Babysitter pleads not guilty to evidence tampering in 1-year-old's death

HAMILTON, Ohio - A Tri-State babysitter who set off a frantic search for a 1-year-old boy entered a not guilty plea in court Thursday.

Marquita Burch, 27, was arraigned Thursday and entered a not guilty plea to one count of gross abuse of a corpse and one count of tampering with evidence.

In May, Burch told police that 1-year-old William Cunningham wandered away from a Covington apartment complex causing a massive search for him.

The next day his body was found in the closet of a Winton Road apartment in Cincinnati.

The coroner ruled he had suffered head trauma and brain injury. The coroner also said the child had been dead for at least 48 hours.

Burch changed her story to say the child died in her apartment in Hartwell. Her attorney, Derek Gustafson also said the little boy fell down some stairs.

Burch gave the boy ibuprofen and put him to bed and the following morning Cunningham was found dead, according to Gustafson.

Burch is being held on a $500,000 bond at the Hamilton County Justice Center.

Her preliminary hearing has been set for June 26 at 8:45 a.m.