The Sixth District Court of Appeals in Toledo ruled Tuesday, Nov. 10, that caregiver Jeffery King, 42, was reckless — not just careless — when a disabled 19-year-old died tangled in his safety harness in a Wood County group-home van, and upheld King’s patient-endangerment conviction and 12-month prison sentence. The victim, who had autism and a seizure disorder and could not speak, had a care plan requiring a caregiver within arm’s reach at all times. On March 3, 2024, King stayed in the van’s front seat on his phone while his coworker went inside a house for about five minutes to pick up dinner; she returned to find the young man tangled and turning purple. King told police he heard the struggle: “I just sat there watching him slip out of it. But I thought he gave up.” Judge Gene Zmuda wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel. A first jury deadlocked; a second convicted King after a trial that began Nov. 4, 2025. King is in state prison with an expected release date of Dec. 3. Case: State v. King, 2026-Ohio-4465.

Source: Lake Erie Inquiry

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