There is a tragic update on the horrific incident involving the 3-year-old Illinois boy whose aunt allegedly threw him into Lake Michigan.
According to online records obtained by People, Josiah Brown was pronounced dead on Sunday morning at around 10:15 a.m. Heartbreaking. The documents did not list his cause of death at this time. However, as we previously reported, the young boy was not expected to survive after his aunt, Victoria Moreno, pushed him into the lake from Navy Pier last week.
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The 34-year-old had been at a family member’s home in Des Plaines on September 19 when she allegedly stole a family member’s vehicle and drove off to the lake with the young boy — also known as JoJo by his relatives. While letting him crawl around the edge of the Navy Pier, Victoria reportedly would pull him away whenever people were nearby. However, once she saw that no one was around, she allegedly shoved him off the pier with both of her hands and then watched as the child, who fell more than six feet, slowly sank below the surface of the water. What the f**k…
The Chicago Police Department was able to recover Josiah alive 30 minutes later, and he was rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest. He had suffered from multiple seizures, experienced brain swelling, and had been awaiting a heart transplant. Sadly, he passed away nearly a week later.
As for the aunt, she has been formally charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery to a child. However, those will most likely graduate to full murder charges due to the boy’s death. While in court on Thursday, Assistant State’s Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said Victoria did not attempt to get help or help out Josiah when he went into the lake:
“Not once during any of these events did the defendant scream for help, call for help, ask for help or try herself to help.”
What’s even more horrible? She also “pretended not to know anything about the child” once police were at the scene. But as the Chicago-Sun Times previously noted, there is surveillance footage of Victoria pushing Josiah, and she allegedly confessed to the authorities she “let him fall” off the pier. After the judge denied her being released on bail, she is now set to head back to court on September 30, during which she will enter a plea.
It is such a tragedy that happened here. Josiah’s godmother has set up a GoFundMe campaign for his relatives, with nearly $19,500 being raised as of this writing. You can donate HERE.
Our heart goes out to Josiah’s family following this unimaginable situation.
[Image via GoFundMe, Chicago Police Department, NBC News/YouTube]
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