TOLEDO, Ohio — Caregiver Jeffery King was indicted earlier in October for the homicide of Ethan Kleinhans, a 19-year-old with developmental disabilities who died after tangled in his harness in a transport van seven months ago. But, his mother says the other caregiver assigned to Ethan that day needs to be held accountable, too.
A Lucas County grand jury indicted King for failure to provide for a functionally impaired person.
"He had two caregivers assigned to him and due to actions that both of them decided to do that day or not do that day, this incident happened and he's gone," said DeAnne Kleinhans.
The second caregiver has not been publicly identified.
"I'm glad that they've decided to charge one of them," Kleinhans said. "I just want to make sure that due diligence has been done and everything has been looked at and not just have one as a scapegoat and like 'Oh, we have one. We're good.'"
Kleinhans said she hasn't been told what evidence was presented to the grand jury.
"The criminal process is slow, but I don't plan to give up until all of my questions are answered," she said. "I feel like we've at least made some steps, which is good, but progress is definitely slow."
The Lucas County Coroner's Office ruled Ethan's death a homicide caused by asphyxiation due to neck compression.
WTOL 11 attempted to contact King by going to an address for him listed in court documents, but no one answered.
King worked for ViaQuest at the time of Ethan's death.
A spokesperson for the Dublin, Ohio-based company told WTOL 11 he is no longer employed due to the incident:
"In response to your phone call late this morning and questions asked of the person who answered your call: I can confirm that Mr. King’s employment was immediately suspended upon notification of the incident. Mr. King is no longer employed by ViaQuest. We will continue to cooperate with authorities as they continue the legal process. Our hearts continue to go out to Ethan’s mother and family."
Kleinhans said when the caregivers were serving her son, they failed him, and it cost him his life.
"If you are on the clock and you are working, never is it okay to not be paying attention to what's going on regardless of the amount of care that individual needs," she said. "People who decide to go into this line of work have to remember that these people that need your help are still people and they still have families and they're still important to their families."
King will be in court for an arraignment on Nov. 13.
The Lucas County Prosecutor's Office declined to comment since the situation is still under investigation, a spokesperson said.