
Christian’s mother told the court her son would forever be a statistic of irresponsible gun ownership. She told the court she lost her mother just 2 1/2 months after her son. She believes the stress and extreme grief over the loss of her grandson contributed to her mother’s death. She told the court that she was so consumed with grief over the loss of her son that she hadn’t been able to grieve the death of her mother. Referring to Christian, she told the court:
“The first thing I said when they laid him on my chest was “I’ve been waiting on you”… now I will spend the rest of my life waiting to be with you.”
Obviously touched by the victim impact statements, Judge Leuthold told them he appreciated their behavior in a highly emotionally charged environment.
“I am ordering a pre-sentence investigation because I want every fact possible before I rule. This is a joint recommendation, but I am not bound by that. Both parties will be permitted to speak at sentencing as well as the defendant. I have allowed you, folks, to speak today, but if you have something to submit in writing, I will take it into consideration,” Leuthold said.
Leuthold told the court that he realizes there’s a great amount of animosity on both sides of the family.
“My job is to look at this case, look at the facts, look at the law and make a difficult decision,”
Leuthold explained that he must only deal with the facts of the case before him, and the court has no power to charge others accused of also being responsible for the child’s death as ascribed by some that spoke.
“I feel your pain. It is palpable. Very difficult to listen to. Very troubling,” Leuthold said.
A sentencing hearing will be set as soon as the pre-sentence investigation is completed.
Crawford County Now will continue to follow the developments and will be present in the courtroom when the sentencing occurs.