PORTER COUNTY, Ind. (WNDU) - Officials say a northwest Indiana boy who died in foster care back in April died of homicide.

The St. Joseph County Coroner’s Office says 10-year-old Dakota Stevens died from mechanical asphyxia, a kind of asphyxiation in which an object or physical force stops a person from breathing.

According to the IndyStar, Dakota was in the care of a foster parent on the afternoon of April 25 when first responders were called to a house in the 200 block of Falcon Way in Valparaiso for a “medical emergency.”

Dakota was taken to Porter Memorial Hospital before he was airlifted to Memorial Hospital in South Bend. The boy’s aunt, Ana Parrish, says he was taken off life support two days later.

After at least one other failed suicide attempt, Kathrine Dufresne — the Chelsea woman who killed her seven-year-old daughter Sophie Fitzpatrick — has ended her own life.

Dufresne, 53, died in hospital Wednesday night after being found hanging in the jail shower.

Last fall, Dufresne and her adopted daughter Sophie were found injured inside the family home — a discovery made by Dufresne’s husband and Sophie’s father Murray Fitzpatrick, who had just returned from a business trip.

Sophie was pronounced dead in Hull hospital.

The girl had been strangled and Dufresne had tried to kill herself, police said at the time.

A North Dakota woman has been sentenced to life in a federal prison for fatally abusing her 5-year-old foster child.

Tammy Longie, of Tokio, earlier pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, child abuse and neglect in the May 2020 death of Raven Thompson. His body was found the basement of Longie's home on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation.

Longie was sentenced in federal court Monday in a case that U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl called "tragic and horrifying."

NORTH DAKOTA MAN FATALLY SHOT IN STANDOFF WITH POLICE

TAMPA | Florida detectives have launched a criminal investigation into the death of a 17-month-old boy in foster care who was about to be placed with adoptive parents.

The Tampa Bay Times reported Saturday that Aedyn Agminalis died last Sunday after being taken off life support. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has opened a criminal investigation. The boy suffered from bleeding on the brain, cardiac arrest and acute respiratory failure. The state Department of Children and Families is launching its own inquiry.

“The loss of this child is absolutely devastating,” DCF Secretary Mike Carroll told the newspaper in an email.

The boy was living in a foster home licensed by A Door of Hope, a subcontractor for Eckerd Kids, a non-profit contracted by the county. Details about the foster home have not been released.

• Video shows three-year-old Alejandro Andreas Perez Jr., the child confirmed to have been killed at a home in Oildale on February 9, as well as the accused killer, and reports related to the investigation.
• The family of the three-year-old child killed in Oildale is speaking out about the death and the pain it's caused them, especially given the child was allegedly in a foster care home at the time of his death.

The family of three-year-old Alejandro Andreas Perez Jr. is mourning the loss of the young toddler, especially given the child was allegedly in a foster care home at the time of his death.

"He was one of the sweetest boys you'll ever meet, always full of life, friendly," said the child's grandfather Ed Walton III.

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A woman who adopted several children has been arrested and charged with the murder of two of them who haven't been seen for years.

Police say Avantae Deven is the adoptive mother of Blake and London Deven. She was taken into custody Wednesday and faces numerous charges in connection to their disappearance and deaths.

"Our evidence shows that both Blake and London are deceased," Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference. Braden said their adoptive mother is the person responsible for abusing and ultimately killing the children. He said part of the abuse included starvation.

Avantae Deven was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of concealment of death, one count of kidnapping related to London Deven's death, and two counts of felony child abuse related to Blake Deven's death. She was being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center with no bond.

Police say Deven tried to throw off detectives with different stories that prolonged the investigation.

A Blount County couple charged with capital murder in the death of their foster child have been falsely accused and loved the 18-month-old boy, their lawyers say.

Brooklyn Paige Posey Grimes, 31, and Mason John Grimes, 36, are charged with capital murder of a child, murder, felony murder and aggravated child abuse under the age of 6.

Grimes Slams Elon Musk For Taking Son 'X' To Oval Office With Donald TrumpGrimes Slams Elon Musk For Taking Son 'X' To Oval Office With Donald Trump

Editorial: Natalie Finn and her siblings were the victims of abusive parents, of an inadequate child welfare system, and of policymakers who refuse to provide the staffing needed to protect children.

The Register's editorial

Ja’Ceon Terry was living at Brooklawn’s psychiatric treatment unit for about three weeks when two employees put him in a physical hold that left him unconscious. He was pronounced dead at the hospital a couple hours later.

A report obtained by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services offers new details into what happened at Brooklawn, a foster care facility in Louisville, the day that 7-year-old Ja’Ceon Terry died last July.

This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.

Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of the death of a child.

Two nurses, a chaplain and a Louisville police detective were at the 7-year-old boy’s bedside when his time of death was called — 4:48 p.m. on July 17, 2022. His emergency room chart noted that he was a foster child with no parents.

ROSE HILL, Kan. (KAKE) – The adoptive parents of a 6-year-old girl found buried in a Rose Hill backyard last summer have been arrested for murder, child abuse and torture.

On September 11, 2024, law enforcement dug up the back yard of a home in a residential neighborhood. There, they found the remains of a small child.

Rose Hill police Chief Taylor Parlier said that his detectives discovered the remains after a person in distress call at the home.

"While dealing with that individual and the circumstances surrounding that person's crisis, information was gathered up, which indicated that there might be human remains in the backyard of this residence," Parlier said. "The search warrant was secured on the morning of the 11th, and we started digging in the afternoon, and located the body."

The child was identified as Kennedy Jean Schroer, also called Natalie. She was born in July 2014 and is believed to have died in late 2020.