KEY POINTS
- Cops found the toddler in a diaper that hadn’t been changed in days
- The child was in “medical distress” and rushed to hospital in critical condition
- Sources reportedly called it the “worst child abuse case” they ever saw
A 2-year-old boy died five days after he was found alone in a motel room in Ashland, Virginia, with multiple injuries and wearing a diaper that appeared to be several days old.
The toddler was found at the Days Inn motel on Oct. 15 and died five days later, police said Thursday. The child’s 21-year-old mother, Danielle Tulloss of Fredericksburg, and her 24-year-old boyfriend, Raequan Gilliens of Ashland, were arrested on charges of child neglect and abuse.
Ashland Police responded to a medical emergency involving a child and arrived at 12:10 a.m. at the motel to find the child with bruises and multiple bone fractures, Crime Insider sources said, according to CBS 6 News.
The sources also told the outlet that the case was “the worst child abuse case” they had ever seen.
“Upon arrival, the child was discovered alone in the motel room in medical distress,” the Ashland Police Department reportedly said in a news release. “APD officers began life-saving measures until Hanover Fire/EMS personnel arrived on scene.”
The child was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and passed away on Oct. 20.
The mother told investigators that she left her son with a friend and went to work before the toddler was found alone.
A Days Inn staffer spoke to NBC12 and said the couple has stayed at the motel a few times over the past months.
Another man, employed at a fast-food restaurant in the area, said the motel draws in a number of crimes. “It’s just so crazy. You never really know what’s going on,” he told the outlet.
“I definitely can say police are heavily over here, especially on the weekends and nights, and I just think we need to take more of a watch and be more mindful of what’s going on, especially at night … and make sure everybody’s staying safe,” the fast-food worker continued.
“If the police could stay over here just a little bit more, it would make the City of Ashland definitely safer, for sure,” he added, noting that he tries to be careful at night while shutting the restaurant.
Tulloss and Gilliens were arrested without incident and are being held without bond. Officials have not released the toddler’s cause of death as the investigation continues.
