PATRICK NICHOLAS LERCH - 17 months/ Convicted: Mother; Heather Lerch - Akron OH

Authorities calling death of 17-month-old toddler ‘suspected homicide’


Akron police and the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office are
investigating Sunday night’s death of a 17-month-old toddler as a
suspected homicide.

Meanwhile, a Barberton woman said Tuesday that she called Summit
County Children Services two weeks ago to report that the boy’s mother,
Heather Lerch, 20, was taking him to live with her boyfriend at a
suspected drug house and that she feared for the child’s safety.

Patrick Nicholas Lerch was found unresponsive in his crib Sunday
night at a two-story home in the 500 block of St. Leger Avenue in the
Goodyear Heights neighborhood.

Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards said a working meth lab was found in
the basement of the home during an investigation by responding officers.

The boy, who was taken by an emergency squad to Akron Children’s
Hospital, was pronounced dead at 11:17 p.m., according to the medical
examiner’s report. A medical examiner’s investigator, Justin Benner,
reported finding “apparent bruising” on the child’s body in the
hospital’s emergency room.

Kimberly Clark of Barberton said she called Children Services on Feb.
13 and told the agency that Heather Lerch was taking her son to the
house on St. Leger.

“I called Children Services the day she left and said she was leaving
with that baby to go to a drug house,” Clark said in an interview
Tuesday. “They did nothing even though they already had a case on her
from the homeless shelter.”

Clark said she and her husband, a relative of Lerch’s mother, had
taken in Lerch and her son Dec. 4 because they felt sorry for them and
feared they would have nowhere to stay for the holidays.

Lerch and her son had been living for several months before that at
Harvest Home, a homeless shelter for parents and children on North
Prospect Street in downtown Akron, Clark said.

After reading about Patrick’s death in Tuesday’s newspaper, Clark
said she felt she had to alert someone about her attempt to get the
child to a safe environment.

“I wanted my voice to be heard,” Clark said.

Lerch and the boy came to live in Akron in late August or early
September, Clark said, after leaving their previous home in South
Carolina. Clark said Lerch told her she had to leave there “to get away
from her abusive boyfriend.”

Agency’s response

John Saros, executive director of Children Services, confirmed the
agency had received calls from Clark, and before that, from residents at
Harvest Home in November.

A woman who said she lived at the shelter for several months last
year and knew Lerch and her son also contacted the Beacon Journal to
report her referral.

Tumekia Williams, who later sent a cell phone photo of Patrick to the
newspaper, said a lot of complaints were made to the agency about
Lerch.

“She used to slap Patrick, and we all saw it. We felt he was going to
get taken, but they never did. She was terrible,” Williams said of
Lerch.

Saros said the referral from Harvest Home received a “full investigation.”

“We took a look at the care of the child, the mom’s situation, what
support [services] she had in the situation, and after not only
investigating it, but doing an internal review, came to the conclusion
that the allegations were unsubstantiated,” Saros said Tuesday.

He said the agency did “a great deal of work” on the Feb. 13
complaint from Clark, including a complete safety assessment of the St.
Leger living arrangements and what he described as a “panel review” of
the case.

“We were in the process of following up on all that. There was no
evidence of any drugs, meth lab or anything like that,” he said.

Saros said Lerch “was cooperative with us and indicated that she had every desire to continue caring for her child.”

He said he understands why Clark is upset.

“I mean, I’m upset by this case, OK? This one is really troubling
when you have a 17-month-old toddler who the workers described as a
beautiful child, who they absolutely thought was being cared for by his
mom,” Saros said.

“We are in a great deal of angst over this case, yesterday and today, with the revelations here.”

Saros said he suspects “something very extraordinary happened here,
something unexpected. We still don’t fully understand what has happened
to this child.”

Summit County Medical Examiner Lisa J. Kohler released her agency’s
preliminary investigative report, listing Patrick’s death as a
“suspected homicide,” after a Beacon Journal public records request.

Mother interviewed

Medical examiner’s investigator Benner interviewed Lerch for the
report, saying she told him Patrick often ran and fell. Lerch also was
interviewed about possible drug use in the home.

“She doesn’t know of anyone using or doing drugs and denied any use
herself. She stated she only drank on special occasions,” Benner wrote.

Edwards said Lerch and her son lived on St. Leger with her boyfriend,
Randy Legg, 19, his brother Ronald Legg, 22, and another man, Allen Ray
Kostra, 24.

All four were arrested on multiple felony drug charges and were taken
to the county jail Sunday night, Edwards said. He said they remained in
custody Tuesday and could face additional charges in connection with
Patrick’s death.

Ronald Legg, who also was charged with probation violations for
receiving stolen property and theft, had 10 previous arrests by Akron
police, Edwards said.

Kostra was charged additionally with contempt of court in a theft
case, jail records showed. He had six previous arrests by Akron police,
Edwards said.

Officers and an emergency squad responded to the St. Leger residence
after receiving a 911 call from an unidentified man living there.

“A little baby boy is not breathing. He stopped breathing,” the man told the dispatcher.

A woman could be heard crying in the background of the recorded call.

“He went to sleep, and now we can’t get him to wake up. He won’t breathe or nothing,” the caller said.

Five minutes and seven seconds after the call began, the emergency squad arrived.

Kohler said the autopsy investigation is continuing. The cause and
manner of death will not be official until toxicology tests are
completed in several weeks, she said.

http://www.ohio.com/news/local-news/authorities-calling-death-of-17-month-old-toddler-suspected-homicide-1.267445

4 charged in toddler meth lab death appear in Akron court
Murder and manslaughter charges today

Posted: 12:42 PM

AKRON, Ohio - Arraignments for four Akron residents took place Friday in Summit County Court of Common Pleas. Heather Lerch, 20 and Ronald Legg, 22,were charged with murder and felony child endangering. Randy Legg, 19, and Allen Kostra, 24, were charged with manslaughter.

All four defendants had their own legal representatives. Judge Parker is scheduled to hear pre-trial arguments on April 10.

Bond was continued at one million dollars for each defendant. Unusual in this arraignment was the fact that all defendants appeared together for the video arraignment at the same time.

Appearing in striped jail clothing the four defendants crowded together on the television screen in Magistrate Shoemakers courtroom. This is a case that shocked the Akron Goodyear Heights community. The Summit County Medical Medical Examiner's Office said that the toddler had ingested methamphetamine during a period of neglect and abuse. The toddler Patrick Lerch was found unresponsive in his crib Feb. 26 and taken to Akron Children's Hospital and pronounced dead at 11:17 p.m. of the same day.

Police said chemicals, bottles and other meth-making materials were found in the basement of the home.

All four suspects had appeared earlier in court on drug charges but much more serious charges of manslaughter and murder were added

Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/oh_summit/arraignment-in-akron-court-for-two-charged-in-toddler-death-at--meth-lab#ixzz1rHPiM4tz

Jury finds Akron mother, Heather Lerch, guilty of murder in meth death of toddler son
Lerch will face 15 years to life in prison

Posted: 08/27/2012
Last Updated: 18 hours and 41 minutes ago
By: Bob Jones, newsnet5.com

AKRON, Ohio - A Summit County jury found an Akron mother guilty in connection with the death of her 17-month-old son who overdosed on meth inside a Goodyear Heights home.

Heather Lerch, 21, was found guilty of murder, involuntary manslaughter and child endangering. She was found not guilty on various drug charges.

She will be sentenced Sept. 25 at 9 a.m. before Judge Tom Parker. Prosecutors said she will face 15 years to life in prison.

"Her life is over and her child's life is over and no winners in this situation," Assistant Prosecutor Greg Peacock said.

The Summit County Medical Examiner said Patrick Lerch died from ingesting a high amount of meth. In a statement, the medical examiner said the boy “ingested meth during a period of abuse and neglect.”

Last February, police said they found bottles and chemicals, used for meth-making, in the basement of a St. Leger home, where Lerch's boyfriend, Randy Legg, lived.

Prosecutors said Lerch put the child in grave danger by allowing him to live in a home where meth was being manufactured.

"It was rat-infested. It was a filthy, cold basement where a drug addict and a meth cook were just hanging out," Peacock said.

Two of the jurors cried as the verdicts were read. Lerch sobbed throughout the proceedings.

"Whether she's sorry for what happened to her or sorry for what happened to Patrick, I can't make a distinction between the two," said Detective Gary Shadie, who investigated the crime.

Other people are facing charges in connection with the toddler's death.

Ronald Legg, 22, is charged with murder is and scheduled to stand trial on September 24.

Randy Legg, 19, is scheduled to go on trial October 4 for involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and several drug charges.

Allen Kostra, 25, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other charges and testified against Lerch.

The defense argued that Lerch made bad decisions, but that doesn’t make her responsible for the death of the child.

Kimberly and Daniel Clark are distant relatives of Lerch and allowed her to stay in their Barberton home with Patrick.

They lived there for three months before moving to the Akron home, Kimberly said.

Kimberly said Lerch wasn’t a good mother but didn’t suspect she was involved in meth.

During an interview with NewsChannel5 last February, Kimberly said, “I’m just devastated. He was the sweetest baby you’d ever want to meet. I want her to get the full punishment of the law,” Kimberly said.

Kimberly called Barberton police in January after she noticed Patrick had a black eye.

A Barberton officer filed a call for service report and noted he did not see any obvious signs of abuse.

Lerch told the officer that Patrick was hurt from falling on a toy.

Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/akron_canton_news/Jury-deliberating-in-meth-death-trial-of-Heather-Lerch-charged-with-murder-of-her-toddler#ixzz24rHa0kPf

Another case of Child Services dropping the ball. I hope they are investgated and punished in some way. I hope the mother and the rest of these dopeheads get life in prison.