| slammer111 | 07-22-2009 02:06 PM |
Damn, another one (this time Louisiana) where the baby died, also from getting chewed on by rats. http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stor....6733c015.html Quote:
Autopsy: Blood loss from rat bites killed Westwego baby
04:33 PM CDT on Wednesday, July 22, 2009
WWLTV.com
WESTWEGO, La. – Blood loss due to the attack by a rat or rats appears to be the cause of death of the three-month-old girl who died last week in a Westwego home, according to a statement by Jefferson Parish Forensic Pathologist Susan M. Garcia.
Also Online
Photos of home
The official cause of death on the statement was "exsanguination due to destruction of soft tissue secondary to murine activity."
Authorities had been trying to determine whether bites occurred while the child was alive or dead.
Dwayne Munch, the Westwego Police Chief, said the results were not unexpected.
"We had hoped the results would be different, to be honest with you,” Munch said.
Munch said his investigators haven’t determined if criminal charges will follow, not that the autopsy findings have been released.
“We were hoping for a different result, but now that we know what happened, we will continue our investigation and see whether anyone is negligent,” Munch said.
Natalie Hill was found in her crib by her parents covered with rat bites Thursday morning in the 700 block of Central Avenue.
The parents of Natalie, Robby Hill and Casey Lane, found her in the her crib after they fed her last, according to Westwego Police Chief Dwayne Munch, adding that emergency calls were placed to authorities between 7 and 7:30 a.m.
When EMS and police arrived at the house, Munch said, they found Natalie, a large amount of blood and hundred’s of bites on her body – including flesh being removed from her nose and the bottom of her leg. Bloody prints from the crib resembled a large rat.
Child services took the older child of Hill and Lane into protective custody last week, and a judge held custody hearing for the child Wednesday.
The curator for Audubon Zoo, Rick Dietz, said rats can be very destructive and aggressive, but it would be very unusual for the rodents to attack a live baby.
"The more likely scenario would be if the baby was dead already that the rats would bite on her," said Dietz. "If she was alive, they probably would not because of the screaming and kicking and all that the baby would do."
Some neighbors acknowledged a neighborhood rodent problem, but said Hill and Lane were good parents.
“They are good parents,” Annette Stevens, a neighbor. “They would never put them in harm’s way. They kept them clean and fed. They were good parents.”
Lane defended herself publically after the death of her daughter in a Times-Picayune video, saying, “It hurts, it feels like a piece of me is gone and it’ll never be back.
“I just wish people would stop and realize that I’m a good parent. My husband is a good parent. I never meant to put my child in any kind of danger. If I had known it was that bad, I would have never even lived there.”
Munch said the home was cluttered, though not necessarily dirty, but he said the structure had several problems.
“Holes in the wall, holes in the floor,” he said. “It’s an older home. It’s not something you would want to be raising a family in.”
Westwego Mayor John Shaddinger said earlier, city code inspectors sent the couple a letter, instructing them to clean up their yard.
"At the front of the house, there was some trash that needed to be removed," said Shaddinger. "They didn't comment that this house needed to be torn down, they never commented that they saw rats. They never commented it had holes in the side of the building or on the roof."
| |
