1 week Ago By Mike Jones
The Monongahela mother whose 13-day-old son died unexpectedly while sleeping in her bed nearly two years ago was acquitted on all charges Wednesday after a Washington County jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes. The two-day trial concluded with a lightning quick verdict in which the jury found Darian Helmantoler not guilty of homicide and other felony charges in connection with the Sept. 12, 2023, death of her infant son, Asher.
“There are very few times in my career that a jury in such a serious case has come back so quickly,” defense attorney Michael DeRiso said about the brief deliberations. “To me, that’s an indication that the case never should have been brought because there was no evidence.” Helmantoler, 24, told Monongahela police that she went to sleep with Asher nestled in a baby lounging pillow by her side in the bed.
She awoke around 4 a.m. to feed him and went back to sleep.
But when she woke up again around 8:30 a.m., she rolled over to find her infant lifeless and not breathing, with blood coming from his nose when she went to hold him.
Asher was taken by ambulance to Mon Valley Penn Highlands Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Hours later, Monongahela police charged Helmantoler with homicide and began searching her Chess Street apartment for a blunt force object that officers thought was used to bludgeon the child. But an autopsy by the Washington County coroner revealed Asher died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, and a subsequent review by a private forensic pathologist hired by the district attorney’s office returned a similar finding of unexplained sudden death.
“At the time of the autopsy, they knew this baby was not bludgeoned. There was no shaking or trauma. Nothing,” DeRiso said Thursday.
“So at that moment of time, their (homicide) theory is gone. And from that moment of time ..
. that’s when this case should’ve been dismissed. She should’ve never gone to jail.
She never should’ve been arrested.” Closing arguments were held Wednesday afternoon and Judge Traci McDonald sent the jury of eight women and four men out to deliberate shortly after 4:30 p.m.
, with their verdict returned less than 30 minutes later. Helmantoler, who was also acquitted of reckless endangerment, child endangerment and three felony counts of aggravated assault, burst into tears when the verdict was read. She has been free on unsecured bond after spending more than two weeks in the Washington County jail following her arrest the day Asher died.
“She couldn’t stop crying. Her entire family was in tears,” DeRiso said. “They were grateful to the jury and thanked me for doing what we did.
But there was a lot of crying in her family. A lot of relief and validation, is what that is about.” Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said Thursday that prosecutors accepted the jury’s decision, although he added “we thought the evidence was there” to convict.
“Obviously, we respect the jury’s verdict,” Walsh said. “We disagree with it, but we respect it and stand by our case and stand by the excellent investigation by Monongahela police. This office will still take on cases involving children and make sure children receive the justice they deserve.
” DeRiso said the family has already indicated it plans to sue the district attorney’s office, although he would not be the attorney in the civil case once a lawsuit is filed. Still, he said the criminal prosecution of Helmantoler added to the trauma she already faced by losing her infant son. “She’s getting help for the trauma,” DeRiso said.
“But she still has a lot of trauma going on with this, and the DA’s office just exacerbated that trauma.”.
