Liz Carroll's trial starts today

Foster mom's trial starts today in death of disabled toddler
Kinsey, Terry. Columbus Dispatch, Feb. 12, 2007, pg. D5.

The trial of a woman charged in the death of her 3-year-old developmentally disabled foster son, who authorities say was wrapped in a blanket and packing tape and left in a closet, is set to begin today.

Liz Carroll, 30, and her husband went to a family reunion in Kentucky in August. Marcus Fiesel was dead when the Carrolls returned two days later, authorities say. Both are charged with murder, kidnapping, felonious assault and child endangering.

Her husband, David Carroll Jr., 29, who will be tried separately starting March 19, also is charged with gross abuse of a corpse. Prosecutors allege that he took the child's body to a rural area of southwestern Ohio, burned it and dumped most of the remains into the Ohio River.

Authorities found some small, charred bone fragments near a crude, outdoor fireplace, but DNA tests weren't conclusive.

The Carrolls both have pleaded not guilty, and Clermont County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ringland has issued a gag order for prosecutors and defense attorneys.

The case has triggered calls for reforming Ohio's foster-care system.

The state has moved to revoke the license of the private agency that helped place Marcus with the Carrolls.

Last week, Lifeway for Youth said it would no longer fight the decision and will stop doing business in Ohio.

Prosecutors have said the Carrolls' live-in companion, Amy Baker, provided information leading to the couple's indictments. She is among 14 potential prosecution witnesses.

Ringland also has ruled that prosecutors may use grand jury testimony, in which Liz Carroll acknowledged finding Marcus' body in the closet, against her in the trial.

After jury selection begins, the judge can rule at any time on a defense motion to move the trial from southwestern Ohio, where the boy's disappearance and the foster parents' indictments were widely reported.

But moving a trial happens only rarely.

"It's the exception rather than the rule," said Adam Steinman, a professor at the University of Cincinnati's College of Law. "The overriding context is whether the defendant can get a fair trial."

The Carrolls also face trial on lesser charges, including perjury and inducing panic, in Hamilton County, where they told authorities on Aug. 16 that the boy wandered off or had been taken from a park during an outing with Liz Carroll.

Hundreds of volunteers searched for the boy for days.

Ringland has set aside five days for the trial.