ALLEN COUNTY, OH - A father has been sentenced for leaving his two-year-old daughter to die inside a burning car while saving himself.
When police arrived on scene, they found a child "in a forward-facing car seat" after 34-year-old Nicholas Stemen reportedly told them that "no one" else was inside the vehicle, Law & Crime reported.
On Monday, November 17, Stemen was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in prison and a maximum of 27 years and six months for the death of his daughter, Lillyanna, in September 2024.
In October, Stemen pleaded guilty to aggravated arson, involuntary manslaughter, and endangering a child. His indictment and arrest affidavit was reviewed by Law & Crime, and it outlined how Stemen was drunk off nearly a dozen beers.
He was "driving erratically" before his 2013 GMC Terrain caught fire with his daughter in the back seat.
After leaving the roadway, Stemen's SUV, which was missing a tire, caught on fire after coming to a complete stop. The vehicle was "fully engulfed in flames" when Allen County Sheriff's deputies arrived on scene. Stemen was attempting to stand near the vehicle.
"[Cops] could smell an odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from Stemen's person, and he was unsteady on his feet, actually falling to the ground," the arrest affidavit says. "After the American Township Fire Department had extinguished the fire, [a battalion chief] asked Stemen who else was in the vehicle. Stemen answered no one."
Asked if he had any children, Stemen answered that he has a daughter who was with her grandfather. One of the firefighters on scene was asked to look inside the charred vehicle.
"Upon doing so, she observed a small body, in a forward-facing car seat," the document recounts. "She stated she could tell it was human due to seeking skin and blood on the thighs."
Stemen was taken into custody and questioned about what happened. He told detectives that he spent the night "consuming at least 10 alcoholic beverages, namely beer, prior to and leading up to the incident," according to the affidavit.
"He had blacked out, and cannot remember all the details," the affidavit says.
At the sentencing hearing, a letter written by Lillyanna's mother was read outloud. "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 also spoke at the hearing and apologized for his actions, saying, "I know what my actions caused. Now I won't get to see my little girl grow up, and that hits me to my core. I'm sorry I took her away ... I'm sorry she's gone. I have no recollection of what happened."
The judge overseeing the case told Stemen he was being sentenced to a "lifetime of thinking what your daughter could have been doing." The judge added, "I feel bad for you. I feel bad for everybody."
When police arrived on scene, they found a child "in a forward-facing car seat" after 34-year-old Nicholas Stemen reportedly told them that "no one" else was inside the vehicle, Law & Crime reported.
On Monday, November 17, Stemen was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in prison and a maximum of 27 years and six months for the death of his daughter, Lillyanna, in September 2024.
In October, Stemen pleaded guilty to aggravated arson, involuntary manslaughter, and endangering a child. His indictment and arrest affidavit was reviewed by Law & Crime, and it outlined how Stemen was drunk off nearly a dozen beers.
He was "driving erratically" before his 2013 GMC Terrain caught fire with his daughter in the back seat.
After leaving the roadway, Stemen's SUV, which was missing a tire, caught on fire after coming to a complete stop. The vehicle was "fully engulfed in flames" when Allen County Sheriff's deputies arrived on scene. Stemen was attempting to stand near the vehicle.
"[Cops] could smell an odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from Stemen's person, and he was unsteady on his feet, actually falling to the ground," the arrest affidavit says. "After the American Township Fire Department had extinguished the fire, [a battalion chief] asked Stemen who else was in the vehicle. Stemen answered no one."
Asked if he had any children, Stemen answered that he has a daughter who was with her grandfather. One of the firefighters on scene was asked to look inside the charred vehicle.
"Upon doing so, she observed a small body, in a forward-facing car seat," the document recounts. "She stated she could tell it was human due to seeking skin and blood on the thighs."
Stemen was taken into custody and questioned about what happened. He told detectives that he spent the night "consuming at least 10 alcoholic beverages, namely beer, prior to and leading up to the incident," according to the affidavit.
"He had blacked out, and cannot remember all the details," the affidavit says.
At the sentencing hearing, a letter written by Lillyanna's mother was read outloud. "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 also spoke at the hearing and apologized for his actions, saying, "I know what my actions caused. Now I won't get to see my little girl grow up, and that hits me to my core. I'm sorry I took her away ... I'm sorry she's gone. I have no recollection of what happened."
The judge overseeing the case told Stemen he was being sentenced to a "lifetime of thinking what your daughter could have been doing." The judge added, "I feel bad for you. I feel bad for everybody."
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Comments
2025-11-20T18:00-0500 | Comment by: Robert
How can Anyone be so Drunk that they would leave their infant daughter to burn to death?! I Pray for the Little One and fervently hope that the remainder of this Worthless S.O.B.'s life is one of Pain! To my mind this is MURDER and the Death ☠️ Penalty should have been an option....