LIBERTY COUNTY – Child Protective Services confirmed Monday it is investigating the death of a three-year-old boy from Liberty County after law enforcement ruled the circumstances surrounding his death as “suspicious.”
“CPS does have a history with the family, but specific details of case investigations are confidential under the law,” wrote Melissa Lanford, the DFPS spokesperson, in a statement to KPRC2.
Relatives confirmed to KPRC2 that the boy’s first name is Jace. They did not provide a surname.
According to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, the boyfriend of the boy’s mother called 911 Saturday to report the child was “gagging.”
Authorities responded to the home located on County Road 3792 in Cleveland.
“He described it to our dispatcher that the child was gagging, it is the way he explained it. And when the medical team arrived on the scene, that’s in fact what they did find,” said Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Ken DeFoor.
According to DeFoor, the circumstances leading up to the allegation that Jace was “gagging” were unclear. He said an autopsy report will have to corroborate that.
“We’re still awaiting autopsy results,” DeFoor said.
When authorities arrived at the house Saturday, they said they found the boy unresponsive.
“He was in a recliner chair in the living room,” DeFoor said.
DeFoor said he couldn’t disclose many details about the investigation, pending a cause of death from the medical examiner. He said investigators hope to receive confirmation within the coming days and that should provide answers to the many questions investigators are exploring.
“Some of these things we can’t address right at the present time because it could wind up being evidence in court,” DeFoor said.