Dad strikes deal in grim neglect case

• A Henry County father facing grim allegations of neglect has struck a deal with prosecutors.
• Carl and Sheena Zanghi are each charged with four counts of neglect of a dependnet.
• Authorities said the couple’s four children were living in a squalid mobile home.
• Sheena Zanghi is set to stand trial on Aug. 3. Her husband could be sentenced on Aug. 13.

NEW CASTLE – A Henry County father facing grim neglect allegations has reached a deal with prosecutors — again.

His wife, meanwhile, is set to stand trial on the same charges on Aug. 3.

Vincent Carl Zanghi, 37, and Sheena A. Zanghi, 24, are each charged with four counts of neglect of a dependent, a Class D felony carrying up to three years in prison.

When authorities went to the couple’s rural mobile home — near Summit Lake in northeastern Henry County — in June 2014, they determined it did not have running water, electricity or a working bathroom.

Both defendants reached plea agreements with Henry County Prosecutor Joseph Bergacs’ office in February, but Henry Circuit Court 1 Judge Mary Willis rejected those deals in April.

The judge expressed frustration with the level of compliance the Zanghis had shown in a related welfare case.

The terms of those agreements — or the new deal in the Vincent Zanghi case, presented to the judge on Friday — have not been released. Willis tentatively set sentencing for Aug. 13.

Sheena Zanghi did not show up for a pre-trial hearing in her case on Thursday. The judge said if Zanghi did not show up for her Aug. 3 trial, a warrant would be issued for her arrest.

Authorities said windows in the couple’s trailer were broken, leading to a large number of insects inside. The mobile home’s floors were reported to be water-damaged and sagging.

Three of the four children — all under the age of four at the time — living in the trailer were dangerously malnourished, physicians said. A 14-month-old girl had also suffered a skull fracture, according to court documents.

The Zanghis were reported to have separated a few weeks before authorities went to the mobile home, and are now listed as separate addresses in Henry County.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.