Ada man pleads guilty to role in woman’s death

An Ada man pleaded guilty today in Hardin County Common Pleas Court to his part in the 2011 death of a Lima woman.
Austin Griesheimer pleaded guilty to one count each of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated possession of drugs as a result of a late-night death at a party of Emily Christen of Lima.
According to Prosecutor Brad Bailey, Griesheimer, 21, of 317 E. University Ave., Ada, along with two others, drove to Lima on June 30 last year and spent $50 to purchase a single oxymorphone pill. They returned to a house, south of Ada on Ohio 309, and shared the pill.
The party continued into the early morning hours, said Bailey, and it is believed Christen took other drugs during that time. After passing out, he continued, the others at the party shook her awake at about 4 a.m., but when they returned at 6 a.m., the woman was dead.
An autopsy identified the oxymorphone pill as the cause of her death, along with the other drugs. Since Griesheimer had supplied the woman with the pill, a grand jury had agreed he should face charges in her death.
Griesheimer’s attorney William Kluge, agreed with most of the statements of fact as presented by Bailey, but said he and his client believe Christen had taken a large amount of drugs at various times during the evening.
“There is no question, Austin went to Lima to get the pill,” said Kluge. “But he did not force her to take the drug.”
“I didn’t ingest the drug,” Griesheimer told the court after the statement was presented.
Judge William Hart said the Ada man was not charged with anything regarding taking the drug, but in providing it and possessing it.
Friends and family members openly wept as Hart found Griesheimer guilty of each of the two counts and set sentencing for Sept. 24 following a pre-sentence investigation.
Griesheimer could face from 3 to 11 years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter charge and a fine of $20,000. The aggravated possession of drug charge could bring as much as an additional year in prison and another $2,500 fine.
Derek Mullett of Alger and Amanda Johnson of Lima are set to appear before a jury upon similar charges in Christen’s death. Mullet’s trial is scheduled for Sept. 18 and Johnson’s is set for Nov. 8.

By DAN ROBINSON
Times staff writer

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Posted by Kenton Times on August 20, 2012. Filed under Local News,Recent Headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry