LEBANON — A 24-year-old Franklin man, previously charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of his unborn son last October after an alleged assault on his girlfriend, faces more charges.

        In indictments released Tuesday, a Warren County grand jury added charges of reckless homicide and misdemeanor assault against Danny Scearce.

        “In talking to the coroner, those additional charges seemed appropriate to what had happened to this woman and the baby,” Assistant Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel said.

        The assault charge involves Mr. Scearce's 21-year-old girlfriend, Lisa Smith, who gave birth to a stillborn child Oct. 27 after arriving at Middletown Regional Hospital complaining of problems with her 27-week pregnancy.

        Ms. Smith attributed the trouble to a fall down the stairs, but police began investigating the death after an anonymous caller said Mr. Scearce had assaulted Ms. Smith.

        An autopsy by the Butler County Coroner's Office determined the fetus died when the placenta was torn away from the uterus as a result of trauma, police said.

        The couple had a history of domestic violence, according to Franklin police.

        The reckless homicide charge, which is a felony, gives a jury another choice in deciding Mr. Scearce's culpability in the death of the fetus. The offense requires a jury to determine that a defendant knew the consequences of his actions but disregarded them in committing the offense.

        Involuntary manslaughter, also a felony, makes it a crime to cause the death of another or the termination of another's pregnancy as a result of committing or attempting to commit a misdemeanor offense.

        Both felony charges carry a prison sentence of one to five years.

        Mr. Scearce's attorney, Richard West, was not available Tuesday. A woman who answered the phone at his Springboro law office said he is not commenting on the case.

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