Matthew Lonkoski & Amanda Bodoh/ Bodoh acquitted of child neglect resulting in death of her daughter, Peyton Lonkoski/ Matthew Lonkoski sentenced to 12 years in baby’s death

TOWNSHIP OF PELICAN (WAOW)--Parents of a 10 month-old daughter who died of a morphine overdoes are charged in her death. Oneida County prosecutors charged 22-year-old Matthew Lonkoski with first-degree reckless homicide and 21-year-old Amanda Bodoh with felony child neglect resulting in death.

According to the criminal complaint, while the family was in Michigan on May 2, 2009, 10-month-old Peyton got a hold of a morphine tablet that Lonkoski left on the table. Lonkoski stated he was high on marijuana at the time.

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pathetic!

jeepers who leaves morphine tablets on the table?? were they in the candy dish or what? what do 21 year olds need with morphine anyway? and why do they need that if they got pot??????????????

omg lol.

Juanita, people that leave morphine tablets on a table are the same people that bought the tabs on the street instead of their local drugstore. No child proof cap available when u get them from a dealer. This death was so wrong on every level.

TerryRose wrote:pathetic!

agree with you
also sad

A judge will decide next month whether the statements of a Rhinelander man whose 10-month-old daughter died of a drug overdose should be suppressed.

An attorney for Matthew Lonkoski, 22, claims Oneida County investigators continued to question his client after he asked for an attorney.

Lonkoski was charged with first degree reckless homicide on May 26 after toxicology results showed large amounts of morphine in the blood and urine of his 10-month-old daughter, Peyton Marie Lonkoski.

The baby was found dead in her bed the morning of May 4, just a day after her family moved from Iron River, Mich. to an apartment in the town of Pelican.

The state has argued Lonkoski committed reckless homicide and child neglect by leaving a morphine tablet within the baby’s reach and not taking her to a hospital after she allegedly consumed it.

Lonkoski has entered not guilty pleas to all charges.

Judge Mark A. Mangerson heard testimony and argument on the defense motion Thursday.

During the hearing, Lonkoski’s attorney, Hank Schultz, argued Det. Sara Gardner and Lt. Jim Wood “penalized” his client by putting him under arrest when he clearly said he wanted an attorney.

According to Schultz, after Lonkoski said he wanted a lawyer, he asked the officers if he was under arrest. The response, according to Schultz, was “you are now.” He also said investigators told Lonkoski he was “complicating things.”

At that point, Lonkoski relented and agreed to speak to the officers without a lawyer, Schultz argued.

Schultz said his client was scared and believed the only way he would be released would be to talk without a lawyer present.

According to Schultz, the officers’ behavior sent a message to Lonkoski that “if you insist on asking for a lawyer, if you insist on standing on the Constitution, we’re going to penalize you.”

Oneida County District Attorney Mike Bloom argued Lonkoski was not in custody until he was put under arrest and after the arrest he voluntarily “re-initiated” the conversation with investigators.

After hearing oral argument, Mangerson asked the attorneys to submit briefs outlining case law that supports their positions.

He said he would rule on the motion to suppress Jan. 19.

The baby’s mother, Amanda Bodoh, 22, is also facing criminal charges.

The state is arguing she neglected her child by leaving her in the care of people she knew were under the influence of drugs.

Bodoh is due back in court Dec. 18 for a pretrial conference. Her trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 19.

Lonkoski faces more than 80 years in prison if convicted.

Bodoh could be imprisoned for as long as 25 years if she’s convicted.
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It took about four hours for attorneys to select 13 jurors in the case of a local mother charged in connection with her infant daughter's death.

22-year-old Amanda Bodoh appeared in the Oneida County Circuit Court Tuesday morning in Rhinelander.

She's charged with neglect resulting in the death of her daughter, 10-month-old Peyton Lonkoski.

Officials involved in the case took the stand to explain what Amanda told them about the events surrounding Peyton's death during her questioning.

David Kroll, Detective Sergeant, Oneida County Sheriff's Department, says, "Amanda had told me that Peyton had woke up the previous day with a cold. And that she believed Peyton had re-caught the cold."

Sarah Gardner, Detective Sergeant, Oneida County Sheriff's Department, says, "She mentioned pills. She mentioned morphine. When I asked her about that in more detail she told me that she had overheard a conversation."

Medical experts say the 10-month old girl died from a morphine overdose at the family's Town of Pelican home. Oneida County District Attorney says Bodah was aware the baby's father Matthew Lonkoski was using drugs and left Peyton in his care.

One of Amanda Bodoh's sisters says she's taking the death of her niece Peyton Lonkoski very hard. And she hopes people will not judge her sister Amanda, because she says she's innocent."

Jennifer Bodoh, Amanda's sister, says, "It's very hard because we lost a family member. She wasn't there. They have no clue what's going on. Maybe they should learn a little more in-depth before they make a decision."

A tough decision for a tough case that's now in the hands of the jurors. »

After jury selection, attorneys made their opening statements.

The trial will continue Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. at the Oneida County Courthouse.

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Bodoh's trial is expected to last until Thursday.

For the Love of all that is good and pure in this world, How many more children will have to die at the hands of their parents or caretakers??

It took about four hours for attorneys to select 13 jurors in the case of a local mother charged in connection with her infant daughter's death.

22-year-old Amanda Bodoh appeared in the Oneida County Circuit Court Tuesday morning in Rhinelander.

She's charged with neglect resulting in the death of her daughter, 10-month-old Peyton Lonkoski.

Officials involved in the case took the stand to explain what Amanda told them about the events surrounding Peyton's death during her questioning.

David Kroll, Detective Sergeant, Oneida County Sheriff's Department, says, "Amanda had told me that Peyton had woke up the previous day with a cold. And that she believed Peyton had re-caught the cold."

Sarah Gardner, Detective Sergeant, Oneida County Sheriff's Department, says, "She mentioned pills. She mentioned morphine. When I asked her about that in more detail she told me that she had overheard a conversation."

Medical experts say the 10-month old girl died from a morphine overdose at the family's Town of Pelican home. Oneida County District Attorney says Bodah was aware the baby's father Matthew Lonkoski was using drugs and left Peyton in his care.

One of Amanda Bodoh's sisters says she's taking the death of her niece Peyton Lonkoski very hard. And she hopes people will not judge her sister Amanda, because she says she's innocent."

Jennifer Bodoh, Amanda's sister, says, "It's very hard because we lost a family member. She wasn't there. They have no clue what's going on. Maybe they should learn a little more in-depth before they make a decision."

A tough decision for a tough case that's now in the hands of the jurors. »

After jury selection, attorneys made their opening statements.

The trial will continue Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. at the Oneida County Courthouse.

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The trial of a Rhinelander woman whose 10-month-old daughter died of a drug overdose began Tuesday with the defense arguing Amanda Bodoh trusted her family to take proper care of her daughter.

Bodoh, 22, was charged with child neglect resulting in death last May after toxicology results showed large amounts of morphine in the blood and urine of her daughter, Peyton Marie Lonkoski. The baby was found dead in her bed the morning of May 4, just a day after her family moved from Iron River, Mich. to an apartment in the town of Pelican.

In his opening statement Tuesday, Oneida County District Attorney Mike Bloom said he would prove Bodoh neglected her child by leaving her with people she knew were using drugs.

Bloom said Bodoh knew her child’s father, Matthew Lonkoski, was “getting high smoking marijuana all the time,” and that another person in the household was making arrangements to procure morphine pills, but that didn’t stop her from leaving the baby in their care.

Lonkoski, 22, is charged with first degree reckless homicide in connection with Peyton’s death. His trial has not yet been scheduled.

An investigator testified Tuesday the baby swallowed a morphine tablet Lonkoski left within her reach.

Det. Sgt. Sara Gardner testified Lonkoski told her he was high on drugs and playing video games with a friend when he noticed the pill was gone and the baby was making faces. Gardner said Lonkoski told her he tried to retrieve the pill but it was already swallowed. According to Gardner, Lonkoski told police he didn’t take the baby to a hospital because he was afraid Bodoh would “kick his ass.”

Gardner testified Lonkoski told her the couple had been fighting over his substance abuse and Bodoh had been complaining that he wasn’t pulling his weight as a parent.

In his opening statement, defense counsel Mike Schiek argued the state does not have enough evidence to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Schiek said he would show Bodoh didn’t know Lonkoski was planning to use morphine, before she traveled from Iron River to Rhinelander to clean the couple’s new apartment, and had no reason to believe her baby wouldn’t be safe in the care of her father and several of Bodoh’s siblings.

“When she left, Matt (was) fine, he (was) not high,” Schiek said. “(Amanda) felt comfortable with the situation.”

“This is a case about trusting your family,” he added.

While cross-examining Gardner, Schiek spent a considerable amount of time stressing that Lonkoski changed his story about what happened to Peyton several times and showed very little emotion over her death.

Gardner testified she teared up a little during the interview but Lonkoski remained emotionless.

“He talked about it as if it was a normal thing,” she said.

The first investigator at the scene, Det. Sgt. David Kroll, testified that Bodoh was appropriately emotional over the loss of her daughter. He also testified Bodoh told him Peyton suffered from asthma, and had a cold, but was an otherwise healthy child who was eating and drinking normally during the day preceding her death.

The third witness Tuesday, Lonkoski’s former classmate William Lundberg, testified about his observations of the baby while he was helping Bodoh and Lonkoski move into their new apartment the day before Peyton’s death. He said he thought Peyton seemed sick and should be taken to a doctor.

Lundberg said Lonkoski agreed the child should be examined but never told Bodoh about the morphine pill. He said Bodoh didn’t want to take the child to the doctor because she wanted to finish moving.

Lonkoski was also called to testify Tuesday but he invoked his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.

The trial is expected to continue Wednesday morning with additional cross-examination of Gardner.

The state also has two more witnesses it plans to call before wrapping its case, Bloom said.

Schiek indicated he does not plan to call any witnesses.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations by Thursday.

Bodoh could be imprisoned for 25 years if convicted.

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An Oneida County jury has found Amanda R. Bodoh not guilty of child neglect resulting in death.

The jury of six women and six men deliberated for less than three hours before reaching a verdict Wednesday evening.

The verdict came after Bodoh took the stand in her own defense.

Bodoh told the jury she believed her baby daughter was safe when she left the girl with her father in Iron River, Mich. so she could make arrangements to move into a new apartment in the Rhinelander area.

The child, Peyton Marie Lonkoski, 10 months, apparently ingested a morphine pill while in the care of her father and died a day later. The child was found dead in her bed on May 4, one day after the family moved from Michigan to a new apartment in the town of Pelican.

Bodoh and Matt Lonkoski, the child’s father, were charged with felonies in late May after toxicology results showed large amounts of morphine in the baby’s blood and urine.

Bodoh, 22, was charged with child neglect resulting in death. The state argued she neglected her daughter by leaving her in the care of known drug users.

Lonkoski, 22, is charged with first degree reckless homicide. Lonkoski’s case has not been set for trial and the prosecution suffered a serious blow Tuesday when Judge Mark A. Mangerson agreed to suppress a number of statements he made to police.

Mangerson said a recording of the interview clearly demonstrates Lonkoski asked for an attorney but investigators failed to stop the interrogation.

The state may appeal the ruling to the third district court of appeals in Wausau.

Det. Sgt. Sara Gardner testified Tuesday Lonkoski told her he was high on drugs and playing video games with a friend when he noticed a morphine pill was no longer on a nearby table and the baby was making faces.

Gardner said Lonkoski told her he tried to retrieve the pill but it was already swallowed. She said Lonkoski told her he didn’t take the baby to a hospital because he was afraid Bodoh would “kick his ass.”

Bodoh has always professed her innocence and on Wednesday she told her story publicly for the first time.

She said she knew Lonkoski had been using drugs the day she left the baby with him to go to Rhinelander but by the time she was ready to leave he had taken a nap for several hours and seemed fine.

Fighting back tears, she told the jury she loved her daughter and during the days preceding her death was taking steps to help her family. Bodoh said she had been living with Lonkoski’s parents but had been asked to move out. After that, she said she went to Forward Services to obtain emergency housing.

“I didn’t have anywhere to go with my babies, we needed an apartment,” she said.

After spending one night with friends in Rhinelander, the couple went to Iron River to stay with Bodoh’s mother until the new apartment was ready.

She said she left both of her children with Lonkoski to go to Rhinelander to clean the apartment because her children had health issues.

“My babies have asthma,” she said, adding that Lonkoski was not going to be moving into the apartment with her and the children.

Prior to the trip to Rhinelander, Bodoh testified she was aware that Lonkoski snorted part of a pill in the bathroom but was unaware of any other drug activity. She said Lonkoski was not high when she left for Rhinelander and she believed he was fine.

Under cross examination, Bodoh admitted telling investigators that Lonkoski would “get high all day long” and that her sister was also constantly using drugs.

She also admitted to arguing with Lonkoski because she was concerned his use of alcohol and drugs was dangerous for the children.

“You knew it wasn’t safe?” questioned Oneida County District Attorney Mike Bloom.

“Yes,” Bodoh answered.

Also testifying Wednesday were Bodoh’s mother, Mary Colburn, Lt. Jim Wood of the Oneida County Sheriff’s Department and Eddie Carlotto, a friend of the family who the state has said gave the morphine pill to Lonkoski.

Colburn and Carlotto testified about drug use and living arrangements at the Iron River house and Wood testified that Bodoh told him Lonkoski was constantly using and she was concerned that her children were in danger because of it.

During closing arguments, Bloom argued Bodoh let her daughter down.

“Peyton needed to trust Amanda to take care of her and Amanda didn’t do it,” he said.

In his closing argument, defense counsel Mike Schiek stressed that Bodoh spent the days before her daughter’s death doing everything she could to make her kids’ lives better. He said Bodoh expected Lonkoski to “step up” and watch the children while she took care of things in Rhinelander.

“There’s nothing Amanda wouldn’t have done for her children,” he said. “She was doing the best she could.”

Schiek also said it’s unreasonable for Bodoh to have expected that Lonkoski would do nothing when their child consumed a morphine pill.

“It’s too big a leap, too big a stretch,” he said.

Peyton Lonkoski would have turned two years old on July 1.

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Incriminating statements made by a Rhinelander man whose 10-month-old daughter died of a drug overdose were suppressed Tuesday after Judge Mark A. Mangerson determined investigators failed to end an interrogation when the man requested an attorney.

Mangerson found the constitutional rights of Matthew Lonkoski, 22, were violated when Lt. Jim Wood and Det. Sgt. Sara Gardner of the Oneida County Sheriff’s Department continued talking with him after he clearly stated he wanted an attorney.

“We never really had a ceasing of the interrogation” after the invocation of the right to counsel, Mangerson said. “The officers never backed off.”

Mangerson said as soon as Lonkoski asked for an attorney the officers were obligated to immediately shut down the interview and allow him to make contact with an attorney. After the right to counsel is invoked, officers can restart an interview only if the subject re-initiates discussion, he said. In this instance, Mangerson said Lonkoski asked for an attorney and then began insisting that he hadn’t hurt his child. After that, he asked the officers if he was under arrest and they answered “you are now.” Following the exchange, Lonkoski agreed to talk without a lawyer and the formal interrogation continued.

Mangerson said Lonkoski’s decision to talk without a lawyer was motivated by fear of being detained.

Lonkoski was charged with first degree reckless homicide on May 26 after toxicology results showed large amounts of morphine in the blood and urine of his 10-month-old daughter, Peyton Marie Lonkoski.

The baby was found dead in her bed the morning of May 4, just a day after her family moved from Iron River, Mich. to an apartment in the town of Pelican.

The state has argued Lonkoski committed reckless homicide and child neglect by leaving a morphine tablet within the baby’s reach and not taking her to a hospital after she allegedly consumed it.

The baby’s mother, Amanda Bodoh, 22, is also facing criminal charges. Her trial on a charge of child neglect resulting in death began Tuesday. The state is arguing she neglected her child by leaving her in the care of people she knew were under the influence of drugs.

Lonkoski faces more than 80 years in prison if convicted.

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An Oneida County judge has reversed a decision he made last month and will again allow statements a father made to police during questioning to be used at his trial.
Judge Mark Mangerson reviewed the evidence and changed his mind because it appeared to him that deputies did not violate Matthew Lonkoski’s constitutional rights.
Mangerson said Lonkoski first asked for a lawyer when he was not in custody. Lonkoski then waived his right to an attorney after police told him he was under arrest.
Lonkoski will go on trial April 20th on first-degree reckless homicide and child neglect charges in the May 2009 death of his 10-month-old daughter Peyton.
Prosecutors allege Lonkoski failed to stop the girl from swallowing a morphine pill that he had left lying on a table.
A jury acquitted Lonkoski’s girlfriend and the baby’s mother, Amanda Bodoh, on a child neglect charge last month.

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Apr 9
It appears a Rhinelander man has struck a plea deal with prosecutors.

According to online court records, 22-year-old Matthew Lonkoski pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in the death of his 10-month-old daughter.

Last May, the child was found dead in an apartment with large amounts of morphine in her system.
Prosecutors say Lonkoski left a morphine tablet within his infant daughter's reach.
He'll be sentenced in May.

The child's mother, 22-year-old Amanda Bodoh, was charged with felony child neglect in the case, was found not guilty by an Oneida County jury in January.

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A Rhinelander man who failed to take his 10-month-old daughter to a hospital after she accidentally ingested a morphine pill will spend the next 12 years in prison.

Matthew Lonkoski, 23, was also sentenced to five years extended supervision in connection with the death of Peyton Marie Lonkoski.

The baby was found dead in her bed the morning of May 4, 2009, just a day after her family moved from Iron River, Mich. to an apartment in the town of Pelican.

Lonkoski and the child’s mother, Amanda Bodoh, were charged criminally after toxicology results confirmed there were large amounts of morphine in her blood and urine. Investigators eventually learned the child ingested a morphine tablet while in she was in Lonkoski’s care. According to previous court testimony, the child grabbed the pill off a table while Lonkoski was playing video games and swallowed it. Lonkoski apparently attempted to get the pill out of her mouth but was unsuccessful. After realizing the pill had been swallowed, Lonkoski allegedly gave the child a bottle of milk and went back to playing video games. He later told authorities he didn’t take the child to the hospital because he didn’t have legal custody and was worried Bodoh would “kick his ass.”

Bodoh was acquitted of child neglect resulting in death following a jury trial in January. In that case, the state argued Bodoh neglected her daughter by leaving her in the care of people she knew were using drugs. Bodoh was present at Lonkoski’s sentencing hearing but did not speak.

Lonkoski agreed to a plea deal in March. He entered guilty pleas to felony charges of child abuse (recklessly causing great bodily harm) and child neglect resulting in death.

Oneida County District Attorney Michael Bloom argued Lonkoski should be sentenced to the maximum (20 years incarceration) because his “selfish” and “irresponsible” behavior cost his daughter her chance at living out her life.

“It is clear the reason Matthew Lonkoski did not take Peyton to the hospital, the reason he did not tell Amanda Bodoh what happened, was he didn’t want to get into trouble for having morphine. He didn’t want to face the consequences of his actions,” Bloom said.

“He gambled with the health and safety of his baby daughter to avoid the consequences of his drug use and Peyton was the one who paid with her life when his gamble failed,” Bloom said. “From the state’s perspective, Mr. Lonkoski let the baby die.”

Bloom also took Lonkoski to task for repeatedly changing his story, including at one point claiming he actually got the pill out of the baby’s mouth.

Defense counsel Hank Schultz argued Lonkoski loved his child and never meant for her to die. He said Lonkoski has grown up a lot over the last year and has come to accept responsibility for the baby’s death.

“He understands what he did and what he failed to do,” Schultz said.

Schultz said Lonkoski is ready to accept a prison sentence but asked that it be limited to five years so that he can get treatment for his substance abuse and perhaps have a chance at parenting his surviving child.

Given his chance to speak, Lonkoski sobbed openly as he apologized for failing to take his daughter to a hospital. He admitted he was under the influence of drugs when Peyton got ahold of the pill and added that his drug-fueled lifestyle made it more likely a tragedy of this magnitude would occur.

“There’s always some chance this could happen to anybody because you can’t always watch a baby 24-7 but in my case there was a very great chance,” he said, repeatedly referring to his behavior as selfish and irresponsible.

He said he loved Peyton with all his heart and didn’t realize the pill could kill her.

“If I could go back I would definitely do things differently but I can’t, so now I have to live with it,” he said. “So now I’m going to prison, so whatever you sentence me to I’m going there for Peyton and also to better myself by getting an education and to learn how to stay sober,” he said.

Lonkoski ended his remarks by asking the court to give him a chance to one day be a father again.

“I still want to be there for the daughter I still have,” he said.

In pronouncing sentence, Judge Mark A. Mangerson characterized Lonkoski as a young man who has fathered children but who has never really been a responsible adult.

He also expressed concern that Lonkoski has not fully accepted responsibility for his part in his daughter’s death.

Mangerson said Lonkoski is definitely “sad about the situation” but he noted that isn’t the same thing as true remorse. He said he chose a 12-year prison term so that Lonkoski will have time to get treatment for serious substance abuse issues and learn how to be a productive citizen. He also said long-term supervision is necessary in this case so Lonkoski doesn’t fall back into old habits after he’s released.

Matt Lonkoski will be 35 years old when he is released from prison.

Peyton Lonkoski would have turned two years old on July 1.

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