Boy lives for 10 days with dead mother.....

[ABikerSailor]

You know, I'm an orphan myself, and have been since 8.

This is probably the saddest story that I've seen in 44 years.........

Police: Boy, 8, spent 10 days with dead mother

By DAVID N. GOODMAN | Associated Press Writer
6:14 PM CST, January 20, 2009

ROMULUS, Mich. - An 8-year-old boy who survived Hurricane Katrina spent more than a week in a Michigan apartment with the body of his dead mother before anyone discovered his situation, according to police.

They say Gaynell Tipado, 41, apparently died Jan. 9 in the Detroit suburb of Romulus. The boy was home-schooled, has no siblings and his father died several years ago, police said.

Foul play was not suspected in her death. An autopsy is pending.

Lee Saco told The Associated Press that the boy and his mother had been coming into Romulus Liquor regularly for about a year and a half. But four times during the past week the boy uncharacteristically came into the store by himself -- sometimes traveling about a block through Arctic cold and other times wearing pajama bottoms.

"I questioned him, 'Where is your mom?"' Saco said when the boy first came into the store by himself to buy milk, chips, candy and bread with cash. During the next two visits, he said the boy bought a number of items, including bread.

Saco, who co-owns the store with his brother Sam, said he was curious from the beginning but his concern heightened on Monday when the boy tried to buy $34.80 worth of grocery items -- including nacho cheese dip, a package each of processed ham and turkey, hamburger buns, milk, doughnuts and candy -- with his mother's credit card. Saco then asked the boy if he could speak to his mother.

"Is she alive?" Saco asked the boy.

"She's in a better place," the boy replied, who later told Saco he'd tried to revive his mother by pushing on her chest in an apparent attempt at CPR.

"I sat him down, gave him chocolate milk. Then I called Romulus PD," Saco said.

Police arrived and took the boy to the apartment he shared with his mother. They called Saco about 10 minutes later to tell him the boy's mother was dead.

"It's sad. It's very hard. It's very unfortunate for him," said Saco, 36, a father of three young children. "I just feel bad. What he had to see for 11 days."

"He came from a good home. The mom was a hell of a lady."

The child, who moved to Michigan from Louisiana with his mother after the 2005 storm, is in foster care while police try to locate his other relatives, Romulus police Lt. John Leacher told The Associated Press.

Police: Boy, 8, spent 10 days with dead mother -- chicagotribune.com

I really hope that an extremely loving and understanding couple will adopt this child, especially if they can't find other relatives.

 

[Truthmatters]

Poor little guy.

 

[MalibuMan]

He never calls 911? My son is nine now and I'm sure he could tell if I was dead or not and to call 911. Really important to teach kids about IMHO!

 

[RodISHI]

Sad.

 

[jillian]

He never calls 911? My son is nine now and I'm sure he could tell if I was dead or not and to call 911. Really important to teach kids about IMHO!

Interesting... I'd have thought he didn't call because a) he didn't want to separate from mom; and b) didn't want to be taken away.

Just a thought.

 

[Said1]

Disassociation?

 

[AllieBaba]

Or they didn't have a phone, or he just didn't know what to do. Or he could have some learning disabilities.

 

[ABikerSailor]

I don't think he was necessarily slow.......he managed to keep going to the store and feed himself, as well as was able to stay reasonably healthy.

Yes, teaching your children to call 911 when there is a problem is a good thing, only trouble is, not all parents trust cops, even if they live within the constraints of the law.

 

[Anguille]

He was home schooled, had no other relatives, was only 8 years old and was all alone in the world. I don't think what he did was all that strange, especially for an 8 year old. He probably knew he would be put in foster care and was in grief and would have sought help sooner or later. Maybe he was already asking for help with his behavior if not with words since the store clerk already sensed the mother was dead.

I hope he is taken in by good people and that this story reminds people to pay more attention to little kids who look like they might be in some kind of trouble.

 

[random3434]

He was home schooled, had no other relatives, was only 8 years old and was all alone in the world. I don't think what he did was all that strange, especially for an 8 year old. He probably knew he would be put in foster care and was in grief and would have sought help sooner or later. Maybe he was already asking for help with his behavior if not with words since the store clerk already sensed the mother was dead.

I hope he is taken in by good people and that this story reminds people to pay more attention to little kids who look like they might be in some kind of trouble.

Excellent Points all Anguille. My heart breaks for him, and like ABS said, let's hope a relative can take him in and give him a loving home.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Interesting... I'd have thought he didn't call because a) he didn't want to separate from mom; and b) didn't want to be taken away.

Just a thought.

Exactly.

So sad, but imagine the self-reliance that the boy was taught to take care of himself for over a week.

 

[jillian]

Exactly.

So sad, but imagine the self-reliance that the boy was taught to take care of himself for over a week.

Fear is an amazing motivator.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Fear is an amazing motivator.

But the point is and why this story made the news is because the boy, without being told, took care of himself for over a week. That's miraculous! He was homeschooled and his mother taught him self-reliance. If this was something that every 8 year old could do, it wouldn't have made the news. We raise our children and adults to believe that somebody will take care of them. This explains the recent election.