Woman indicted for leaving young son to die after injury

A 33-year-old Dayton woman accused of leaving her 1-year-old son injured and unresponsive in his crib after he reportedly hit his head on a chair was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury.

Wanisha Smith was indicted on involuntary manslaughter and endangering children, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

“This woman injured her child, and instead of seeking medical attention, left him alone in his crib,” said Mat Heck Jr., prosecutor. “No one, including the defendant, checked on this child until firefighters found his badly decomposed body. This case is yet another that confirms that additional work must be done to ensure children in our community are in a safe environment. No child should endure this kind of extreme abuse and neglect.”

The indictment filed in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court gives a wider timeline for when the alleged incidents may have occurred. The indictment says the incidents took place between Feb. 1 and June 9.

Previously, Dayton police said that during an interview, Smith admitted that on or around May 16, she injured her son, Darius Hall

Jr., by “bumping his head into a chair and rendering him unconscious and unresponsive.”

“She stated although she knew he was injured, she never attempted to provide medical care for him,” the affidavit filed in Dayton Municipal Court says. “She stated she then left him alone ... knowing doing so would cause him to die.”

Police were called to Smith’s apartment in the 1800 block of North James H. McGee Boulevard on June 9 after neighbors reported a smell coming from the apartment. Dayton fire crews found the remains of a small child, later identified as Hall, inside.