dpJuly 21, 2026, 5:05 p.m. ET
CANTON ‒ A 45-year-old East Canton woman has been indicted on two charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of a 7-month-old baby who was in her care. Melanie DiMarzio also is charged with a single count of endangering children.
Grant Simmons died March 10 in the unlicensed child care business DiMarzio and her husband operated in their three-bedroom home on South Market Street in East Canton.
The indictment alleges DiMarzio created a substantial risk to the health or safety of the child by violating a duty of care, protection or support. It says she failed to meet the state’s sleeping and napping requirements for a licensed family child care provider.
In a 911 call placed seconds before 1:38 p.m. March 10, a woman told a dispatcher that her mother found the baby was not breathing when she went to get him after a nap to feed him. The caller said the baby was turning blue and that her mother was giving him CPR, including rescue breaths.
An Osnaburg Township ambulance arrived within four minutes.
“Upon arrival, EMS personnel immediately initiated life-saving measures,” the East Canton Police Department said in a statement on social media. “The child was then transported to Aultman Hospital for further medical treatment. Despite these efforts, the infant, unfortunately, was unable to be resuscitated.”
Grant was pronounced dead at 2:11 p.m. March 10 at the Canton hospital, 33 minutes after the 911 call started.
The Stark County Coroner’s Office said July 21 that the cause and manner of death for the baby was not yet available. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office was to conduct an autopsy.
After the baby’s death, village officials filed a civil complaint in Stark County Common Pleas Court against Melanie DiMarzio and her husband, Alexander DIMarzio, alleging the DiMarzio house is a public nuisance and has violated local zoning laws with the unlicensed care operation.
In the civil complaint against the DiMarzios, Village Solicitor Stephan Babik wrote that police officers learned that Melanie DiMarzio “did not have appropriate supervision or sleeping arrangements for infants and toddlers at the property.”
He went on to state she had no protocol for emergencies or fires; did not use baby monitors or cameras to keep tabs on children in different areas; and that she didn’t know the last name of one of the six children in the house on March 10.
A call placed to the attorney who represents the DiMarzios in the zoning case, offering him the opportunity to comment on the criminal case, was not immediately returned.
Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.
