Hearing slated in case of group home deaths

10/14/2010

A Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge set Oct. 22 to hear an argument as to whether the attorney representing a former group home owner should be granted funds to hire an investigator to help in the case.

Pamela Shay, 60, is charged with two counts each of involuntary manslaughter and recklessly failing to provide for a functionally impaired person. If convicted, she faces up to 23 years in prison.

The charges are a result of the June 9, 2008, deaths of Thomas Calhoun, 47, and John Jones, 79. The men were residents in Ms. Shay's former group home at 1577 Bow St.

Police found Mr. Calhoun dead in an upstairs bedroom, where authorities said the temperature was 90.5 degrees. Mr. Jones, his roommate, died in the hospital the following week, also of heat related causes.

Ms. Shay's attorney, Mark Guedtner, filed a motion requesting funds for an investigator to help with Ms. Shay's defense. The prosecutor's office opposed the motion, saying that changes in state rules meant that the defense had access to all investigative reports on the case.

Judge Gene Zmuda granted time for additional written argument by both parties.