ELYRIA — A baby sitter who gave the anti-anxiety drug Xanax to a toddler before leaving to go shop and meet a friend at the movies has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for the child’s death.
Thirty-two-year-old Summer Shalodi apologized Thursday in a Lorain County courtroom and admitted giving 17-month-old Nadia Gibbons the drug while baby-sitting in December 2015.
Shalodi pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter instead of murder in a plea deal.
A prosecutor said Shalodi found Nadia unresponsive when she finally returned home and, instead of immediately calling 911 for help, shook the toddler and immersed her in hot water in a failed attempt to revive her.
Emergency crews found Nadia cold to the touch. The Lorain County coroner ruled she died hours before help arrived.
TOLEDO — An Ohio city councilman running for re-election has been arrested following a confrontation with a local activist.
Social media posts indicate the confrontation happened during a candidate talent show Thursday night at Georgjz419, a bar in Toledo.
Thirty-three-year-old Julian Mack alleges 68-year-old Toledo City Councilman Larry Sykes punched him and grabbed him by the neck after the two exchanged words.
Sykes’ campaign manager Shaun Strong tells The Blade no punches were thrown. Strong says Mack had been antagonizing the councilman, who tried to walk away peacefully.
Mack is involved in several social justice groups such as Black Lives Matter and the Community Solidarity Response Network.
Police have charged Sykes with assault. Sgt. Robert Furr tells the newspaper authorities have video evidence of the altercation.
AKRON — University of Akron officials say the estate of a Quaker Oats Company heiress has pledged $20 million to the school with most of the money paying for scholarships.
University President Matthew Wilson announced the school’s largest-ever donation Thursday.
The gift is from Jean Hower Taber, a great-granddaughter of a Quaker Oats’ founder. She died in July at age 94. Two-thirds of the money will support scholarships for honors students and audiology students.
Taber gave the university nearly $8 million during her life. While she didn’t attend the University of Akron, she received an honorary doctorate from the school in 2004.
Wilson says Taber’s gift will make “many dreams of a college education” possible.
The first Hower Scholarships are expected to be granted in the fall of 2019.
ELYRIA — A sheriff’s office is investigating after human remains were found in a wooded area in northeast Ohio.
The Lorain County Sheriff’s Office says the remains were found by a deer hunter in New Russia Township.
Sheriff deputies were called to the scene around 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Authorities say the skeletal remains of an unidentified person were located and confirmed to be human. The gender and age of the remains are unknown.
Authorities say they don’t know how long the person was in the area.
The sheriff’s detective bureau and the Lorain County Coroner’s Office are investigating. Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to contact the sheriff’s office.