Friday, February 11, 2000
Hamilton man charged in girl's death years after shaking injury
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MILFORD TWP. — Since being violently shaken as an infant, Ashley Smith could do almost nothing without the help of others.
The girl, who died Oct. 31 at age 8, suffered so much brain damage that she couldn't talk, sit or even hold up her head. She had to stay in her hospital bed or sit strapped in a wheelchair.
Ashley, who was adopted when she was 2 by Elbert and Kathy Smith of Milford Township in Butler County, had to be fed through tubes to her stomach and intestines.
Thursday, John C. Cooper, the boyfriend of Ashley's biological mother, was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter in the little girl's death. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Mr. Cooper, 30, of Hamilton was found guilty in 1990 of shaking the girl when she was 31/2 weeks old. Convicted of endangering children, he spent 12 months in jail on that charge.
Mr. Cooper, a manager at a KFC restaurant in Mount Healthy, pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing Thursday before Judge Michael Sage of Butler County Common Pleas Court. Mr. Cooper is free on $10,000 bond.
The new charge does not consti tute double jeopardy because it's based on a new element of the crime, said Dennis Adams, assistant county prosecutor. “With the death, it's a new crime altogether,” he said.
Mrs. Smith said she was gratified by Mr. Cooper's arrest.
“I feel he took her life the day he shook her, even though she lived after that — if you can call it living,” she said. “He spent 12 months in jail. She was sentenced to life in a body of pain.”
The Smiths, who live in a large white farmhouse on 62 acres and operate a heating-and-air-conditioning business, also adopted two other severely handicapped children.
Michael A., whose middle initial distinguishes him from Mike J., the Smiths' biological son, is a 9-year-old who also is a victim of “shaken baby syndrome.” Phoenix is a 6-year-old whose physical problems were traced to her biological mother's use of crack cocaine and alcohol during the pregnancy.
The Smiths, who have three adult children of their own, pay for 12- to 16-hour-a-day nursing care at their home.
Because of Ashley and Michael A., Mrs. Smith has tried to educate others about shaken baby syndrome and other forms of child abuse. She sometimes took Ashley along on those speaking events.
The Smiths tried to involve Ashley in family activities. They took her to Disney World, and Ashley rode with them on their boat in Lake Okechobee in Florida.
As Ashley grew older, her many physical problems worsened.
In the last 13 days of Ashley's life, medical staff from Star Shine Hospice of Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati came to the Smiths' house to help care for her.
Ashley was in so much pain that she was on continuous morphine. “In the last few days, we had to push a button every 10 minutes to give her extra doses of morphine,” said Roberta Cottle, a nurse who had helped care for Ashley.
The Smiths received permission from zoning authorities to bury Ashley on their property. The grave is in a grove of trees next to a hayfield.
The day before Ashley died, Mrs. Smith told her she was trying to arrange for her to be buried at home.
She thinks Ashley somehow understood that even after she died, she wouldn't have to leave her home. “I felt that she was just holding on until she knew she was going to be staying here,” Mrs. Smith said.
“It makes me feel so much more at ease, to know she's here with me and always will be,” Mrs. Smith said.
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