An Ohio man will spend a minimum of 19 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to crashing his vehicle while drunk, causing a fire that killed his 2-year-old daughter Lillyanna.
Nicholas Stemen was sentenced to 22 to 27 1/2 years in prison and must serve 19 years before he is eligible for parole after his guilty pleas on charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated arson, and endangering a child, court records show. He will serve two to five years of supervised release after he gets out of prison.
According to an arrest report, a 911 call on September 25, 2024, reported a erratic driver, with one tire missing and driving the rim, had run off the road and his vheicle had caught fire. Deputies and fire and rescue personnel responded and found the 2013 GMC Terrain “fully engulfed flames” with the driver — Stemen — standing in the roadway.
The deputy noted the smell of alcohol when she approached and noted that Stemen was “unsteady” and “actually falling to the ground in front of her.” Fire personnel asked Stemen if anyone else was in the vehicle, and he replied “no one.” He told personnel he had a daughter who was with her grandfather.
The deputy looked into the vehicle, however, and “observed a small body, in a forward facing car seat.”
“She stated she could tell it was uman due to seeing skin and blood on the thighs,” the report said.
Stemen later admitted drinking about 10 beers, saying that he “blacked out” and couldn’t remember what happened.
At the sentencing hearing on Monday, a the court heard a letter written by Lillyanna’s mother, Law&Crime reported.
“My baby girl is gone. And for what? For her father enjoying a night of drinking?” the letter said. “He killed her. He took her from everyone who loved her so much. He should spend his life behind bars.”
Stemen spoke at the hearing and apologized, reiterating that he has “no recollection of what happened.
Judge Jeffrey L. Reed told him he was being sentenced to a “lifetime of thinking what your daughter could have been doing.”
“I feel bad for you,” he said. “I feel bad for everybody.”
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[Featured image: Nicholas Stemen/Allen County Sheriff’s Office]
