Judge asked not to seal records in day- care death

WARREN — The Trumbull County prosecutor’s office has asked a judge to deny the sealing of records, known as expungement, for a Southington woman who was indicted in the 2011 death of a baby in her care.

Sarah Kaiser, 35, of McConnell East Road, was indicted on charges of murder, felonious assault and child endangering in December 2011 after a 3-month-old boy died June 6, 2011.

The boy died at Akron Children’s Hospital of abusive head trauma. He was taken there after being discovered not breathing at 1 p.m. June 1 at a Newton Falls day-care facility.

Kaiser was the sole care provider for the boy for about 90 minutes June 1, 2011, just before the boy stopped breathing, according to Vindicator files.

The Summit County medical examiner’s office ruled the death a homicide Sept. 15, 2011.

But in October 2012, Judge Peter Kontos dismissed the charges against Kaiser at the request of the county prosecutor’s office, which said information it received after Kaiser’s indictment raised questions about whether they would be able to prove Kaiser’s guilt.

The charges can be refiled at a later time, the judge indicated. Murder has no statute of limitations.

The case hinged on the differing opinions offered by several doctors who examined the medical evidence.

Attorney John Large, who filed a request last July to have the records in the case sealed, said Kaiser “cannot find any meaningful employment” because of records at the Common Pleas Court and elsewhere related to the case.

“Therefore, as it currently stands, defendant is forever doomed to unemployment,” the filing says.

Diane Barber, an assistant county prosecutor, said in a filing that Kaiser “remains a suspect in an open homicide investigation,” and “there is nothing to suggest that these charges cannot or will not be brought in the future.”

She added, “Due to the nature and severity of the crimes which led to the premature death of an infant who was in the care of [Kaiser], it is the state’s position that the state has a legitimate and prevailing interest to maintain the records in this case.”

Large said in a filing that prosecutors and investigators still will have “full access to the sealed records” if it continues to investigate the matter or file charges in the future.

Kontos has had two hearings in the case but has not ruled on the matter.