State child-welfare officials in Connecticut received 18 reports concerning the family of a toddler who died falling from a third-floor window, the state Department of Children and Families said.
The toddler’s mother, Tabitha Frank, 34, was arrested and charged on August 2nd with manslaughter in the death of her 2-year-old son Corneliuz Williams, police said.
In the arrest warrant, officers who responded to the home after the toddler fell described the conditions of the apartment and said they found bugs, moldy food, curdled liquids and trash and the odors of human waste in the home.
More than a month before the toddler’s death, DCF visited Frank’s home and decided further child protective services involvement was not warranted, and the case was in the process of being closed, WVIT reported.
“It takes the collective efforts of all members of our community – family members, neighbors, professionals and concerned citizens — to ensure that children can safely remain at home,” DCF said in a statement. “A simple gesture of offering help may change the life of a child and their caregiver.”
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What Happened?
Emergency crews and police responded to the 1000 block of Capitol Avenue just before 3:40 p.m. on July 22 after 2-year-old Corneliuz fell from a third-floor window. Officers found Corneliuz with serious injuries, he was taken to a children’s hospital and died two days later.
Frank had left five children between the ages of 2 and 12 unattended in the apartment when Corneliuz fell, police said. The apartment was in a “deplorable and uninhabitable condition”, officials said, and police believe a screen fell out of the window before the child fell. Police said Frank told them she left to go to a store to buy necessities.
According to police, Frank was initially arrested on suspicion of several crimes including risking injuries to children and leaving children unattended, before the additional charges were added last week.