Monongahela mother acquitted in infant son鈥檚 death sues prosecutors, investigators
The Monongahela mother acquitted earlier this year of causing the death of her 13-day-old son in 2023 is suing Washington County’s district attorney and Monongahela police accusing them of false arrest and malicious prosecution for how they handled the case.
The civil attorney for Darian Helmantoler filed the federal lawsuit July 3 accusing prosecutors and police investigators of filing criminal homicide and other serious charges against her despite finding no evidence that she killed her infant son, Asher, or that she was negligent in his death.
Helmantoler, 24, is suing Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh, First Assistant District Attorney Leslie Mylan, Monongahela police Lt. Ryan Lenzi and Officer Brady Stallings in their individual capacities, along with the district attorney’s office, the county, the city of Monongahela, its police department and the Washington County jail.
Helmantoler was co-sleeping in her bed with Asher on Sept. 12, 2023, when she awoke in the morning and noticed the child was breathing abnormally and appeared to be losing color. She called 911 for help and paramedics arrived at her Chess Street apartment and began tending to the boy, although Asher was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Monongahela police officers responded and immediately suspected foul play, prompting them to begin investigating the incident and questioning the distraught mother at the scene. They eventually brought her back to the police station for questioning, but declined to tell Helmantoler that her baby had died.
“In the midst of this traumatic incident, Ms. Helmantoler was taken to the police station,” the lawsuit states. “Despite verbalizing clear suicidal ideations, Ms. Helmantoler was not offered any medical or mental health treatment. Instead, the Defendants interrogated Ms. Helmantoler.”
During the interview, Helmantoler asked investigators whether her baby was still alive, but they falsely told her they could not reveal that information due to federal medical privacy regulations.
“Ms. Helmantoler also asked the Defendants if the hospital had told them what happened to (Asher) and the police said they did not know yet,” the lawsuit states. “The Defendants ‘did not know yet’ because they charged Ms. Helmantoler for causing the death of (Asher) without an autopsy performed or a cause of death determined by any medical professional.”
Instead, they arrested Helmantoler and charged her with criminal homicide and other felony charges accusing her of causing Asher’s death. The federal lawsuit states the criminal complaint written by Stallings, who was the lead investigator, and approved by Mylan was “woefully inadequate to justify the arrest” of Helmantoler.
An autopsy revealed the child died of sudden infant death syndrome, and the Washington County coroner’s office could not determine the child’s manner of death. An independent review at the behest of the district attorney’s office determined the child died of unexplained sudden death, which is an offshoot of SIDS.
“Defendants lacked probable cause that Ms. Helmantoler caused any injuries to (Asher) or that she acted with malice,” the lawsuit states. “At best, Defendants had a trauma induced statement from Ms. Helmantoler that she may have rolled onto (Asher) after intensive unjustified interrogation. That is far from malice.”
Even without a determination on the manner of death, prosecutors still brought the case to trial, which lasted two days in April and ended with the jury deliberating for less than 30 minutes before returning a not guilty verdict on all charges.
“Despite overwhelming evidence that Ms. Helmantoler did not cause … the death of (Asher), Defendants Jason Walsh and Leslie (Mylan) continued to prosecute Ms. Helmantoler,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit, which was filed at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh, is seeking monetary damages due to the mental anguish suffered from her arrest, imprisonment and prosecution, along with loss of past and future income. It also claims the defendants violated her Fourth and 14th Amendment rights by securing search warrants for her residence and electronic devices without probable cause that she caused her son’s death.
Helmantoler’s Butler County-based civil attorney, D. Robert Marion Jr., did not respond to a phone call Tuesday seeking comment on the lawsuit.
Walsh said Tuesday that he was unaware of the lawsuit, so he was unable to comment on the allegations.
“I’m sure it’s meritless,” he said.
Monongahela police Chief Kevin Harris did not respond to a phone message seeking comment about the department and two of his officers being named in the lawsuit.
Helmantoler is also suing the Washington County jail claiming the staff did not provide her with proper medical care during her more than two-week incarceration as she healed from her recent childbirth, nor did it provide her with mental health services following the trauma of her son’s death. She was eventually released on a reduced bond and was free through the conclusion of her trial.