Foster agency under scrutiny after
child's death
By RAE
WILSON
Brown News
Service
September 6, 2006
 BUTLER
COUNTY - The search for Marcus Fiesel, 3, ended last week in Brown
County. Fiesel, who was autistic, was believed to have been
incinerated on a farm near Higginsport.
The fireplace and chimney are all that remain of an old burned-out
farmhouse, northwest of Higginsport, on Marriot Road. Fiesel's
foster father is believed to have burned the body there.
The child was placed in foster care with David and Liz Carroll by
Lifeway for Youth, a foster agency operating out of Butler County,
14 weeks ago.
Children's Services officials said during the time Fiesel was in the
home, he was seen 26 times by case workers and county employees from
Lifeway for Youth.
On Thursday morning, Fiesel was the main topic of the Butler County
Commissioners meeting. Attendees asked for police to become more
involved in foster situations and to help look for problems in the
homes before they materialize. Others suggested that all foster
parents take lie detector tests and be submitted to psychiatric
screening.
David Carroll, who allegedly burned Fiesel's body, was later found
to be bipolar and also had faced charges for domestic violence.
Since the incident, Butler County has suspended any new placements
with the agency. Lifeway's Director Michael Berner said Butler
County has pulled 12 children from Lifeway families since the review
started and is reviewing 100 cases of children previously in homes.
 The
agency, according to their website, currently has 170 employees and
works with 600 children in 300 foster homes.
In a report on WKRC television channel 12, Johnny Sloan, Children's
Services board chairman, was interviewed and stated, " We do the
very best we can to keep on top of all these youngsters. Wherever
the systems are weak, we need to improve the systems, but the
reality is there is not a system strong enough to overcome the
weakness of society."
A lawsuit is likely pending for Butler County, while the State
Department of Jobs and Family Services is already investigating the
Fiesel case and expects to have a report ready in six to eight
weeks.
Fiesel's foster parents, Liz and David Carroll, claimed he
disappeared from Julifs Park on Aug. 15. Liz Carroll said Fiesel
walked off when she passed out from low blood pressure. However,
days later, no witness could say they had noticed the boy in the
park with his foster mother.
A community-wide search for the boy followed, involving 16 crews of
about 200 people. Police and fire departments, along with civilians
and four K-9 units searched for four days.
Fiesel was placed with the Carrolls when his mother claimed she
could no longer take care of the boy. Reports of Fiesel's previous
wandering made the story seem believable, and the search continued
until Monday, Aug. 28, when Liz and David
This fireplace and chimney are all that remain of an old
Carroll
were charged with two counts of child endangerment.
burned-out farmhouse, northwest of Higginsport, on
Marriot Road where Marcus Fiesel’s foster father,
David Carroll, is believed to have burned the body
The couple was investigated early on, according to Hamilton County
police.
According to Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, on Aug. 4 the
couple attended a family reunion and left Fiesel at home, locked in
a closet. When they returned on Aug. 6, he was dead. On Aug. 10, a
social worker arrived at the Carroll's home to check on Fiesel and
was sent away when his foster mother claimed he was sick.
The couple is still claiming that they are innocent. According to
Deters, the Carrolls have "lied to the bitter end."
The couple have now been charged with two counts of involuntary
manslaughter and one count each of false alarm and inducing panic.
David was also charged with one count of gross abuse of a corpse,
while Liz was charged with two counts of perjury pertaining to
statements made before the grand jury last Monday.
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