BATAVIA, Ohio — A woman, shaken as a baby by Scott Alan Wilson in 1985, died in 2006 as a result of injuries inflicted by Wilson that day, a court determined this week.
Wilson's trial began on Jan. 23 and on Jan. 24 he entered a plea of no contest and was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Heather Gentry.
According to the Clermont County Prosecutor's Office, on Jan. 5 1985, Wilson was at home with a woman and her 6-week-old daughter, Heather. The woman got into the shower while Heather slept, leaving her with Wilson prosecutors said.
While the woman was in the shower, Heather began to cry, but her crying abruptly stopped. Later that day, Heather's mother found her baby would not wake and was unresponsive, so she and Wilson rushed her to a pediatrician. That physician instructed them to take Heather immediately to Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
Two days later, the Clermont County Sheriff's Office was alerted to Heather's injuries and began investigating, according to the prosecutor's office.
Prosecutors said Wilson confessed to detectives that he'd shaken Heather.
On December 1, 2006, Heather died. Her cause of death was determined to be encephalopathy "due to late effects of blunt trauma to the head," and her case was ruled a homicide, prosecutors said.
From the day Wilson shook her until her death 21 years later, prosecutors said Heather was confined to a bed, unable to walk or communicate and required a feeding tube and around-the-clock care.
"Because of Wilson, Heather had absolutely no quality of life," reads a press release from the Clermont County Prosecutor's Office.
The case was brought to prosecutors in August 2022, when investigators began gathering witness statements and medical records detailing Heather's medical needs over the years.
"In securing this conviction for her death, I hope there is some peace found for Heather and her family," said Mark Tekulve, Clermont County prosecutor, in a press release. "I sincerely thank the Clermont County Sheriff's Office for their willingness to follow up with this investigation and prepare a case that ultimately led to this conviction."
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