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Assistant Principal leaves her 2-year-old girl to die in hot car
Yea, I saw that one too...
The Enquirer - Girl in car for 8 hours
Plus an update : First On 5: Assistant Principal Left Toddler In Car Previously - News Story - WLWT Cincinnati
ONE MORE: Only On 5: Friend Speaks Out About Toddler's Car Death - News Story - WLWT Cincinnati
The Enquirer - Girl in car for 8 hours
UNION TWP - The 2-year-old girl found dead in her mother’s car Thursday was in the vehicle from at least 8 a.m. until about 3 p.m., said a spokeswoman for the Clermont County coroner’s office.
An autopsy was performed this morning on Cecilia Slaby, who was discovered in the car parked outside at Glen Este Middle School, where her mother, Brenda Slaby, is an assistant principal.
The girl was strapped in a rear car seat. None of the windows was left down. Emergency crews tried to resuscitate her. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The preliminary determination is the child died of systemic hyperthermia, or heat-related causes, according to Debbie Hawkins, an administrative assistant/investigator for Clermont County coroner Dr. Brian Treon.
Calls from people who spotted Cecilia began flooding the Union Township Police Department around 3:14 p.m., Lt. Scott Gaviglia said.
When officers arrived in the parking lot of the school, at 4342 Glen Este Withamsville Road, they found the child.
The temperature in the area was at least 98 degrees from noon on, according to Union Township police. It would have been much hotter inside the car.
Clermont County Prosecutor Don White said the death was apparently an accident and no decision would be made on whether the mother would be charged with a crime such as child endangering until after a complete investigation by police. WTMF?!?!?!?!?
Gaviglia said the investigation might be finished Sunday. Police might try to meet with White as early as Monday.
The case is the top priority of police, and most of the department’s six detectives are gathering information, Gaviglia said. They are putting together a timeline of what happened to the child over the course of the day.
Slaby was apparently at the school for a faculty meeting, Gaviglia said. School is to begin Monday.
The office of Hamilton County coroner Dr. O’dell Owens performed the autopsy.
The child’s body will remain in the Hamilton County morgue until claimed by a funeral home on behalf of the family, Hawkins said.
An autopsy was performed this morning on Cecilia Slaby, who was discovered in the car parked outside at Glen Este Middle School, where her mother, Brenda Slaby, is an assistant principal.
The girl was strapped in a rear car seat. None of the windows was left down. Emergency crews tried to resuscitate her. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The preliminary determination is the child died of systemic hyperthermia, or heat-related causes, according to Debbie Hawkins, an administrative assistant/investigator for Clermont County coroner Dr. Brian Treon.
Calls from people who spotted Cecilia began flooding the Union Township Police Department around 3:14 p.m., Lt. Scott Gaviglia said.
When officers arrived in the parking lot of the school, at 4342 Glen Este Withamsville Road, they found the child.
The temperature in the area was at least 98 degrees from noon on, according to Union Township police. It would have been much hotter inside the car.
Clermont County Prosecutor Don White said the death was apparently an accident and no decision would be made on whether the mother would be charged with a crime such as child endangering until after a complete investigation by police. WTMF?!?!?!?!?
Gaviglia said the investigation might be finished Sunday. Police might try to meet with White as early as Monday.
The case is the top priority of police, and most of the department’s six detectives are gathering information, Gaviglia said. They are putting together a timeline of what happened to the child over the course of the day.
Slaby was apparently at the school for a faculty meeting, Gaviglia said. School is to begin Monday.
The office of Hamilton County coroner Dr. O’dell Owens performed the autopsy.
The child’s body will remain in the Hamilton County morgue until claimed by a funeral home on behalf of the family, Hawkins said.
Assistant Principal Left Toddler In Car Previously
BATAVIA, Ohio -- A police report indicates that Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby left her 2-year-old daughter alone in a car on previous occasions prior to the girl's death.
News 5's Brian Hamrick said the Union Township police report on Cecelia Slaby's death said that Nesselroad-Slaby left the girl in a car on "numerous occasions", including at least once in the week prior to the girl's death.
Brian Hamrick Reads From Police Report
Hamrick said that the report indicates that investigators talked to current and former workers and discovered that Nesselroad-Slaby left the girl in the car while she was at the Compass School in Mason.
Hamrick said that some of the reports were documented, while others were not.
The report indicates that investigators were pushing for a child endangering charge. Prosecutor Don While said Tuesday that he would not prosecute Nesselroad-Slaby in the girl's death.
Hamrick is still going over the report and will have more later today on News 5 and WLWT.com.
BATAVIA, Ohio -- A police report indicates that Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby left her 2-year-old daughter alone in a car on previous occasions prior to the girl's death.
News 5's Brian Hamrick said the Union Township police report on Cecelia Slaby's death said that Nesselroad-Slaby left the girl in a car on "numerous occasions", including at least once in the week prior to the girl's death.
Brian Hamrick Reads From Police Report
Hamrick said that the report indicates that investigators talked to current and former workers and discovered that Nesselroad-Slaby left the girl in the car while she was at the Compass School in Mason.
Hamrick said that some of the reports were documented, while others were not.
The report indicates that investigators were pushing for a child endangering charge. Prosecutor Don While said Tuesday that he would not prosecute Nesselroad-Slaby in the girl's death.
Hamrick is still going over the report and will have more later today on News 5 and WLWT.com.
Only On 5: Friend Speaks Out About Toddler's Car Death
Related: Today Show Interviews Prosecutor
POSTED: 10:34 pm EDT September 5, 2007
UPDATED: 8:55 am EDT September 6, 2007
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- For the first time, a friend of the assistant principal who is accused of leaving her 2-year-old girl to die in a hot car spoke out.
Gwen Bala said Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby is living in a prison of guilt and remorse.
Bala came forward on the same day police revealed that Ceclia Nesselroad-Slaby was left in a hot car on three separate occasions.
She said that despite the allegations, her friend's children meant the world to her.
"Those children are her life, and nobody understands the kind of pain and misery she is going through right now," said Bala.
She said that Nesselroad-Slaby wanted to tell her story, and chose Bala to tell others.
"She wants people to know that this was a tragic, tragic accident. It was a mistake," said Bala.
According to the police report, it was almost two weeks ago the Glen Este Middle School assistant principal arrived at school. Security video shows she remembered to unload the doughnuts she brought for meetings but left her daughter in her car seat.
Police said that eight hours later, the little girl was found dead.
Bala said her friend was distracted by the pressures of the first day of school and thrown off by the fact that her husband, Gary Slaby, was the one who usually dropped their daughter off at day care.
"She didn't see her, she couldn't see her from the back when she opened the back hatch to get the doughnuts out," Bala said. "In her mind, Cecelia was with Gary."
Clermont County prosecutors decided Tuesday not to file criminal charges, overruling investigators from the Union Township police department, despite the fact that the child had been left unattended several times before.
Bala said when the girl was left alone, it was for minutes, not hours.
"She forgot, and she completely forgot. It wasn't like she thought, 'Oh I'll go get her later,' she was completely on autopilot," said Bala.
She said that Nesselroad-Slaby has received threatening phone calls and e-mails from those who think she should rot in jail for what happened. She said those people should think about what really happened.
"I say to those people that they better do some deep soul searching before they judge and condemn others, because it can happen to anybody," said Bala.
She said her friend would give anything to reverse what happened.
"She loves her, she misses her, it's a tragic accident and she just wishes she could go back and do that day over again," said Bala.
Prosecutor Don White Appears On "The Today Show"
The story of Cecelia Slaby's death was put before a national audience Thursday morning on The Today Show.
Matt Lauer interviewed Clermont County prosecutor Don White via satellite and asked why Nesselroad-Slaby would not be charged.
White replied that under Ohio law, he would have to find that Nesselroad-Slaby had knowingly left the girl in the car in unsafe conditions to be able to find her actions reckless.
White said that he knew that Nesselroad-Slaby had left Cecelia in the car before, but said the circumstances and time involved were vastly different than the events that lead to Cecelia's death.
White said that Nesselroad-Slaby's actions were negligent, but Ohio law doesn't recognize that as the standard for charges in this situation.
Lauer mentioned in one question that Family Services officials are looking into whether Nesselroad-Slaby's 5-year-old daughter should be allowed to remain in the family's home.
"I have no reason to believe that (Nesselroad-Slaby) won't take care of this child," White replied.
White said that his office took several days to make a decision on charges because they were trying to find out everything about Nesselroad-Slaby, even asking for a mental evaluation.
Related: Today Show Interviews Prosecutor
POSTED: 10:34 pm EDT September 5, 2007
UPDATED: 8:55 am EDT September 6, 2007
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- For the first time, a friend of the assistant principal who is accused of leaving her 2-year-old girl to die in a hot car spoke out.
Gwen Bala said Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby is living in a prison of guilt and remorse.
Bala came forward on the same day police revealed that Ceclia Nesselroad-Slaby was left in a hot car on three separate occasions.
She said that despite the allegations, her friend's children meant the world to her.
"Those children are her life, and nobody understands the kind of pain and misery she is going through right now," said Bala.
She said that Nesselroad-Slaby wanted to tell her story, and chose Bala to tell others.
"She wants people to know that this was a tragic, tragic accident. It was a mistake," said Bala.
According to the police report, it was almost two weeks ago the Glen Este Middle School assistant principal arrived at school. Security video shows she remembered to unload the doughnuts she brought for meetings but left her daughter in her car seat.
Police said that eight hours later, the little girl was found dead.
Bala said her friend was distracted by the pressures of the first day of school and thrown off by the fact that her husband, Gary Slaby, was the one who usually dropped their daughter off at day care.
"She didn't see her, she couldn't see her from the back when she opened the back hatch to get the doughnuts out," Bala said. "In her mind, Cecelia was with Gary."
Clermont County prosecutors decided Tuesday not to file criminal charges, overruling investigators from the Union Township police department, despite the fact that the child had been left unattended several times before.
Bala said when the girl was left alone, it was for minutes, not hours.
"She forgot, and she completely forgot. It wasn't like she thought, 'Oh I'll go get her later,' she was completely on autopilot," said Bala.
She said that Nesselroad-Slaby has received threatening phone calls and e-mails from those who think she should rot in jail for what happened. She said those people should think about what really happened.
"I say to those people that they better do some deep soul searching before they judge and condemn others, because it can happen to anybody," said Bala.
She said her friend would give anything to reverse what happened.
"She loves her, she misses her, it's a tragic accident and she just wishes she could go back and do that day over again," said Bala.
Prosecutor Don White Appears On "The Today Show"
The story of Cecelia Slaby's death was put before a national audience Thursday morning on The Today Show.
Matt Lauer interviewed Clermont County prosecutor Don White via satellite and asked why Nesselroad-Slaby would not be charged.
White replied that under Ohio law, he would have to find that Nesselroad-Slaby had knowingly left the girl in the car in unsafe conditions to be able to find her actions reckless.
White said that he knew that Nesselroad-Slaby had left Cecelia in the car before, but said the circumstances and time involved were vastly different than the events that lead to Cecelia's death.
White said that Nesselroad-Slaby's actions were negligent, but Ohio law doesn't recognize that as the standard for charges in this situation.
Lauer mentioned in one question that Family Services officials are looking into whether Nesselroad-Slaby's 5-year-old daughter should be allowed to remain in the family's home.
"I have no reason to believe that (Nesselroad-Slaby) won't take care of this child," White replied.
White said that his office took several days to make a decision on charges because they were trying to find out everything about Nesselroad-Slaby, even asking for a mental evaluation.
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