Man sentenced for the death of his disabled adult son who died weighing 50 pounds

A Missouri man will spend nearly two decades behind bars for starving his disabled adult son for more than a year.

This week, Lawrence Riehl, 62, entered an Alford plea on one count each of involuntary first-degree manslaughter, domestic assault, and abuse of a person with a disability, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime.

An Alford plea allows criminal defendants to maintain their innocence on the facts of an allegation while accepting the state's evidence would likely convince a judge or a jury of their guilt.

In quick fashion, 24th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Brice Sechrest sentenced the defendant to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter count and an additional seven years on the assault count.

The court ordered the first two sentences to run consecutively, or one after another, for a total sentence of 17 years. The court also imposed a one-year sentence on the abuse count, but the third sentence will run concurrent with, or at the same time as, the other sentences.

Riehl was originally charged with counts of second-degree murder and abuse of a person with a disability, court records show.

The investigation began when the victim, whose name is not being released by law enforcement, was found dead at the Riehl family home in Sullivan, a small town some 70 miles southwest of St. Louis.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office was called to the residence after the 21-year-old died on March 26, 2025. From the outset, the scene inside the house was concerning to investigators.

"When evaluating [the victim] it was evident he was severely malnourished," a detective wrote in a warrant application. "Around his mouth was what appeared to be vomit. He was fully nude laying on the floor in the corner of a bedroom."

The house itself was filthy, littered with "trash, empty food containers and feces," the detective noted in the charging document.

The defendant, when describing his deceased son, said he is "severely autistic and non verbal," the warrant application goes on.

"[The victim] is awake for a long time and is asleep for a long time," the charging document continues, describing the victim's behavior, according to his father. "Some times he will sleep in the chair and some times he will crawl into the floor."

Riehl said that on the day in question, his other son woke him up to tell him that his brother had died, the warrant application says.

The charging document also relays the disturbing results of an autopsy that determined the victim's death was a homicide.

"He was sixty-nine inches long and approximately fifty pounds in weight. [The victim] choked on fecal matter. It was discovered [the victim's] knees were locked into place and were not able to move. This is from the legs being stuck in one place for a long time."

The charging document offers granular details about food and calories in the case. The night prior to the victim's death, the other Riehl son made his brother pizza rolls, the father told law enforcement.

The detective who penned the warrant application takes stock of two brands of pizza rolls found in the residence, the number of calories contained in each roll, the number of rolls prepared for the victim, the requisite number of calories consumed by the victim assuming he ate each pizza roll, and the substantial caloric deficit that remained — based on FDA daily recommendations for an adult.

The charging document also discusses generally accepted weight for a 21-year-old male of the victim's height, as described by the National Institutes of Health. In sum, the victim was roughly 90 pounds underweight, law enforcement determined.

But none of this was news to the family.

In March 2024, doctors determined the victim was suffering from severe weight loss, severe fat loss, and muscle wasting, according to the warrant application. In December 2024, doctors advised that his condition caused the loss of his ability to walk and trouble standing up.

"None of the family mentioned [the victim] ever eating feces," the warrant application reads. "It is my conclusion [the victim] ate feces due to him suffering from starvation."

In June 2025, Riehl reached out to the coroner's office himself.

The defendant admittedly said the family "knew they had a problem" and had been "trying to address it by getting him on Medicaid and get him into a facility," according to the coroner's office. Riehl also said the family "did not neglect him, well maybe a little bit."

Then, other calls were made. Twice more, Riehl called "requesting the death certificate being he has a life insurance policy on [the victim]," the charging document reads.

"This was a tragic case involving the death of a vulnerable young man who relied on others for his most basic needs," Washington County Prosecuting Attorney John Jones said in a press release.