3 mo. old dead in crib had 100's of apparent rat bites Westwego, LA

[Nut44x4]

Baby girl found dead in crib with hundreds of apparent rat bites

03:27 PM CDT on Thursday, July 16, 2009
WESTWEGO, La. – A three-month-old child who had literally hundreds of what appeared to be rat bites on her body was found dead in her crib Thursday, according to Westwego Police Chief Dwayne Munch.

Munch said emergency calls were placed around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. EMS crews responded to the scene, located in the 700 block of Central Avenue, and found the father in the front yard screaming that his daughter was dead.

Once inside, investigators said they found the child in its crib suffering from trauma to the nose and bottom of the leg. Munch said flesh had been removed from the child and that there was plenty of blood on the scene, with footprints leading from the crib that appeared to be from a large rat.

Police haven't found a rat as of Thursday afternoon, Munch said.

Munch at first said they had condemned the home where they found the child after police found several holes throughout the structure that opened up to the outside. However, Munch later said city officials are, in fact, still in the process of determining if they should condemn the house, so apparently the city still hasn't decided whether or not they will condemn the house.

Munch said it has not been determined if the child was dead before it suffered the animal bites, but that no foul play is suspected. 
http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl071609tprat.485067cf.html

[pink angel]

Where were the parents?? You can't tell me that after the first bite that baby wasn't screaming.

My hinky meter is blinking and beeping.

[cookie]

this is very weird...that baby had to have been screaming her little head off in pain...
very sickening that little kids are living in homes where rats can harm them...

why oh why do idiots get to have children???? don't tell me that a rat was not spotted in that home before this happened....wouldn't you think that the holes would have been plugged up? I couldn't stand the thoughts of rats or varmits coming into my home...how much is a piece of plywood for crying out loud!

[Nut44x4]

Baby Found Dead,
Hundreds of Bite Marks
Updated: Friday, 17 Jul 2009, 5:53 PM EDT

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - A three-month old girl in Westwego, La., was found dead in her crib from what appears to be more than 100 small animal bites, possibly from rats.

Police say the baby girl's mother called 911 from a neighbor's phone around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday. The mother told police that she found baby Natalie Marie Hill dead in her crib.

"It was awful, very sad...never neglect children, never, never," said neighbor Annette Stevens.

Police chief Dwayne Munch said it was quite a shock to the officers. He said the baby girl had numerous bite marks on her body.

"Hundreds of bite marks, but the worst were around the nose area and lower leg," Munch said. "We found small footprints...blood on the sheets."

While detectives continue to investigate and question the parents in the case, an autopsy is being conducted to determine how the baby died. Relatives of the baby called Natalie's parents good parents. 
http://www.foxcharlotte.com/dpp/news/dpgo_baby_bite_marks_lwf_071709_2681515
video at link

[cookie]

good parents??? spare me!

[GramaMonkey]

http://www.wdsu.com/news/20087925/detail.html

[cookie]

http://www.foxcharlotte.com/dpp/news/dpgo_baby_bite_marks_lwf_071709_2681515

this link that Nut provided shows a tidy looking neighborhood...the home from the outside doesn't look that bad..at least not what I pictured...now what the inside looks like maybe different..
what a sad sad case! I don't understand how the parents would not have heard this baby screaming in pain! this is very disturbing...
again, if you know that rats are getting into your home, don't you take precautions and plug up the holes where they are coming from? to think about rats in my house would creep me out!

[Nut44x4]

NOT DIRCETLY RELATED to this thread, but I wanted to post it..........

Man charged after baby found with rat bites
Monday,  July 20, 2009 2:17 PM
A Pike County man has been charged with child endangering after authorities discovered that a 6-week-old girl had lost two toes to apparent rat bites.

The infant, Leann Lowe, is in stable condition at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, authorities said.

Doctors said the child's injuries appeared to be from rat bites and apparently occurred over an extended period, said Pike County Sheriff Richard Henderson.

The infant suffered serious injuries to her left foot and back and had apparent bite marks on other parts of her body, Henderson said.

Todd C. Trent, 18, was charged today with child endangering, obstructing official business and tampering with evidence. He was being held in the Ross County jail in Chillicothe pending a court appearance.

Trent lived in a Red Bridge Road mobile home, west of Piketon, with the baby and her 17-year-old mother, said Pike County Prosecutor Rob Junk. Trent is not the infant's father, he said.

"Every adult in that house is being looked at" and other arrests may be forthcoming, Junk said. The child's injuries indicate that adults knew she was being injured and did little or nothing to protect her, he said.

Authorities also seized two dogs from the mobile home, a Chihuahua and a boxer mix, Junk said. They are investigating whether they may have bitten the child.

Authorities learned of the girl's injuries early Sunday and began an investigation.

http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/07/20/bitten_baby.html?sid=101

[Nut44x4]

 

Baby with 100 Bites Died of Blood Loss
Published : Wednesday, 22 Jul 2009, 4:12 PM CDT

WESTWEGO, La. - An autopsy has found that a Louisiana infant whose body was covered by more than 100 small animal bites died of blood loss.

The preliminary results released Wednesday indicate that dozens of suspected rat bites caused the death last Thursday of 3-month-old Natalie Hill.

An investigator for the Jefferson Parish coroner's office said more tests are planned.

Westwego Police Chief Dwayne Munch has said the girl had severe wounds on her nose and leg along with dozens of suspected rat bites when her parents found her body in her crib.

Before the autopsy results were released, Munch said it wasn't clear whether the child died before or after those injuries.

The baby's 1-year-old brother was hospitalized for an alleged seizure on Monday as his parents were in court fighting for his custody.

He was in foster care at the time and will remain there pending a custody decision.

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/weird/Baby_with_100_Bites_Died_of_B

[Nut44x4]

Brother of Rat Bite Baby Hospitalized
Published : Wednesday, 22 Jul 2009, 3:59 PM CDT

WESTWEGO, Louisiana - The 1-year-old brother of a baby found dead and covered with more than 100 suspected rat bites was hospitalized for an alleged seizure.

The child, who is in foster care, had the episode as his parents were in court fighting for his custody on Monday.

He was removed from his parents' home after his 3-month-old sister, Natalie Marie Hill, was found dead in her crib .

According to preliminary autopsy results released on Wednesday, the girl died from blood loss .

The couple is accused of child neglect in her death. They will fight for custody of their remaining child at a later date.

Relatives said the boy is overwhelmed by the circumstances but is now on medication for seizures and doing better.

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/weird/Brother_of_Rat_Bite_Baby_Hosp

[Nut44x4]

Autopsy: 3-month-old La. infant whose body was covered in rodent bites bled to death in cribBy Associated Press
3:46 PM PDT, July 22, 2009
WESTWEGO, La. (AP) — A 3-month-old suburban New Orleans girl whose body was covered with rodent bites bled to death before she was found in her crib, according to an autopsy released Wednesday.

Westwego Police Chief Dwayne Munch said Natalie Hill had severe wounds on her nose and leg along with more than 100 suspected rat bites when her parents found her body last Thursday in her crib, which was stained with bloody rodent footprints.


The cause of death was preliminary and more tests were planned, said Elizabeth Evans, an investigator for the Jefferson Parish coroner's office.

The chief said the autopsy results "tell us what we had suspected already."

"We were all hoping that we were wrong. It's just horrifying to think of the baby being bitten and all this trauma happening while she was alive," he said.


No charges have been filed, but Munch said police are still investigating.

The child's parents told police the girl was fine when her mother fed her several hours before her body was discovered. When police arrived at the house, the girl's father was in the front yard shouting that his baby was dead.

Investigators are awaiting the results of drug and alcohol tests that the parents submitted to last week, the chief said.

"It's just to make sure we cover all the bases," Munch said of the tests. "If we find neglect, we'll pursue charges ... It's too early to tell right now."

Munch had said earlier that the girl's parents had set traps out for rodents.

In Ohio, three people have been accused of letting rats bite a 6-week-old girl and chew off several of her toes at a cluttered mobile home. The girl was reported in fair condition at a Columbus hospital after losing the toes on one foot.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-infant-rodent-bites,1,2448218.story

[MuffyBee]

http://www.nola.com/news/?/base/news-2/1248413037106510.xml&coll=1
Family to seek second autopsy
Decision made on way to bury baby
Friday, July 24, 2009
By Allen Powell II
West Bank bureau

In a last-minute departure, the family of a Westwego baby killed by rats last week has decided to request a second autopsy on the child, a decision made just as the family drove to a cemetery to bury the little girl.

Natalie Hill's funeral was held Thursday, but as Westwego police officers escorted the procession to the cemetery, officers were told that the burial was not going to take place on the advice of the family's attorney, Police Chief Dwayne Munch said.

Munch said the family did not explain to officers why the autopsy was needed, but he assumes it is related to any possible criminal charges that might be filed against the girl's parents, Robby Hill and Casey Laine. Munch stressed that his office is still in the middle of its investigation and that no decision has been made.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl072309tpratupdate.6d0b5391.html
New developments in case of child who died from rat bites

05:58 PM CDT on Thursday, July 23, 2009
Paul Murphy / Eyewitness News
 WESTWEGO - There are new developments in the case of a Westwego baby who died with hundreds of rat bites.

Her parents have requested a second autopsy.

Thursday morning, family and friends attended a funeral for three-month-old Natalie Hill who died in her crib a week ago.

According to sources, her body was not buried so that a doctor can continue to look for the exact cause of death.

Wednesday, a Jefferson Parish Coroner's report indicated the baby died from a loss of blood, caused by the rat bites.

Some family members have cast blame on the man who rented the house where the baby died to her parents, Casey Laine and Robby Hill, his stepson.

They claim Charles Dufrene did not keep up the property and refused to use the money he got from FEMA to repair the Hurricane Katrina damaged building.

FEMA would not confirm if Dufrene received federal disaster assistance citing privacy concerns.

Dufrene said he worked on the house until the FEMA money ran out.

"This is a family dwelling and this is what it's all about," said Dufrene. "Robby was going to buy the dwelling. It's what they call a rental purchase. He was going to fix it up himself, the way he wanted it. That's the way I agreed with him."

The baby's maternal grandmother, Lisa Lee Normand says Dufrene neglected the home.

"This is all the landlord's fault that house was his for 17 years and he let them, the children move into the house knowing the kind of danger they were in," said Normand.

After the baby's death, Westwego police said there appeared to be gaping holes in both the floor and walls of the home.

Dufrene said he did the best he could.

"I used the money to fix the floors," said Dufrene. "I replaced the flooring, carpet, okay. I replaced the flooring in the kitchen. I put plywood down in that one bedroom where the baby died, you know put plywood on the floor. I put carpet on top. I redone all the rooms with sheet-rock that was damaged in there. And, I redone the other bedroom in the back and I did the washroom.

Charles Dufrene says he feels bad he couldn't attend the baby's funeral.

He said given the circumstances and the things some family members are now saying about him, he didn't want to be a distraction.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/westwego_couple_could_learn_fa.html
Family, friends mourn baby Natalie Hill at service
by Allen Powell II, The Times-Picayune
Thursday July 23, 2009, 10:50 AM

JOHN MCCUSKER / THE TIMES-PICYAUNECasey Laine, right, gets consoled at the end of the visitation for her child, Natalie Hill, at Mothe Funeral Home in Marrero Thursday, July 23, 2009. Natalie Hill was killed last week by rats while she slept in her crib at her Westwego home..
 Family, friends and members of the Westwego community have gathered at a Marrero funeral home this morning to say goodbye to little Natalie Hill.

The 3-month-old girl died a week ago today after rats gnawed at her body so badly that she bled to death.

A tiny white coffin draped in pink roses rested in a chapel as a display board held photos of Natalie and messages of "Our Little Butterfly,'' and "We love you.''

The father, Robby Hill, sat on a sofa, exchanging stares between the coffin and the floor. Mourners tried to offer him comfort. Meanwhile, Natalie's mother, Casey Laine, stood off to the side as friends offer her words of sympathy.

The couple also has a 17-month-old boy, who has been in foster care since Natalie's death last Thursday. They appeared at a hearing Wednesday in an attempt to regain custody of their son, but Judge Salvador Mule continued the hearing until next week and directed social services investigators to examine the homes of relatives, presumably in an attempt, to place the youngster back in the care of family.

On Wednesday, the Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office announced that the girl died from blood loss due to the numerous rat bites she suffered.

In a one-sentence press release, Coroner Robert Treuting listed the cause of Natalie Hill's death as "exsanguination due to destruction of soft tissue secondary to murine activity." That means the baby died from blood loss because of the rat bites.

The coroner's office would not discuss whether the baby bled for an extended period of time, or whether an artery was struck causing massive bleeding immediately. Authorities said it appeared that rats had gnawed on Natalie's nose and right leg.

The news came as the Hill and Laine waited at the Jefferson Parish Juvenile Justice Center in Gretna to find out if their 14-month-old son would be released from state custody.

After hours of discussion, Mule decided to delay a decision on whether the boy should be placed with the couple or their relatives and friends. The case will resume Tuesday, and the boy will remain in state custody while officials conduct site visits at relatives' homes to determine whether they are suitable.

Laine and Hill lost custody of the boy after Natalie died. The couple has said that they were aware of rat problem around the home, and heard rats scratching in the walls of the house. However, Laine has said that they never saw the rats inside the building, and several family friends agreed.

A family friend said that the judge intimated that he would consider the coroner's report when he decided whether to return the boy to his parents.

The news about Natalie's death "devastated" family members who once again praised Hill and Laine as "good parents" and cast blame on the couple's landlord Charles Dufrene.

"They were good parents," said Lisa Lee Normand, Casey Laine's mother. "This is all the landlord's fault...

"He let them children move in that house knowing the kind of danger they were in."

Normand repeated accusations that Dufrene, who is Robby Hill's stepfather, received federal assistance to repair the house, but refused to spend that money on fixing the house and helping the couple. Dufrene was at the courthouse Wednesday with the family, but could not be reached for comment. Several family members said the mood was very tense between Dufrene and the rest of the family once the coroner's report was released.

"I'll never forgive that man ever," Normand said.

Media members were not allowed to interview the family inside of the building or sit outside the courtroom where the hearing was held. Hill and Laine left the building shortly after it closed at 4:30 p.m. but declined to comment on the hearing or on the coroner's report before leaving in a waiting car.

The family is trying to band together to provide support for the couple and to provide a safe place for their son to return to, said Ryan Laine, Casey Laine's brother. Roughly a dozen family members and friends were on hand at the courthouse to serve as character witnesses for the couple. Laine said his sister has been treated unfairly, and emphasized that she did everything she could for her daughter and son.

"This is devastation," he said. "Nobody thought that this would happen like that...I want everybody to know she is a good mother."

Westwego Police Chief Dwayne Munch said the coroner's report is just another piece of information for his department to consider as it continues its investigation into Hill's death. Munch would not say whether the couple could face any criminal charges, but did emphasize that his department is considering a wide array of options.

"Everything is on the table. I don't want to speculate, but everything is on the table," Munch said.

[cookie]

blame it on someone else....
the step father was not the one who lived in the home and was not the one responsible to care for this child...in my mind, that would be getting rid of any rats and the entrance for the rats to come into the house.. secure the home....it would creep me out to be laying in my bed and hearing rats scratching in the walls...
it was/is the parent's responsibility to maintain a safe environment for their own kids imo!  they were buying the house...they saw the condition of the home when they moved in and were aware of the rat problem in the area..from what I read...
now, that being said, I am positive that the parents never ever expected this to happen..who would? I do feel very sorry for them and for the loss of their child in such a horrible way...it is beyond sad!

[Tina Bee]

 IMO I think the parents left the two children alone while they went out, hence them not hearing the baby being attacked.

If that's the case then they need to be charged with child abuse.

[cookie]

IMO I think the parents left the two children alone while they went out, hence them not hearing the baby being attacked.

If that's the case then they need to be charged with child abuse.

never thought about that...you could be right that they were gone...and they do need to be charged if that is the case...