Marcus Fiesel

Marcus Fiesel, 2003-2006

by Rosemary Amey, Sapphire, and an anonymous Wikipedian
February 9, 2007

Marcus Fiesel, was an American foster care child who died under suspicious circumstances. His foster parents, David Carroll and Liz Carroll, are suspected of murdering him.

Life with mother

Marcus Fiesel spent the first three years of his life with his mother Donna Trevino (born Donna Fiesel) and his two siblings, Michael and Peaches, in Middletown, Ohio. He was described by a neighbor as "an awesome little guy" who loved flowers, Bob the Builder, and bubbles. According to friends, he had autism and attended a school for special needs children.

Marcus was a very active child, and his mother found him difficult to cope with. A neighbor said she occasionally saw Trevino weeping with exhaustion.

Trevino also was suffering from domestic violence at the hands of her boyfriend, which led to frequent calls to the police. During these visits, police officers noticed that the home was infested with fleas and reeked of feces.

On September 29, 2005, police observed severe bruising on Marcus' left buttock. The family was also being investigated by child welfare workers, who had received complaints of abuse.

In January 2006, Marcus crawled out of his second-story window and fell off the roof, resulting in a cut to his chin that required stitches.

In April 2006, Marcus was found wandering the streets and was almost hit by a car. Trevino told police that "she didn't know if she could care for her children any more and that it was getting to be too much for her." She believed she was acting in the children's best interests when she handed them over to Butler County.¹

Foster care

Lifeway, a private agency contracted by the state foster care system, placed Marcus in the care of foster parents Liz and David Carroll. At the time, they did not realize that David Carroll has bipolar disorder and that a third adult, Amy Baker, said to be David Carroll's girlfriend, was living in the home. David Carroll's psychological condition would have disqualified him as a foster parent if known. In June, 2006, David Carroll was arrested on a domestic violence charge that was later dismissed. He did not report the arrest to Lifeway, as required.²

Family and friends said that David Carroll did not like Marcus and was jealous of his "constant" need for attention from Liz Carroll and Baker. At one point he left his wife because he wasn't sure he wanted a life with her raising foster children. When he moved back in with his wife, he brought Baker with him.³

Disappearance

Liz Carroll reported that Marcus had gone missing on August 15, 2006. She said that she had been at Juilf's Park in Anderson Township with four children (a child she had with David Carroll, another foster child, a toddler she was babysitting, and Marcus) when she blacked out due to low blood pressure. She said when she regained consciousness, Marcus was missing.^3,4

Hundreds of people, and search dogs, searched the area for Marcus, but found nothing.³

On August 22, 2006, Liz Carroll held a press conference asking that whoever may have taken Marcus return him. She said, "I need help from the public to help my son, Marcus is my son. I know people think foster care is temporary, but please return him to a hospital. [...] Waking up every morning and not having him run to me is very difficult. I am closer than his birth mother to him."⁴

Because no witnesses reported seeing Marcus in the park with Liz Carroll on August 15, and no trace of him was found, police and the public grew suspicious of Liz and David Carroll's claims.⁵

Discovery of Marcus' death

Marcus' incinerated remains were discovered on an 88 acre estate owned by Mike Cales in Brown County, Ohio. Police said that Liz and Mike Carroll had left Marcus locked in a closet, bound with a blanket and packing tape,⁶ while they attended a family reunion in Williamstown, Kentucky August 4-August 6, 2006. Marcus was left without food or water, but authorities believed he was killed by heat rather than dehydration or starvation, as temperatures in the closet may have reached 105-110°F. They found him dead when they returned home. Authorities believed it was David Carroll who incinerated Marcus' body.^5,7

Charges against Liz and David Carroll

Liz and David Carroll are the prime suspects in Marcus' death. Both Liz and David Carroll were indicted in Clermont County, Ohio and Hamilton County, Ohio for playing a part in Marcus' death and hindering the police investigation into Marcus Fiesel's disappearance.

On Monday, August 28, 2006 Liz and David Carroll were indicted by a Hamilton County Grand Jury on two counts of child endangerment, and one count of involuntary manslaughter. David Carroll was charged with an additional count of gross abuse of a corpse.^8,9,10

A day later on August 29, 2006 additional Hamiton County indictments were made against the Carrolls. Both David and Liz were charged on one count of making false alarms, and one count of inducing panic. Furthermore, David was charged with one count of gross abuse of a corpse. Liz was charged with two additional charges of perjury.¹¹

On September 1, 2006 Clermont County Prosecutor Don White and Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters held a joint press conference, where they discussed plans for prosecuting the defendants. All murder and/or homicide charges were to be prosecuted by Clermont County, since Marcus Fiesel's death occurred inside the Carroll's Union Township home. However, since State of Ohio contends the Carrolls attempted to cover up Fiesel's death in Anderson Township, Hamilton County, Ohio all charges related to inducing panic and covering up the death of the child would be prosecuted in Hamilton County.¹²

Several days later on Wednesday September 6, 2006 a Clermont County grand jury indicted David Carroll on eight criminal counts. The charges against the Carrolls included: murder (1 count each), involuntary manslaughter (1 count each), kidnapping (1 count each), felonious assault (1 count each), endangering children (3 counts each). David Carroll was also charged with one count of gross abuse of a corpse.^13,14

Trials

Liz Carroll's murder trial will begin February 12, 2007.¹⁵ David Carroll's murder trial will begin March 19, 2007.¹⁶

Effects on child care

The case of Marcus Fiesel's death has lead to many questions over the placement of foster children within the state of Ohio and elsewhere. Several bills have been put before congress and investigations continue into why he was placed with such people. Many placement organizations have since modified their procedures and intensified their background screening for potential foster parents. More changes are still to come, all stemming form this tragic incident.

References

1. Kelley, E. (September 3, 2006). Short, sad life of Marcus: Little boy's death touched many. Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved on November 27, 2006.

2. McLaughlin, Sheila; Eileen Kelley, Margaret McGurk (August 25, 2006). Caseworker didn't see Marcus: Foster mom said he was sick in last visit Aug. 10, county says. Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved on January 30, 2007.

3. Kelley, Eileen; Quan Truong (August 27, 2006). Questions abound: Questions intensify amid search for missing boy. Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved on February 1, 2007.

4. Terrell, Candice (August 22, 2006). Foster parents of missing boy hold news conference. 9News, WCPO.com. Retrieved on February 1, 2007.

5. Coolidge, Sharon (August 29, 2006). Marcus left in closet, burned: 3-year-old's foster parents accused of locking him up while they went to reunion. Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved on January 31, 2007.

6. O'Rourke, Tanya (August 31, 2006). Timeline: What happened to Marcus. The death of Marcus Fiesel. WCPO.com. Retrieved on February 5, 2007.

7. Police: 'Missing' toddler killed by foster parents. Foxreno.com (August 29, 2006). Retrieved on February 1, 2007.

8. Foster boy dead; Foster parents charged with involuntary manslaughter, WCPO-TV

9. Hamilton County Court Record for David Carroll, Hamilton County Clerk of Courts.

10. Hamilton County Court Record for Liz Carroll, Hamilton County Clerk of Courts.

11. New charges, information in Fiesel case, WCPO-TV.

12. Carrolls to be tried in both Clermont and Hamilton counties, WCPO-TV.

13. Clermont County Court Record for David Carroll, Clermont County Clerk of Courts.

14. Clermont County Court Record for Liz Carroll, Clermont County Clerk of Courts.

15. Foreman, Liz (January 31, 2007). WCPO.com to live stream Liz Carroll trial. The death of Marcus Fiesel. WCPO.com. Retrieved on February 5, 2007.

16. Brunsman, Barrett J. (February 6, 2007). Carroll trial reset for March 19. Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved on February 6, 2007.