Anthony McCants, aged 23, is set to go on trial on June 16 at the Summit County Common Pleas Court, where he will face accusations of murder, involuntary manslaughter, and endangering children.
The trial date for Anthony McCants, an Akron resident, has been scheduled. He is accused of coercing a 12-year-old into participating in two “ice baths” or “cold-plunges” that ultimately resulted in the death of the child.
Upon his arraignment in front of Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands, McCants entered a plea of not guilty to the revised indictment. The indictment now includes one charge of murder in addition to allegations of involuntary manslaughter and endangering children. His bond remains set at $500,000.
With the deadline for a speedy trial looming on June 19, Rowlands announced that McCants’ trial would begin on June 16. “Everyone is going to clear their calendars and that’s what’s going to happen,” she told all parties on a video conference call.
Summit County Assistant Prosecutor Zach Neumann said while the discovery of evidence was “quite voluminous,” his office would be prepared to go to trial next month.
“Here’s the thing,” Rowlands responded. “The State clearly took all this time to push us up against this position of June 19. You took all this time.”
When Neumann responded that he was ready, Rowlands replied, “I’m sure you are ready. You’ve had this case for a long time.”
You can watch Wednesday’s arraignment below.
CASE DETAILS
According to a release from the Akron Police Department, officers responded to a call of a cardiac arrest on South Balch Street at around 2:30 p.m. on March 22. Fire personnel arrived on the scene and found the child unresponsive. The child was immediately transported to Akron Children’s Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Officials say that police conducted a “preliminary investigation” and determined that foul play was involved.
RELATED: Akron police: Foul play suspected in death of 12-year-old boy; man charged
In the criminal complaint against McCants, Akron police authorities noted that he was in charge of the safety of the boy.
McCants is accused of forcing the child to participate in two “ice baths” or “cold-plunges” between 5 a.m. and “around 2 p.m.” as part of corporal punishment. Officials say the first ice bath lasted 45 minutes “with short breaks of pushups and other physical activity between exposure.” The second one was at least 30 minutes.
The child was rushed to the hospital following the second round of punishment. At the time of his death, his core temperature was 74 degrees Fahrenheit.
A Summit County grand jury indicted McCants in late April on charges on one count of murder and seven counts of endangering children. Prosecutors amended the indictment several days later, changing it to five counts of endangering children with one count of involuntary manslaughter to go with the murder change.
3News’ Anna Meyer and Justin McMullen contributed to this story
