LISBON -- A 20-year-old Negley man is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and endangering children that date back to December 2024 for allegedly causing the death of a 2-year-old child.
Seth T. Hildebrand, Southern Street, was served Saturday in Negley with the secret indictment issued last week by the Columbiana County Grand Jury. The involuntary manslaughter is a first-degree felony while the endangering children charge is a third-degree felony.
According to the indictment, on Dec. 30, 2024-Dec. 31, 2024, Hildebrand did cause the death of the child born in February 2022 as a result of committing or attempting to cause endangering children. The indictment only lists the child's initials, A.D., and date of birth.
When asked for the child's name, Columbiana County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino said by law, his office can't disclose the victim's name at this time. He said local law enforcement, in this case the county sheriff's office, received a call from UPMC Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa. regarding an injured child. The child apparently died a few days later, in January 2025, at UPMC, with the cause of death blunt force trauma, according to the Office of Medical Examiner for Allegheny County in Pennsylvania.
Abruzzino said the death certificate says the death was caused by blunt force injury to the head, but also said the manner of death was undetermined.
"It's a tragic and preventable death of a 2-year-old. A child's life was cut short by a profound and deadly failure of adult responsibility," he said.
Arraignment is currently scheduled for 1 p.m. July 30 in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court. As of Monday night, Hildebrand remained in the county jail.
The maximum possible penalty he could face includes 11 years for the involuntary manslaughter and three years for the endangering children for a possible total of 14 years.