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Illinois investigated starved 6-year-old boy's home in 2016

Posted November 09, 2017 6:00 am

The Associated Press

JERSEYVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Illinois child welfare officials say they received a hotline call about a 6-year-old Jerseyville boy's home nearly two years before he was found starved to death.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that Illinois Department of Children and Family Services officials say the January 2016 hotline call "alleged inadequate food in the home" and the agency launched an investigation. DCFS spokeswoman Alissandra Calderon says a pediatric specialist found the now-deceased child's weight was a result of a medical condition and "the investigation was closed as unfounded."

The boy's father and stepmother, Michael and Georgena Roberts, were charged with first-degree after the boy died last week weighing 17 pounds.

Jersey County State's Attorney Benjamin Goetten said authorities didn't believe the dead child's malnourishment was the result of a medical condition.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com

This undated photo provided by the Jersey County States Attorney in Jerseyville, Ill shows Georgena Roberts. Roberts and her husband Michael Roberts have been charged with first-degree murder in the starvation death of their 6-year-old boy, who authorities said weighed 17 pounds. Jerseyville police say officers responded to a hospital Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, to investigate the death of a malnourished child. They're being held on $500,000 bond. (Jersey County States Attorney via AP) The Associated Press

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