A suicide case involving a Graham Local Schools seventh-grader in October of 2022 has resulted in criminal convictions of his parents in Champaign County Common Pleas Court.
Ryley Savage, age 12 of Willow Dale Road, died as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to a report from the Montgomery County Coroner’s office. Savage shot himself in his home and was transported to a Dayton hospital before succumbing to his injuries. Savage was an organ donor.
His parents, Toby Wayne Savage, age 47, and Heather Louise Savage, age 41, were convicted this year of various charges involving trafficking in illicit drugs and irresponsibly possessing 20 guns in the Willow Dale Road home and an additional number of firearms in a secured building on the same property.
According to court records, firearms were accessible to any occupants of the residence, including the defendants’ 17-year-old child, Ryley and an overnight guest. Court records indicate Toby Savage “gifted” firearms to each child with permission to store the weapons unsecured and loaded in their bedrooms for “self-defense purposes.”
In addition, the defendants were in possession of 47.584 grams of marijuana as well as solid hashish, liquid hashish and 90 packages of THC edibles. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a cannabinoid found in cannabis.
Toby Savage was convicted on March 26 of two third-degree felonies of possession of hashish, two second-degree felonies of trafficking in hashish, a third-degree felony of possession of marijuana, a second-degree felony of trafficking in marijuana, three first-degree misdemeanors of endangering children and a fifth-degree felony of improperly furnishing firearms to a minor.
On April 23, the court imposed a total prison term of a minimum of 3 years to a maximum of 4.5 years on the remaining charges in addition to firearm specifications of one year a piece, required to be served consecutively to each other and consecutive to sentences on the charges. The court imposed the mandatory 1 year each on the firearms specifications, for a total of 2 years. Savage is also sentenced to pay court costs and a total fine of $19,500. He has appealed his conviction.
Heather Savage was convicted by plea arrangement on April 17 of third-degree felonies of trafficking hashish and endangering children. She was sentenced to 60 days in the Tri-County Regional Jail, five years community control, court costs and a total fine of $11,000. She began her sentence Aug. 1.
