Grandparents charged in Rolling Meadows baby's death
Two grandparents are facing child endangerment charges after their 5-month-old grandson was found lying face down in a pile of clothing, dead apparently from suffocation, authorities said.
Eujenia Trejo, 48, and Jose Trejo, 46, of the 2500 block of Algonquin Road in Rolling Meadows, were charged with one count each of endangering the life of a child. Their bond was set at $30,000 each during a court appearance Friday afternoon.
Prosecutors say Reymond Trejo, their grandson, was home alone Tuesday morning when he was found in the pile of clothing next to a bed. He may have been by himself for at least an hour, according to Andy Conklin, a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.
Eujenia Trejo was declared the child's legal guardian a day earlier. It's believed she was separated from her husband and was living with a boyfriend in Arlington Heights. The child lived with his grandfather, 17-year-old mother and 11-year-old uncle at the Rolling Meadows condominium unit, Conklin said.
According to prosecutors' sequence of events, the grandmother left the baby with her relatives in Rolling Meadows on Monday night. Her husband, a maintenance worker in the complex, left the residence at 6:50 a.m. the next day. The child's mother left for school between 6:50 and 7 a.m. Her brother left to catch his school bus at 8:22 a.m.
No one was in the condo unit until Jose Trejo came back at 9:15 a.m., but prosecutors say he didn't notice the baby.
He left and returned by 10 a.m., and his wife had arrived by then, but she also didn't notice the baby, Conklin said.
That's when the grandfather finally found the child in the pile of clothing next to the bed, where authorities say the child was left unattended.
The 5-month-old was taken to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights where he was pronounced dead, but it was reported that the child was deceased before his arrival at the hospital, Rolling Meadows police said.
An autopsy by the Cook County medical examiner indicated the child could have died from suffocation since he had abrasions on his nose consistent with him being face down in pile of clothing.
Police investigators said they previously filed reports with the Department of Children and Family Services because they expressed concern for the child's welfare.
Salvatore Spaccaferro, the public defender appointed for Jose Trejo, said the Trejos didn't post bond and remain in Cook County jail. Eujenia Trejo has hired a private attorney.
The Trejos are due in court Feb. 2. Both grandparents could face two to 10 years in jail if convicted.