Mom went to work at St. John's Home at 4, leaving the two boys -- 10 and 6 -- with her boyfriend.
In the apartment with the drug paraphernalia and the various bags of powdery substances.
This was in Churchville on Monday.
The boyfriend is the father of the 6-year-old; the 10-year-old the fruit of an earlier relationship. The older boy was a student at Churchville-Chili with a compulsive disorder. One time, he drank a bottle of hot sauce.
At 8 the boyfriend fed them dinner and left.
They had emergency numbers to call if they needed help, but the phone was disconnected.
An hour passed and a little bit more.
And the 6-year-old heard his big brother coughing. He went to check on him, and found the 10-year-old choking on the floor.
The little boy ran downstairs to ask the neighbor for help.
The deputies came and found the older boy in a pool of vomit, unconscious and unresponsive. They began CPR. The little boy was taken to the hospital, but his organs shut down and by lunchtime on Tuesday he was dead.
There was a white powder in the apartment near where he had fallen. The deputies' field-test kit did not identify it as a controlled substance. It probably was some substance used to dilute the drugs proir to sale. In the home where the little boys were left alone there were materials described by law enforcement as drug paraphernalia. There were also several bags of materials that could be illegal drugs.
And people are pissed.
Two little boys -- innocent little boys -- left alone by one more mama's boyfriend in a dangerous hellhole, and the worst thing happens. One lad loses his life, the other lad loses his brother. It's a sit-down-and-cry situation.
And people are pissed.
And they want action.
They want somebody to pay. They want the boyfriend in handcuffs.
But that wouldn't be smart. At least not right now.
This needs to be one of those slow-and-steady investigations, with all the Ts crossed and Is dotted, and all the ducks in a row, so that when charges are ultimately brought, they stick and are appropriate.
This isn't an endangering the welfare of a child, this is a homicide. And good police work, solid lab work, and a vigorous prosecution can make it that way.
Here's what needs to happen before anybody is charged.
We need to learn what caused the little boy's death. That will require toxicology results that could take weeks to come back. Further, the various substances in the apartment all need to be tested and identified. If there is a connection between them -- did the ingesting of some illegal substance kill him? -- then that connection will need to be documented and evidence secured.
Further, investigation can show if there were other signs of illegal drug sales or activity. Phone records need to be gone through, associations need to be investigated. All of this could be useful. All of this is warranted.
And, when all the tests are in, when it's locked up tighter than a drum, then -- if the evidence warrants -- bring a homicide charge.
Because that's what this little boy deserves.
And if the investigation shows no connection between possible drug dealing and the boy's death, then there is still the endangering the welfare of a minor charge which can be lodged.
So, from the standpoint of justice, there is nothing to lose, and much to gain.
We don't want a perp walk on a blow-off charge. We want a conviction on a charge that fits the tragedy.
Justice for this little boy requires slow and steady, thorough and solid.
And when that is done, the sheriff can put this man in handcuffs, and we can know that justice is being done.