Ira Twp. mom guilty of murdering toddler
A 34-year-old Ira Township woman put her hand over her mouth and stared at the jury after the foreman announced she was guilty of murdering her son.
Elizabeth Long faces up to life in prison after she was convicted of second-degree murder and second-degree child abuse in the death of 16-month-old Lukas.
A jury of 12 reached its verdict in about an hour and 20 minutes of deliberations. Long will be sentenced April 14 in Circuit Judge Michael West’s courtroom.
“This is not an individual who can say, ‘But I didn’t know what might happen,’” Senior Assistant Prosecutor Mona Armstrong said after the verdict.
“There was no one who could have prevented Elizabeth Long from causing her son’s death but Elizabeth Long.”
During Long’s trial, which spanned about two weeks, investigators, medical experts and family testified about the day Lukas died and Long’s behavior in the months and years leading up to that day.
Lukas was found dead Jan. 29, 2015, at his Vernier Lane home. Investigators said he died of an overdose of diphenhydramine, or Benadryl.
The 16-month-old had at least 10 times the amount of Benadryl in his system that a normal dose would produce. Prosecution estimated Lukas consumed about a quarter of a bottle of Benadryl.
Testifying in her own defense, Long said she gave Lukas a chewable Motrin and a teaspoon of Benadryl in his bottle the morning of Jan. 29, 2015.
Police were called twice to the home in the two weeks prior to Lukas’ death — once, on Jan. 13, when Long’s 8-year-old son called police because his mother had fallen asleep standing up with Lukas on the changing table; and, on Jan. 28, when Long’s vehicle stalled in the roadway outside her home when she attempted to leave her children to go to a nearby gas station.
Child Protective Services met with the family after the Jan. 13 incident.
Stacks of medical records were reviewed at trial, showing Long had a fear of opioid addiction, exceeded her pain killer prescriptions several times and stole Tramadol prescribed to a family dog.
Long testified she had several medical problems — including diabetes, hypothyroidism and chronic back pain — that required regular use of medication, though she said she tried to find alternatives to opioids for pain management.
“This is a case that demonstrates the harm that can come from the abuse of this type of medication,” Armstrong said. “It’s becoming an epidemic in this country.
“People can debate whether drug crimes are victimless crimes, but I don’t think they can look at this case and say that.”
Long tested positive for hydrocodone and morphine the day Lukas died. She was not prescribed morphine.
Her defense lawyer, James Fifelski, suggested poppy seeds Long ate in bagels and muffins prior to Lukas’ death could have provided a false positive for morphine.
Fifelski also questioned why Long’s husband, Patrick Long, wasn’t a suspect, maintaining the father could have given Lukas an additional dose of Benadryl the night prior.
Medical Examiner Dr. Daniel Spitz had testified that, were Lukas given an overdose the night prior, he would not have been functional the next day.
Fifelski declined comment after the verdict was read.
Neither prosecution nor defense maintained that Long intended to kill her son, but Armstrong argued Long knowingly created a risk of death or serious harm knowing that death could be an outcome — an element required to prove second-degree murder.
“This wasn’t just one occasion where she didn’t exercise ordinary care,” Armstrong said.
“You had all of these incidents leading up to Jan. 29 where the defendant was put on notice of the harm she could and did in fact cause.”
Contact Beth LeBlanc at 810-989-6259, eleblanc@gannett.com, or on Twitter @THBethLeBlanc.
