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Woman charged in son’s death investigated before

BELLEVILLE — There are reports a southwestern Illinois woman was investigated by the state for possible child neglect four months before a town house fire killed her 6-year-old son.

Thirty-two-year-old Maria Ware is charged with felony child endangerment related to the January death of Kenyartte Griffin Jr. in East St. Louis.

Authorities allege she left the boy home unattended with his 4-year-old brother when the fire broke out while she visited a neighbor. The younger boy survived.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports Ware was investigated by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services for possible child neglect last fall , but the agency says it found no credible evidence.

Ware is free on $15,000 bond. She doesn’t have a listed home telephone number, and court records don’t show her having an attorney.