TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — The mother of a 2-year-old boy who was found dead in a bedroom where the thermostat was set so high that the temperature reached 100-plus degrees has been sentenced to two years in prison.
Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Ian English said Thursday that although Megan Giltz wasn’t accused of causing her son Robert’s death, she had been negligent in his care. The toddler was found dead Oct. 6 in a hot room upstairs in Giltz’s home in Toledo.
“After this child was found, in the playpen in which the child was found, there was feces in the pen, on the blanket. There was a bottle of milk that was spoiled that was in the pen with the child,” English said.
Prosecutors said the boy’s body showed some signs of decomposition. An autopsy concluded the toddler likely died from heart problems, though dehydration from a hot environment was cited as a significant condition, The Blade in Toledo reported.
Authorities said Giltz, 31, was charged with obstruction for initially lying to police about how long her son had been in the room and how much nourishment he’d had. She pleaded no contest in May to endangering children and obstructing official business.
Giltz’s attorney, Peter Rost, declined to comment to The Associated Press on Friday. In court, he had asked for Giltz to be placed on community control and ordered into parenting classes.
“The endangering charge is based upon negligence, not abuse,” Rost said.
Giltz didn’t make a statement when given the opportunity to speak.
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