FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. (TCD) — Police arrested the mother and her boyfriend last week after the four-year-old boy died from signs of malnutrition and multiple injuries.
According to a news release from the Fredericktown Police Department, just before 1 a.m. on Wednesday, March 27, officers responded to Madison Medical Center regarding a “suspicious unresponsive juvenile situation.” Medical staff informed responding officers that the child had died and “showed evidence of abuse or neglect.”
KMOV-TV reported that the victim appeared malnourished and officers found bruises, abrasions and lacerations all over his body.
Authorities arrested the mother, Rylee Fararro, at the medical facility. Police also located her mother's boyfriend, Hayden Rosener, and brought her in for questioning.
According to KSDK-TV, Rosener and Fararro shared custody of their children. The night the boy died, Rosener allegedly brought the unresponsive victim to Fararro and she rushed him to the hospital while Rosener stayed behind.
Fararro told officials that he worked about 60 hours a week and that Rosener served as the child's primary caregiver. KSDK reported Fararro said that when Rosener began caring for his son, he began seeing suspicious marks and bruises on his son.
Fararro reportedly showed investigators photos of the boy's bruises and marks. Fararro suspected Rosener had abused the victim, but he did not report it to law enforcement. Her mother also tried to stop her boyfriend from taking her son to the hospital, KSDK reported.
When police confronted Fararro about the boy's apparent malnutrition, she said she had observed her son becoming increasingly thinner, but Rosener believed it was normal.
In the interview, Rosener told police the victim often became angry. He also said the young boy was experiencing stomach pains and bowel problems.
Rosener said the victim became angry and threw herself into the bathroom on March 26. As a result, the boy hit his head on the edge of the toilet, sustaining previous injuries to his ears and nose, according to KSDK.
Rosener told police the victim frequently fell and suffered injuries. He said in one instance he “went too far,” but Rosener did not provide details.
According to KMOV, Fararro and Rosener admitted to authorities that they were addicted to opioids and often used drugs in the apartment where the victim lived. Police searched the home and observed “poor living conditions, a strong odor of urine, drug paraphernalia and an ample supply of food,” according to a probable cause statement obtained by News Source.
Police reportedly found unprescribed oxycodone in Rosener's belongings while he was changing into prison uniform.
Fararro and Rosener are charged with child abuse or neglect resulting in death and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death. Rosener was also charged with possession of a controlled substance. Rosener's bond was set at $1 million and Fararro's bond was set at $500,000.
In November 2023, several months before the boy's death, the Missouri Department of Human Services' Children's Division visited the suspect's home, and the case worker advised the boy not to be left alone with Roger due to his alleged substance abuse and unpredictable behavior. According to KSDK.
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