Posted on 03/12/2009 8:26:13 AM PDT by flutters
When their pit bull, Petey, was scratching, William Robinson Sr. and Monica Hussing took him to a veterinarian and paid the $87.18 bill for flea treatments.
But when their 8-year-old son, Willie, developed a lump on his neck, complained of intense pain and begged to see a doctor, the parents claimed they couldn't afford it, and did nothing, prosecutors and family members said.
Willie died nearly a year ago of Hodgkin's lymphoma, one of the most common and curable of cancers to strike children.
On Wednesday, a Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Robinson, 37, and Hussing, 34, both of Cleveland, for involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and felonious assault.
Several members of the grand jury were driven to tears by the case, Willie's aunt said a police investigator told her.
"He was the most loving and sweet little boy. I don't know how they could have done this to him," said Hussing's sister, Sheila Sla- winski of Valley City.
The county coroner determined the child died of cancer and pneumonia, but ruled his death a homicide.
Hodgkin's lymphoma is 93 percent curable when treated early, said County Prosecutor Bill Mason.
He said parental neglect was just as responsible for Willie's death as the diseases.
"They never once took him to a doctor," Mason said. "It just is not right. This kid should be alive today."
Mason said the couple did not need money or insurance for medical care for Willie.
If convicted of the most serious charge, the parents could go to prison for up to 10 years each.
Robinson and Hussing have not been arrested. They are to appear in court in about two weeks. They could not be reached for comment.
"My sister and Bill are still in denial," Slawinski said. "They don't think they did anything wrong. And if I would quit talking, they think it would all go away."
Robinson and Hussing, who are not married, had six children between the ages of 5 and 15. Only after Willie died did investigators learn they weren't attending school and had not received medical or dental care for the previous three years.
Slawinski's first clue something was wrong with her nephew, Willie, was on July 13, 2007, when she and her husband threw a high school graduation party for their daughter.
There was a disc jockey and dancing, fishing in a pond, and paddle boats. But Willie didn't join his siblings or cousins in the fun, Slawinski recalled.
"He didn't move, just sat there and cried and complained about the pain in his stomach and legs," she said. "I called him Casper, he was so pale. With the dark circles around his eyes, he looked like a zombie."
Slawinski said she confronted her sister and demanded that she take Willie to a doctor. But Hussing refused.
"She said she didn't have the money," Slawinski said. "I volunteered to take him, but she told me to mind my own business."
Slawinski called social workers in Trumbull County, where the family was living at the time. Slawinski offered to take the kids into her home. But when a social worker threatened to take custody, the parents fled with their children to a house on West 39th Street in Cleveland in February 2008.
Willie died three weeks later, on March 22.
In the days before his death, Slawinski said, Willie begged his parents to take him to a doctor. He couldn't walk, so they carried him to the bathroom. When his digestive system broke down, they fed him laxatives, she said.
In April, a Juvenile Court judge found Robinson and Hussing guilty of medical and educational neglect. But he allowed the other children to remain in the home while the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services monitored them.
The parents underwent grief counseling, received drug treatment for marijuana abuse, and took parenting classes, court records show. Neither has a job. They have remained drug-free, however, and are complying with the court's orders.
Assistant County Prosecutor Anna Faraglia can't suppress her outrage as she holds up the vet's bill for Petey, and a photo of Willie taken as he neared death.
"There were some horrific symptoms," she said.
"What weren't they seeing? Even a blind person would have known there was something wrong with him."
The parents should be made to die a similar dearh...
There’s never an excuse for that kind of neglect. String them up.
I agree completely what a horrible way to die...how parents can do that to their own flesh and blood is beyond me.
People will spend their money for cigarretes, cars, take out food, booze, illegal drugs, and a new TV but for some reason, they do not want to drop any of their own money for medical care.
I see it all the time.
Wow. A conventional execution strikes me as being too kind a punishment for these animals.
In the REAL world, though, they’ll probably do a couple years in jail/prison and then be free to procreate some more.
More proof that marijuana makes people stupid.
But people need to see that the government wants to mandate your health care decisions. If a gov't bureaucrat can tell you that you MUST take your child to the doctor, then a federal bureaucrat will be able say that your mother's care is too expensive and that she's being cut off.
Government is either in charge, or it's not. Tough cases lead people further down a slippery slope to tyranny. I imagine I am in the minority, but I would not charge these parents with a crime. Yeah, I think they were stupid and reprehensible. But criminal? I thinks that a exactly what Obama wants you to think.
That may be abhorrent too, but it's better than government intrusion into all aspects of our lives.
Why didn’t his relatives inform police or child protective services. They are complicit in this.
Horrible.
FWIW, West 39th St. in Cleveland is in pretty much a hellhole area.That poor kid...
Very sad, prayers for the little boy.
They did. The mother’s sister is the one that notified authorities.
“what a horrible way to die...”
That is the understatement of the day. I know from personal experience.
In 1991 my two year old son Timmy was diagnosed with Leukemia (ALL).
We were lucky to have 8 wonderful months with him before he succumed to the complications that sometimes come with cancer.
What this child went through is too horrible to describe.
I have no words ..... The only comfort I have in this case is that now he is in the loving arms of Jesus our Lord.
I can picture this child now frolicking and playing with my little boy.
Slawinski said she confronted her sister and demanded that she take Willie to a doctor. But Hussing refused. "She said she didn't have the money," Slawinski said. "I volunteered to take him, but she told me to mind my own business." Slawinski called social workers in Trumbull County, where the family was living at the time. Slawinski offered to take the kids into her home. But when a social worker threatened to take custody, the parents fled with their children to a house on West 39th Street in Cleveland in February 2008.
I had this, its very treatable... especially early.
oops, I should not have skimmed.
Read the article. An aunt did inform social services.
FYI, I just took a moment to pray for you, Timmy, and Willie. God bless you.
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