A Medina man was found guilty Wednesday of leaving his toddler-age daughter to decompose for over a month after she died of unknown causes last year.
Eric Warfel, 34, was convicted of four felonies: gross abuse of a corpse, evidence tampering and two counts of cocaine possession. He also was found guilty of three misdemeanor charges of child endangering.
The most serious of his charges is punishable by up to three years in prison, though Warfel’s total prison time could be longer depending on how the judge decides to sentence him on July 7.
According to police reports, Warfel’s 20-month-old daughter, Ember Warfel, died June 18. Her “badly decomposed” body was discovered over a month later, on July 29, by a cable company worker who was attempting to install upgrades in Warfel’s Medina apartment unit. Warfel had apparently moved to a Middleburg Heights motel some time after she died.
The child’s mother lived out of state and did not have custodial rights.
Prosecutors said Ember’s body was so decomposed that medical examiners could not determine the cause of her death. As a result, charges of murder or manslaughter could not be pursued. Warfel’s father said in court documents that Ember suffered from “development issues.”
Another of Warfel’s children, Erin Warfel, died of “sudden unexplained infant death, sustained in a manner undetermined” in March 2013, when she was 5 months old. Warfel was not charged in Erin’s death.
Warfel’s trial began May 23 and lasted through the next day. His trial — which included 14 witnesses for the state and no defense witnesses — was heard by Medina County Common Pleas Judge Christopher J. Collier because Warfel declined a trial by jury.
Warfel’s attorney, Michael O’Shea, said on Wednesday that he intends to appeal the case to higher courts.
“We have no choice,” O’Shea said.
O’Shea didn’t contest many of the facts of the case. Instead, his argument in court centered on whether prosecutors had the authority to charge Warfel for the treatment of his daughter’s body.
“This is really a case more about how the law works than what the facts are,” he said. “We have a very firm belief that we are right about the law, and the state of Ohio cannot bring the charges they did, and Mr. Warfel cannot be found guilty.”
County Prosecutor Dean Holman said he was pleased the judge rejected O’Shea’s arguments.
“The case was over complex legal issues,” he said, “and we’re appreciative of the court’s diligence working through those issues, and of the work of the Medina city police department.”
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ.