TOLEDO, Ohio — UPDATE: Shelly Gantka entered an Alford plea in Lucas County Common Pleas Court and was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. She was sentenced to five years of community control.
The original story is below:
A Toledo mother was charged with involuntary manslaughter and "failing to provide for a functionally impaired person" in the death of her 18-year-old daughter, Baili Cowell, in April.
Cowell's death was ruled a homicide due to "chronic neglect," according to the Lucas County Coroner's Office.
She was found at a home on Chase Street in north Toledo on April 24, where she was pronounced dead. Her mother, Shelly Gantka, was arrested and charged on Tuesday, according to the Toledo Police Department.
Neighbors said they rarely saw Gantka, and never saw Cowell. Some said they weren't aware Gantka had an 18-year-old daughter.
"I didn't know that they had a child in there," neighbor Donisha Toney said. "My other neighbors said that she had cerebral palsy among other health problems, but I did not know that there was a girl in there."
Neighbors said there was a disturbing smell coming from the house.
"It was like a foul stench for two weeks," Toney said. "I didn't realize it was a body in there."
A note on the door from the Toledo Humane Society said many cats were left behind by Gantka when she abandoned the home earlier this year. Neighbors said that wasn't all that was left behind though.
"It's a lot of ticks, fleas, roaches, and there's no telling what else in there," Toney said.
Toney said multiple cat skeletal remains were on the property, estimating Gantka had "about 30 cats."
Toney said a better living situation would've saved Cowell's life.
"If she would have been living in a better environment," Toney said. "I just can't believe it. I'm still appalled."
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