Irrelevant- what’s relevant is the the aunt’s “partner” (Stevenson) did not have legal custody and should not have been able to take the boy anywhere. I don’t know whose responsibility it would have been to realize when the aunt died that there was a child that at that point would have gone into state custody and sent to foster care if both parents were in jail.
It’s possible that the father just sent the boy to the aunt without any paperwork or legal transferral of custody. In which case I believe even the aunt would not have been a legal guardian. Not sure how that works but would perhaps explain why the kid was totally off the radar (if that was the case and not shoddy administration in child services).
The “system” sure failed this child somewhere, somehow. You’d think there are all kinds of safeguards in place but still too many kids are victimized.