Oh, my heart hurts. A Chicago mom came home to find her toddler missing this week and reported her disappearance to police. But cops have announced that the body of a toddler they found in a wooded area of a city park is that woman's daughter. Amierah Roberson's body was found two whole hours before mom called police to alert them that her child was missing.
How does something like this happen?
According to reports, Jocelyn Roberson left her daughter with her boyfriend when she went to work on Sunday. When she got home around 5 p.m., the boyfriend said the child was gone. That's when mom called the cops. Police say they were told that the boyfriend "left the child unattended for a moment," and when he returned, she was gone. It's not clear where she was left unattended -- out at a public park, at home in the boyfriend's apartment, somewhere else?
But you have to be asking yourself what I'm asking myself!
What kind of person loses a toddler and doesn't call the cops immediately? What kind of person waits until the child's mom gets home and then has her do it?
Amierah's age has been listed by different media as either 17 or 19 months old. Either way, she was clearly too young to be left alone for any period of time. Kids that age are curious AND helpless. They'll walk off with a stranger who offers them candy. They'll walk into traffic. They just don't know any better, and that's why we need to watch them like hawks ... and treat any time apart very seriously.
This little girl apparently died of subdural hematoma and closed head injuries due to an assault. Did that happen while mom's boyfriend was sitting on knowledge of her disappearance ... waiting? Clearly this guy let at least two hours pass before mom got home!
Cops are apparently questioning Jocelyn and her boyfriend, and as yet, no charges have been filed.
But regardless of who killed this precious baby, something surely has to be done about an adult letting a toddler up and disappear without notifying authorities. What if the child could have been saved? What if she'd been abducted and an Amber Alert would have helped get her home before something awful happened?
How long would you search for a child before calling police?
Image via Chicago Police