SPRINGFIELD (WKZO AM/FM) — A Calhoun County man who was using a borrowed generator to try and keep himself, his girlfriend and her 11-year-old daughter, Chloe Stevens, warm has been charged with manslaughter and second degree child abuse after they all suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and the girl died.
45-year-old Harold Ward waived preliminary exam yesterday and will proceed to trial.
The three of them were huddled in his upholstery business in Springfield because they had nowhere else to go, using the generator and a Kerosene heater.
All three were found unconscious last March.
The Prosecutor claims that he should have known it was dangerous, describing Ward as criminally negligent.
The defense claims he was not aware it was dangerous, and nearly died too, describing that as accidental.
A jury will decide.
