Single father Richard Blodgett was jailed on drug charges when officials from the Arizona Department of Child Welfare broke the news. His son is brain dead and on life support.

Blodgett yelled, cried, and yelled again. Jacob was his only son, his 9-year-old “pretty” and curious who loved remote control cars and video games.

Blodgett is now struggling to understand how it happened.

The coroner listed Jacob’s death in late December as natural due to complications from diabetes, a condition he was diagnosed with when he was a toddler. Type 1 diabetes, which means the inability to produce enough insulin to

Blodgett said he suspects the Arizona Department of Child Safety has neglected its duty to protect his son.

“They couldn’t keep him alive for two weeks, two weeks,” the father told the Associated Press during his recent furlough from prison. “It’s just insane. It was my pride and joy. I lost my way. I’m completely lost. My family is completely lost.”

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Jacob’s death. The office declined a request for an interview with Sheriff Paul Penzone, citing an ongoing investigation.

The Child Safety Administration also declined to comment specifically on the matter, citing confidentiality laws. He said he needed training from his health care provider.

Daronko did not respond to further inquiries, including whether Jacob’s insulin pump had been removed or whether he had consulted the boy’s family doctor about his treatment. I said I couldn’t.

In the fiscal year ended June last year, about 26 children died while in the custody of authorities, including from overdoses, medical conditions, natural and as yet unknown causes. was 14. The figure equates to a mortality rate of about 97 per 100,000 of her children during that period, and is the latest for which data are available.

That rate is higher than the overall child mortality rate in Arizona. Nationwide, about 55 children died per 100,000 of her children in the general population in 2020 from all causes. Similar to Arizona numbers.

Karin Klein, director of child welfare initiatives at the Family Involvement Center in Phoenix, said the death of a child is a concern, especially when under state protection.

“Rest assured, if there is any indication that the death was the result of negligence or abuse, someone will investigate,” she said.

Jacob and his father were living in a motel when Blodgett was arrested in December. Blodgett, who has already been in prison on a drug case, said he drove a backhoe most of the day and stopped at a gas station to take a nap. A report from the Show Low Police Department was similarly corroborated, but officers wrote that they suspected Blodgett may have been nodding off as a result of drug use.

Authorities eventually found more than 4,000 fentanyl tablets in Blodgett’s possession, according to the report. Blodgett was held in the Holbrook prison and charged with drug possession, according to Navajo County Superior Court documents.

Blodgett told the Associated Press that he was using fentanyl for pain management after weight loss surgery to lose 300 pounds.

“I wasn’t getting high. I wasn’t abusing them. I was using them to work and feed my son,” Blodgett said. , they’re illegal, I can’t get around them, but they were stronger and more effective than my drugs.

According to police reports, Jacob was alone in his motel room when officers picked him up and alerted Child Safety Services. It is said that

He told Jacob he was in trouble and the boy asked if his father was okay, Blodgett said. I used to stop at gas stations for snacks and play with nerf guns.

“The last time I saw my son, he was already dead,” Blodgett said.

Doenges was unable to travel from Washington, where she lives, to see Jakob at the hospital due to bad weather. But she asked a friend in Arizona to sit with Jacob, pray with him, and play music for him.

After being furloughed from prison, Blodgett drove over three hours to Phoenix to see his son unresponsive in a hospital bed. Hospital staff placed a teddy bear and a heart-shaped pendant next to the boy.Blodgett kept half, and the other half was cremated with Jacob.

Blodgett took pictures, hugged and kissed his son, and talked to him. The hospital held a memorial service for Jacob on his December 26th. On this day, some of his organs were taken and later donated with Blodgett’s blessing, and a moment of silence was observed.

Before the year was over, Blodgett was back in prison.

Doenges said her son must find a way to put his life back together.

“My suggestion to him is to live a really good life and do positive things in memory of Jacob,” she said. He is very sad.”