Couple charged with manslaughter, child abuse for 4-year-old son’s death.

Couple charged with manslaughter, child abuse for 4-year-old son’s death.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

GRANT TOWNSHIP — A 32-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman were arrested Friday, Aug. 26, on charges of manslaughter and second-degree child abuse in connection to their 4-year-old son’s death, according to Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast.

Schutter

Jacob Scott Schutter and Jodi Michelle Neino were served warrants by the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office in their home at 4075 W. Clay Road. They were lodged in the Oceana County Jail, and their bail was set at $10,000/cash/surety/10 percent. Both have since bonded out, said Sheriff Mast.

Substances believed to be drugs, along with drug paraphernalia, were found in their home at the time of their arrests, he said.

Neino

The death certificate lists the cause of death as “toxic effects of para-fluorofentanyl and fentanyl,” said Mast. The manner of the death is listed as “indeterminate.” 

The 22-page police report that details the investigation of Eli Jude Schutter’s July 1death reveals “uninhabitable” living conditions in the single-wide trailer where the little boy, his six siblings — including an infant — and their parents lived near Rothbury. The children have since been removed from the couple’s home by Child Protective Services.

The couple are scheduled for probable cause hearings in Oceana County’s 79th District Court, Sept. 13, at 3 p.m.

Manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and second-degree child abuse carries a maximum 10-year sentence.

“All of my investigating officers found the scene to be extremely bad on multiple different levels,” said Mast. 

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