BY KYM LIEBLER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- The stepgrandmother of a teen-ager who died after consuming a lethal amount of beer and prescription painkillers pleaded guilty Wednesday to contributing to his death.
Kathy Smith, 49, pleaded guilty in Warren County Common Pleas Court to involuntary manslaughter and endangering a child for giving Joseph D. Blair, 17, two Darvocets after he had already drunk 16 beers from the evening of Feb. 13 through the early hours of Feb. 14.
"I'm glad this is coming to a close," Ms. Smith said after leaving the courtroom with her mother, daughter, sister and ex-husband. "I think of Joey every day."
In exchange for the plea agreement, a third charge that Ms. Smith faced -- corrupting another with drugs -- was dismissed.
Judge P. Daniel Fedders will sentence Ms. Smith after a presentencing investigation is complete.
Ms. Smith could receive probation, or three to 10 years on the involuntary manslaughter charge, and one to five years for endangering a child.
Ms. Smith admitted she gave Joey two Darvocets after he complained of a headache.
She said she had no idea that doing so could cause his death.
The teen's mother, Kathy Jean Smith, 36, pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of endangering a child.
Police said Joey drank 12 beers during the evening of Feb. 13 in the presence of his mother at their Franklin home.
After drinking the two six-packs, Joey walked to his stepgrandmother's house, drank four more beers and took the pills before going to sleep at 3 a.m.
The elder Ms. Smith called 911 at 8:22 a.m. on Valentine's Day when she was unable to wake Joey.
Joey was pronounced dead at a hospital. He died from "acute propoxyphene and ethanol intoxication," according to an autopsy performed by a Montgomery County deputy coroner, or the combination of alcohol and Darvocet.
