2-year-old girl died after her intoxicated 34-year-old father let her burn alive in the vehicle he operated that fully engulfed on fire while he stood outside on the road; father sentenced
Ohio – In a haunting case in Ohio that left first responders shaken and a community grieving, a 34-year-old father, identified as N. Stemen, has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison for the death of his 2-year-old daughter, whom he left strapped in a car seat as flames engulfed his vehicle. The father was intoxicated when the fire broke out, and instead of rescuing his child, he stumbled outside the vehicle, stood on the road, and then lied to officials, insisting “no one” was inside.
Stemen pleaded guilty in October to aggravated arson, involuntary manslaughter, and child endangerment in the death of his daughter. On Monday, a judge sentenced him to a minimum of 22 years and a maximum of 27 years and six months in prison for a tragedy that authorities described as entirely preventable.
The incident occurred in September 2024. According to court documents and an arrest affidavit, Stemen had spent the night consuming nearly a dozen beers. He later admitted to drinking at least 10 alcoholic beverages before getting behind the wheel of his vehicle with his daughter in the back seat. His driving, described as erratic, led to the vehicle leaving the road. The vehicle, which was already missing a tire, came to a stop and then caught fire. By the time sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene, alerted by a passing driver, the vehicle was already “fully engulfed in flames.” Stemen was found standing unsteadily near the burning car, reeking of alcohol and falling to the ground as he tried to maintain balance.
When asked whether anyone else was in the vehicle, Stemen told first responders that no one was inside. He added that his daughter was with her grandfather. But after the flames were extinguished, a firefighter looked inside the vehicle and discovered the small body of a child in a forward-facing car seat. The battalion chief immediately confirmed that the child had died in the fire. The presence of visible skin and blood on her legs made the horror undeniable. During his interview with detectives, Stemen claimed he had blacked out and could not recall the details of the crash or the fire. He was arrested and held accountable for a night of recklessness that ended in unimaginable loss.
At his sentencing, a letter written by the victim’s mother was read aloud. Her grief filled the courtroom. “My baby girl is gone. And for what? For her father enjoying a night of drinking?” she wrote. “He killed her. He took her from everyone who loved her so much. He should spend his life behind bars.” Stemen addressed the court as well, apologizing and acknowledging that his choices had robbed him of watching his daughter grow up. “I’m sorry I took her away,” he said. “I’m sorry she’s gone.”
But the judge, while recognizing the depth of Stemen’s regret, made it clear that remorse could not undo what had been done. “You’re sentenced to a lifetime of thinking what your daughter could have been doing,” the judge said. “I feel bad for you. I feel bad for everybody.” Now, Stemen will spend over two decades behind bars. But for the girl’s loved ones, the sentence pales in comparison to the permanence of their loss—and the brutal image of a little girl left to die alone in a fire while the man responsible stood outside, intoxicated and silent.
