Ritchie was found guilty after two mistrials and sentenced to seven years in prison in October 2017 by Warren County Judge Common Pleas Judge Robert Peeler.
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Ritchie’s inaction resulted in the death of his son, Austin Cooper, after he was severely burned in a bathtub of water by his stepmother, Anna Ritchie, according to prosecutors and evidence presented at trial.
Anna Ritchie is serving 18 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to murder and other felonies.
On appeal, Robert Ritchie argued he was denied procedural due process rights, arguing the trial court denied multiple requests for mistrial during the five-day trial.
The grounds for mistrial, the defendant and the appellate attorney argued, were because the victim’s family were permitted to sit among potential jurors, that during jury selection potential jurors may have overheard the victim’s family members talking about removal of children from the home, the mischaracterization of evidence pertaining to text messages between Ritchie and Anna Ritchie, and an inaccurate transcript that was used by the defense during cross examination of a detective.
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The appellate judges disagreed with all arguments.
“After reviewing the record and considering each of Ritchie’s arguments, we find Ritchie was denied neither a fair trial nor due process of law,” Appellate Judge Robin Piper wrote in the opinion.
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