Napoleon man gets 8 years in prison in death of child

David Knepley, seen here in court in February, was sentenced to eight years in prison for the overdose death of a 3-year-old girl.

NAPOLEON – A Napoleon man convicted of giving a lethal dose of prescription drugs to a 13-month-old girl was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison.

David Knepley, 51, was convicted by a jury in February of involuntary manslaughter and child endangering stemming from the Aug. 15, 2007, death of Kamryn Gerken. He was not the child’s father but was living with Kamryn and her mother, Jayme Schwenkmeyer, at the time.

Henry County Common Pleas Judge Keith P. Muehlfeld imposed the prison sentence and ordered Knepley to pay a $10,000 fine.

Schwenkmeyer, 25, of Liberty Center, Ohio pleaded no contest March 29 to a reduced charge of reckless homicide and was sentenced last week to four years in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. She was given credit for 333 days she’d already spent in jail.

Prosecutors said Knepley gave Xanax and oxycodone to Kamryn and that Schwenkmeyer was present in the apartment they shared, knew the child had been given the drugs, but failed to protect her. An autopsy showed the toddler died from an overdose of the two drugs.