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‘He can make his peace with God later’: Prosecutors urge David Carroll not be granted parole

Hamilton and Clermont County Prosecutors Joe Deters (left) and Mark Tekulve addressed the media on June 14, 2022.
Cory Sharber
/
WVXU
Hamilton and Clermont County Prosecutors Joe Deters (left) and Mark Tekulve addressed the media on June 14, 2022.

Hamilton and Clermont county prosecutors are calling on the public to urge parole not be granted to a man found guilty of killing his 3-year-old foster son more than 15 years ago.

David Carroll was convicted in 2007 of murdering Marcus Fiesel. In 2006, Fiesel was reported missing from Julifs Park by his foster parents, David and Liz Carroll. Liz Carroll claimed Fiesel, who had special needs, went missing after she had passed out due to low blood pressure.

Prosecutors showed a mugshot of David Carroll during the press conference noting the amount of tattoos he's acquired in prison.
Cory Sharber
/
WVXU
Prosecutors showed a mugshot of David Carroll during the press conference noting the amount of tattoos he's acquired in prison.

An investigation revealed the Carrolls, along with live-in girlfriend Amy Baker, had wrapped Fiesel in a blanket, bound him with packing tape and left him in a closet while they attended a weekend-long reunion in Kentucky. A subsequent coroner's investigation found the temperature in the closet was between 105 and 115 degrees. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters retold the grim details during a press conference Tuesday.

“They said, ‘Hey, you wouldn’t treat your dog this way,' " Deters said. “Well, they didn’t. They took the dog with them on this trip. The thing that still haunts me through my entire career is when we learned that when they left to go on this family reunion and Marcus was wrapped up like a cocoon, is they left the house and could hear him screaming upstairs.”

Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve says they’re working to ensure the public recalls what the perpetrators did to the child.

“They willingly — purposely — put this child in a spot where he suffered immensely, while being terrified and ultimately died,” Tekulve said.

Liz Carroll was sentenced to 54 years to life in prison and won't be eligible for parole until 2060. David Carroll took a plea deal and was sentenced to 15 years to life. His parole hearing is set for next month. Deters says Carroll should never get out of jail.

“All I know is he can’t kill another baby if he’s behind bars,” Deters said. “What he did is enough for me that he should never get out of jail. I don’t care if he found God, I don’t care if he’s preaching to people — I don’t care. He should not get out of jail. He can make his peace with God later.”

The 3-year-old's death led to large scale changes at Butler County Children Services, and at the state level.

Cory Sharber attended Murray State University majoring in journalism and political science and comes to Cincinnati Public Radio from NPR Member station WKMS.