Sadly, a three-year-old child died on Sunday, six days after his aunt is accused of pushing him over Chicago’s Navy Pier and into Lake Michigan.
Local news sources claim that the youngster from Illinois, Josiah Brown, passed away on Sunday just after 10:00 a.m.
Josiah was with his aunt Victoria Moreno, 34, last Monday when she shoved the boy 6.5 feet into the water when no one was looking at the Navy Pier, a well-known tourist destination in the Windy City.
After being left up by his mother earlier in the day, Moreno allegedly took the youngster from his grandmother’s home in Des Plaines.
Moreno reportedly previously staged the kidnapping of her nieces and has a history of sleeplessness, melancholy, and anxiety.
During the 30-minute struggle for survival in the water, Moreno is seen shoving the youngster into the lake as no one is around in surveillance video from Monday afternoon.
According to the police, Moreno did nothing except watch as the 3-year-old puked twice in the water before drowning. Divers subsequently found him and retrieved him.
One eyewitness described how she ultimately saw Josiah “floating on his back and just looked up at the sky, his head was the only thing that was bobbing above the water,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Josiah “JoJo” Brown had horrific injuries before to his death, including a bloated brain, convulsions, and lung hemorrhage. A cardiac infusion was necessary since he also had a depressed heart. The family has set up a GoFundMe page in order to raise money for both medical bills and, now, presumably, burial costs.
Moreno originally denied knowing the boy when questioned by officials, but she subsequently said he was “acting up” and fell into the lake when she let grip of his shirt. She continued by saying that she had taken her nephew to the pier so he could enjoy the attractions.
Charges against Moreno include aggravated violence on a kid under the age of 13 as well as attempted first-degree murder. Now that the youngster has passed away, the charges will very probably be increased.
Moreno is presently detained in a Cook County prison without posting bond and is not permitted to communicate with any of the witnesses to the event or Josiah’s family. She will next show up in court on Friday.
The social media pages of Dantrell and Maria Brown, who are Josiah’s parents, have received a deluge of condolence comments.
‘Sorry to hear about your loss. He will always be an angel. He will always be with you and your family, so relax, little one,” stated Esmeme Perez.
Memphis Breeze prayed for you and said, “This lovely baby is so pure and sweet may he be cared for now by God and angels.”
Dantrell, who has end-stage heart failure, wrote in a blog entry from just before Josiah passed away about how difficult it was to read comments from individuals who said that he and his wife should be “locked up” because of what had happened to their kid.
“The one thing in life that I really dreaded has come true. In a post that received more than 800 shares, he said, “My bubba is battling for his life and is so innocent.”