Berea Police car.jpg

(Joanne Berger DuMound/Sun News )

BEREA, Ohio -- The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner has ruled the January death of a 15-year-old group home resident who died after being physically restrained a homicide.

The teen, Kenneth Barkley of Cleveland, died Jan. 7 shortly after he became upset with an OhioGuidestone child care worker, punched that worker in the face and was physically restrained, according to a police report.

The medical examiner's office said Wednesday the cause of death was traumatic asphyxiation during an altercation.

Berea police said Wednesday that no one has been arrested in connection with the incident.

OhioGuidestone Director of Communications Alyssa Evanoff said in January that the child care worker had been placed on leave, which is standard protocol for the organization. The organization did not comment on the child care worker's employment status Wednesday.

"Time hasn't made this tragedy easier," OhioGuidestone said in a statement Wednesday. "Our prayers remain with Kenneth's family, friends and other residents. We are grateful for the concern of the entire community during this very traumatic time for our family at OhioGuidestone. We continue to stand by and support the staff members involved in this tragic event"

Evanoff said in January that the worker had never had a complaint filed against him and that he had been fully trained in the proper way to restrain a resident.

Mary Louise Madigan, a spokeswoman for the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services, said Wednesday that her organization investigated the incident and determined the child care worker followed the proper protocol for physically restraining a resident, and that OhioGuidestone followed proper protocol for reporting the incident.

Madigan noted that the DCFS feels Kenneth's death was "a sad, sad incident for everyone involved."

On Jan. 7 around 6:43 p.m., a Berea officer arrived at the group home and found Kenneth unconscious and not breathing, according to a police report.

An employee led the officer to a rear living room area, where the officer saw Kenneth lying unresponsive on the floor. The officer began CPR and two more officers assisted him when they arrived at the scene. Kenneth was later taken to Southwest General Health Center, where he died.

Officers spoke with two group home employees and four teenage residents, and each offered a similar account of what happened, according to a police report.

Witnesses told police that Kenneth was using a computer in the rear living room area when a male employee told him he needed to take medication. Kenneth declined, and the employee took away the computer keyboard, saying Kenneth wouldn't be allowed to use the computer until he took his medicine.

According to police, witnesses said that at that point, the boy became upset, turned over a table and punched a hole in a wall. The teen then moved toward the employee and began to punch the employee in the face.

Witnesses said the employee restrained the boy in a bear hug and took him to the ground in a "controlled manner," according to the police report. The employee continued to restrain him for a short time afterward, instructing the boy to stop fighting.

The employee eventually stood up and witnesses said Kenneth initially appeared to be "snoring" before they realized he had stopped breathing.