A mother and her boyfriend are facing charges related to the homicide of an 8-year-old boy in a north suburb of Chicago, authorities announced Saturday.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office announced that Dominique Servant, 33, and her 38-year-old boyfriend, Joey L. Ruffin, were each charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of child endangerment causing death after police discovered Servant’s 8-year-old son unresponsive at their Round Lake Beach home on Friday afternoon.
Around 2:05 p.m., Round Lake Beach Police officers responded to a call of an unconscious child at a home on the 1900 block of Cedar Lake Road, according to the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.
When officers arrived, they immediately began performing CPR on the child until paramedics arrived and took over the life-saving effort.
The 8-year-old youngster was taken to a local hospital and eventually died, according to authorities.
According to first responders, the youngster appeared hungry and bruised.
Based on the circumstances and the child’s “suspicious injuries,” Round Lake Beach Police asked the Lake County Major Crime Task Force to aid with the investigation.
Authorities discovered evidence that the youngster had endured long-term neglect, physical abuse, and mental abuse.
Police have not yet finalized the postmortem results, but preliminary findings suggest long-term malnutrition and physical abuse.
Servant and Ruffin were arrested Friday night, according to officials.
A 10-year-old sibling of the victim was interrogated at the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center before being admitted to a local hospital for evidence of abuse and malnutrition.
Both Servant and Ruffin are scheduled to appear in court on Sunday. The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office plans to file a petition to detain them both while they await trial.
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