TODDLER’S DEATH

Discovery of toddler's body delays trial until Oct. 7

Steven King accused of lying about baby Elaina

Steven King II’s case was delayed Thursday after Elaina Steinfurth’s body was found in a box at his family’s home.

With last week’s discovery of the remains of a missing East Toledo toddler, the trial of a man charged with lying to police about the case has been pushed back until Oct. 7.

Steven King, II, 23, of 704 Federal St. appeared Thursday before Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Ruth Ann Franks and a packed courtroom, where his attorney asked for Monday’s trial to be postponed.

“There is obviously some additional discovery involved in the case, and the investigation continues,” attorney Pete Rost told the court.

Jeff Lingo, chief of the criminal division for the prosecutor’s office, said that because further testing is needed in the case, prosecutors were not opposed to delaying Mr. King’s trial.

Mr. King is charged with obstructing justice in the June 2 disappearance, and now death, of his estranged girlfriend’s 18-month-old daughter, Elaina Steinfurth. The toddler’s mother, Angela Steinfurth, 25, of 329 Valleywood Dr. was in the Lucas County jail on the same charge.

Additional charges are expected after police, acting on a tip, found Elaina’s remains Sept. 5 inside a box in the rafters of a detached garage at the Federal Street home owned by Mr. King’s family and where the toddler was last seen. DNA testing confirmed her identity earlier this week.

Although an autopsy was performed by the Lucas County Coroner’s Office, the coroner has not yet determined the cause or manner of Elaina’s death.

Mr. Lingo said after the hearing that until his office gets test results and other information in the case, it cannot file other charges or present the case to a grand jury.

Family members of Elaina are anxious for answers.

“We got our baby and we can put her to rest, but coming down here, wasting everybody’s time...,” Richard Schiewe, stepfather of Angela Steinfurth, said in frustration.

Terry Steinfurth, Sr., paternal grandfather of Elaina, said his son is making funeral arrangements for Elaina, although her remains have not been released by the coroner’s office. He said he knows the criminal cases may move slowly, but said that’s OK.

“We don’t want to see it thrown out on a technicality,” he said. “So let them take their time and do it right.”

Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.