Police were questioning two people Monday following the death of a 5-year-old boy who was found Saturday with multiple trauma and head injuries, Cook County sheriff’s officials said.
Anthony Moore of the 10000 block of Linda Lane in unincorporated Maine Township, near Des Plaines, died Sunday in Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
The boy had been left with his mother’s live-in boyfriend while she was working, said Martha Allen, chief of staff of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Anthony’s mother found him unresponsive when she came home Saturday morning, Allen said.
Anthony was taken to Rush North Shore Medical Center in Skokie and transferred to Children’s Memorial later Saturday, sheriff’s spokeswoman Penny Mateck said.
The medical examiner’s office is expected to perform an autopsy Tuesday.
Sheriff’s officials would not identify the two people they were questioning, but they had not been arrested or charged Monday evening.
Anthony’s two sisters, ages 6 and 8, were in the apartment when the boy was injured and were placed in state protective custody, Allen said. Another child, a 3-year-old unrelated to Anthony who also was in the apartment, was returned to family.
DCFS had investigated the children’s living conditions in December after a hot line call alleged neglect and inadequate food, Allen said. The family was living in a Waukegan hotel at the time, Allen said.
DCFS records show a worker visited and noted only that the room was in disarray, Allen said. The case was transferred to Central Baptist Family Services, a private group that handles cases in Lake County.
DCFS and Central Baptist officials were reviewing their files Monday. Marty Sinnott, chief executive of Central Baptist, could not offer details on the case but said it had been closed and transferred back to DCFS in May because the family moved to Des Plaines.
Allen said records indicated there was no evidence of abuse.
“All the issues were resolved, and we closed the case out. It was the last we heard from the family until this unfortunate death,” Allen said.
