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Abused toddler dies after two years of hospitalization in Chicago
CHICAGO, Sep 05, 2010 (Chicago Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) --
A 2-year-old boy who was so severely abused that he had to be hospitalized most of his life apparently died from those injuries, officials said Sunday.
Alexander Pearson Jr., who was born on May 15, 2008, had been hospitalized since August 2008. He was pronounced dead at 7:20 a.m. Saturday in Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Chicago, officials said.
An autopsy conducted Sunday on the child's body by the Cook County medical examiner's office was inconclusive. The final determination of the boy's cause and manner of death was "pending further studies," officials said.
While the autopsy was inconclusive, officials from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services believe that the boy died from the abuse he sustained earlier, said Kendall Marlowe, a spokesman for the agency.
Alexander had been living at the Children's Habilitation Center in Harvey, Ill., officials said. The facility is a long-term care hospital for infants and children, according to its web site.
In August 2008, the boy's father, Alexander Pearson Sr., 23, was charged with aggravated battery of a child, attempted murder with intent to kill and aggravated domestic battery in the case.
According to a 2008 Chicago Tribune story, prosecutors said Pearson repeatedly shook the boy between June 24 and Aug. 17. They alleged that the incident caused multiple fractures to the boy's arms and ribs, and blunt trauma to his head.
Pearson gave police a statement admitting he shook the child, prosecutors said. The boy was on a respirator as of 2008 and at the time officials did not believe the boy would survive.
Pearson has been in custody at Cook County Jail in lieu of $2 million since his arrest and has a Sept. 23 court hearing, according to court records. Prosecutors could not say Sunday whether he will face additional charges now that the boy has died.
Marlowe said that DCFS officials took custody of the boy on Aug. 17, 2008, after they determined the boy had sustained injuries from being shaken.
"This child had been so severely injured that [he] had been in that placement ever since, and just now died from the long-term effects of those injuries," Marlowe said.
Marlowe said that while a DCFS investigation at the time concluded both the boy's mother and father had been responsible for the abuse, the boy's father confessed to shaking the infant. The mother was not charged, according to court records.
Pearson's family said Sunday that they had no comment regarding the death of the toddler. Alexander's mother could not be reached for comment.
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(Chicago Tribune reporter Andrew L. Wang contributed to this report.)
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(c) 2010, Chicago Tribune.
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