The Department of Children and Families (DCF) said they responded to a total of 18 reports involving the family of a toddler who died after falling from a third-floor window in Hartford last month.
The toddler's mother has been charged with manslaughter in connection to his death.
Emergency crews responded to the 1000 block of Capitol Avenue around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 22 after 2-year-old Corneliuz Williams fell and officers found the little boy with serious injuries. He was transported to Connecticut Children's and died two days later.
Investigators said 34-year-old Tabitha Frank had left five children between the ages of 2 and 12 unattended in the apartment, which was in deplorable and uninhabitable condition, and officials believe a screen fell out of the window and then the child fell.
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Police said Frank told them she left to go to a store to buy necessities. She was initially charged with 10 counts of risk of injury to a minor -- two counts of risk of injury per child and one for suspicion of leaving them unattended and one for the alleged condition of the apartment, according to officials.
In the arrest warrant, officers who responded to the home last month described the conditions of the apartment and said they found bugs, moldy food, curdled liquids and trash and the odors of human waste in the home.
Frank’s attorney, Wesley Spears, said the state DCF failed the family. DCF said the last visit to the apartment was in mid-June, more than a month before the tragic death of Corneliuz.
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The department said based on that visit, further child protective services involvement was not warranted, and the case was in the process of being closed. DCF said they contracted with a community provider who was connected to the family to help Frank support her five children.
"It takes the collective efforts of all members of our community - family members, neighbors, professionals and concerned citizens — to ensure that children can safely remain at home," DCF said in a statement. "A simple gesture of offering help may change the life of a child and their caregiver."
According to a DCF spokesperson, conditions in the home met the statutory criteria of physical neglect in 2016, before Corneliuz was born.
Frank's family said the other children are with relatives. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the HPD Tip Line at (860) 722-TIPS.
