ELYRIA — An Avon woman whose 3-month-old daughter died last year after she was found not breathing in her mother’s bed has been charged with endangering children.
Ault
Melissa Ault, 29, was arrested Monday after being indicted by a county grand jury last week.
The baby, Delaney Powell, was found the morning of April 3, 2008, lying face down in her mother’s bed at Ault’s Elizabeth Drive home.
Paramedics gave Delaney CPR and she was rushed to Avon Emergency Care Center before being flown to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, where she was pronounced dead.
Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will said Delaney’s death spurred the investigation into Ault.
“Her condition at the time of the baby’s death was something that violated the duty of care,” he said.
Will said Ault’s actions put Delaney at risk, but he wouldn’t comment on the details of what the investigation revealed.
“They were obviously issues of an endangering nature,” he said.
If convicted of the charge of endangering children, Ault could receive up to five years in prison. Will said that if the evidence had shown that Ault had caused Delaney’s death, she would be facing more serious charges.
Last month, Ault was convicted of theft and identity fraud in an unrelated case in county Common Pleas Court stemming from charges that originated in Avon Lake Municipal Court in December, court records show. She received three years probation.
She also was convicted of DUI in Avon Lake Municipal Court in March of last year, according to court records.
Ault is being held in the county jail on a $15,000 bond.
Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com and Adam Wright at 329-7129 or awright@chroniclet.com.
