The bodies of a mother and her 10-year-old son were discovered Wednesday in a Bronx apartment, police said.
It is unclear how long the bodies of Charlene Santiago, 39, and her son Brian were in their New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) apartment. According to According to the New York Post, the mother was the sole caregiver for her bedridden son, who was dependent on a feeding tube and is believed to have starved to death after a possible drug overdose.
According to law enforcement sources, Santiago was facing multiple charges from the American Child Services (ACS) after she apparently removed the children from her care, only for them to be returned to her custody.
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“If they investigate parents and then return a child who later dies, that's a crime and someone has to be held accountable,” one investigator told the outlet. “They can't hide behind bureaucracy. The ACS needs a complete overhaul. Too many of these things happen and when we're talking about defenseless children, one time is too many.” (RELATED: 'Take turns': NYC public health poster says drug use is OK as long as it's done safely)
In a separate incident that same night, an 11-month-old girl was found drowned in a bathtub in the city, according to the New York Post. Both the girl's mother and father have been charged in the ACS lawsuit.
The coroner is currently conducting autopsies on all of the victims profiled in this article. NYCHA did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this article.
