Aiden Stein, 12, the victim at the center of a 2004 shaken baby syndrome case, died Sunday in a Columbus hospital, the family confirmed to the Richland County Prosecutor’s Office.
Stein was 4 months old in March of 2004 when he stopped breathing while alone with his father, Matthew Stein, in their Mansfield apartment.
The infant was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome. He was deaf, blind and living in a vegetative state until his death on Sunday.
Richland County Prosecutor Bambi Couch Page told newsnet5.com that the family did not disclose a cause of death.
“I would assume that it was a complication from all of his physical ailments but I cannot say with certainty,” Couch Page said.
Matthew Stein was convicted of felonious assault and endangering a child. He served eight years in prison and was released in 2013.
Aiden was at the center of a battle over life support that went to the Ohio Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of Stein’s parents and Aiden was kept alive.
“I’m at least relieved that Aiden isn’t in agony anymore because I believe that he probably lived the last 12 years of his life in a very uncomfortable state,” Couch Page told newsnet5.com.
Couch Page said additional charges against Matthew Stein are possible, but not probable.
“You’d have to know for certain that Aiden died as a result of the actual original injuries,” she explained.
Matthew Stein has always maintained his innocence.
newsnet5.com reached out to the family for comment but did not receive a response.
