By Austin Rust-
On May 20, Robert Rothwell Jr. of Lynx was arrested by Sgt. Brian Newland of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office on the charge that on or about May 16, he did cause the death of his two-year-old son, Brice Berlin Rothwell, as a proximate result of drug possession – an act in violation of Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Section 2903.04 (A); involuntary manslaughter.
The affidavit filed in this case states that at 4:55 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, 2020, the Adams County Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call from Robert Rothwell Sr. of Lynx indicating that his two-year-old grandson, Brice Rothwell, was brought to his residence unresponsive by Brice’s father, Robert Rothwell Jr., and mother, Lakota Montgomery. During this call, Robert Rothwell Sr. stated that Brice Rothwell had been placed in a cold bath prior to him calling 911. Brice had no known medical issues, Rothwell Sr. explained, but appeared very pale, was cold to the touch, and had purple lips. He did not respond to his mother’s CPR efforts.
Law enforcement officers and emergency medical personnel arrived upon the scene at 5:32 a.m., where life-saving procedures administered to Brice Rothwell ultimately proved unsuccessful. He was declared deceased at the scene and transported to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office for autopsy. Sgt Jason Daniels (of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office) obtained consent to search the residence where the incident occurred from both of Brice’s parents, and found multiple items consistent with the use of illegal narcotics. Sgt. Daniels also seized multiple items as evidence.
At 11 a.m. on May 16, Adams County Sheriff Kimmy Rogers obtained a voluntary urine sample from Robert Rothwell Jr. The test results indicated that Robert Rothwell Jr.’s urine tested positive for fentanyl and morphine. On May 27, Adams County Prosecutor’s Office Investigator Kenneth Dick received word from the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office that preliminary toxicology results had indicated the presence of fentanyl and morphine in the body of Brice Rothwell.
During an interview with Adams County Sheriff’s Office detectives the next day (May 28) Robert Rothwell Jr. stated that he had traveled to the Cincinnati area on May 16, 2020 to buy heroin. Mr. Rothwell explained that before falling asleep that night – in a camper he shared with both Lakota Montgomery and Brice Rothwell – he had placed 3 to 4 grams of “dope” on the window seal near the bed. Robert Rothwell Jr. woke to find Brice Rothwell unresponsive, surrounded by “dope”.
“He was dead,” Rothwell Jr. stated, “with it all around him. Brice was just lying on it dead.”
Robert Rothwell Jr. appeared in court for a preliminary hearing on Monday, June 8. The results of that hearing were not available at press time.
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