AZ - 1-year old dies after parents ignore him in playpen for 16 hours - Mar. 26, 2024

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Investigators believe the child was left unattended for several hours as the parents slept throughout the day.

An investigation into the child's death began on March 24 after Harris called 911 and told the dispatcher her son was not breathing. Pena told the dispatcher he would not be attempting life-saving measures on the child, documents said.

When police arrived, they found the baby dead in a playpen in a bedroom in the home shared by the couple. He was lying on his back and was declared dead on the scene.

“It should be noted that the apartment was in a general state of disarray and unclean and it was obvious the victim had not been bathed for some time. Scabbing could also be seen on the victims' face, chin and leg, and it is unknown where this is from,” documents said.
www.12news.com

A baby died after being left alone for hours in Scottsdale. His parents were arrested.

Investigators believe the child was left unattended for several hours as the parents slept throughout the day.
www.12news.com www.12news.com
 
It's too bad there isn't something in illicit drugs that prevents pregnancy. It seems as though people with drug problems have a very hard time raising children. But, why didn't CPS take the child away before?

It sounds as though the baby was neglected at best -- abused at worst.

So sad.
 
imstilla.grandma said:
Pena told the dispatcher he would not be attempting life-saving measures on the child, documents said.

When police arrived, they found the baby dead in a playpen in a bedroom in the home shared by the couple. He was lying on his back
Click to expand...

So allegedly at least one parent refused to attempt CPR and neither was cradling or holding their child when police arrived. This tells me neither parent felt any kind of real bond with him. His life must have been awful.
 
ChatteringBirds said:
So allegedly at least one parent refused to attempt CPR and neither was cradling or holding their child when police arrived. This tells me neither parent felt any kind of real bond with him. His life must have been awful.
Click to expand...
From my understanding, rigor had set in, so maybe the dad understood the baby had been gone for hours.

The saddest part is that the little guy probably loved his parents and probably cried for them constantly as they slept in drug-induced stupors.

In their mugshots, they both look totally clueless.

I wonder if the baby's hydrocephalus played a role in his death. Either way, had they been alert and attentive, they might have been able to get him to medical care in time to save him.

So very sad.
 
Don't know quite what to say... Another little one lost. Somewhat surprised that the little guy lived as long as he did since he was apparently hydrocephalic.
At least the "parents" are in their own special playpens now.
And they will be fed on a regular basis. Grrrrr.
 
Clearsky said:
www.azfamily.com

1-year-old found dead after left in crib for 16+ hours, Scottsdale police say

The boy's parents have been arrested on suspicion of child abuse.
www.azfamily.com www.azfamily.com

Braydon Pena and Shaniah Harris didn't check on their child for at least 16 hours, Scottsdale police said.
Click to expand...
We know 16+ hours is probably druggie speak for ‘We have no idea when we last took care of our baby but I think I might have heard him cry some time yesterday but we didn’t actually check on him or anything.”

They got fast food and fed themselves but didn’t t feed their sweet baby.

And of course they have prior involvement with CSD (aka CPS)

My heart just breaks over and over for these babies. There is no reason for this to keep happening. There are good ppl who would care for these babies, love them, feed & bathe them. Every. Single. Day.
 
GRT said:
I wonder if the baby's hydrocephalus played a role in his death. Either way, had they been alert and attentive, they might have been able to get him to medical care in time to save him.
Click to expand...
I think it is very likely that the condition played a role in the death, either directly or indirectly. While neglecting a baby is of course a crime, it is unlikely that a healthy 1-year-old would die due to not being interacted with for ~24 hours. The kid would be dirty, hungry and in distress etc, but not dead, unless there is an obvious CoD caused by the neglect such as a more active kid pulling something on top of himself or suffocating due to something he grabbed.
Congenital hydrocephalus may be caused by for example by neural tube defects, complications of premature birth or infections during pregnancy.
Symptoms in infants can include an abnormally large head, eyes that are fixed downward, problems sucking or feeding, vomiting, sleepiness, irritability and seizures.
Currently, there is no permanent cure for hydrocephalus, but prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment could help improve the condition.
Survival in untreated hydrocephalus is poor. Approximately 50% of the affected patients die before 3 years of age and about 80% die before reaching adulthood.
Click to expand...
(source)
 
I'm going to guess the hydrocephalus wasn't the cause of his death. Even if his shunt failed (if he had one) or he developed high intracranial pressure, he would have had ongoing symptoms that day, and he shouldn't have died in less than one day. But I guess he could have had ongoing symptoms (ETA: over more than a day) they misinterpreted as illness. JMO.

I wonder if he was neglected much longer than claimed and died from dehydration or if they will find something in the toxicology results. JMO.
 
Niner said:
Just an FYI - they are still not in the court site...
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Niner I’m not familiar with courts in Az but not showing anything in the system 3 weeks later isn’t normal, is it? I also tried the archives bc the article said they had priors with Child Safety & found nothing. According to their web site they update daily.
 
abyquinn said:
Niner I’m not familiar with courts in Az but not showing anything in the system 3 weeks later isn’t normal, is it? I also tried the archives bc the article said they had priors with Child Safety & found nothing. According to their web site they update daily.
Click to expand...

I have worked with AZ court sites before on other cases. Sometimes they are in there quickly, but other times it takes awhile for them to appear. So I will keep an eye out on these 2. Have not found any other articles on them either. Maybe LE is waiting for the autopsy to charge them with something more - like murder...
 
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