Landon S. Parrott pleads not guilty to murder in death of toddler son
NEW PHILADELPHIA – A 20-year-old man accused of killing his 14-month-old son by leaving him in a hot car for five hours last month pleaded not guilty Friday to murder, involuntary manslaughter and two counts of child endangering.
Landon S. Parrott, who is being held at the county jail, appeared via video before Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Ernest. He made no comment during the hearing.
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The judge decided to keep bond at $250,000, which was previously set in New Philadelphia Municipal Court. He also kept in place an order that Parrott have no contact with his wife and the child's mother.
Police said Kyler Parrott died Sept. 1 after being left alone in a car for about five hours near the family's apartment in the 500 block of Ashwood Lane NW. Police Chief Michael Goodwin previously said that the toddler was left in the vehicle deliberately so he would "not be a disturbance while in the house."
Goodwin wrote that the outside temperature reached 87 degrees on Sept. 1. The child would have been exposed to air temperatures well over 100 degrees, although objects inside the car would have been hotter, according to Jan Null, adjunct professor of meteorology at San Jose State University.
If convicted of murder, the only possible sentence for Parrott would be 15 years to life, Assistant County Prosecutor Scott Deedrick said, adding that the sentencing range for involuntary manslaughter is three to 11 years.
The next step in the case will be a pretrial conference Nov. 4, when the judge and attorneys would discuss scheduling a trial.
Ernest appointed public defender John Watters II to represent Parrott.
Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.
On Twitter: @nmolnarTR
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Landon Parrott pleads not guilty to murder in Tuscarawas County court
