Police in Kansas arrested a man and a woman accused in the death of a 1-year-old boy.
Around 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, Wichita police responded to a child abuse report at an area hospital. They arrived and were told a family member and guardian of Lasiah brought him to the hospital unresponsive. The boy died at the hospital.
Through their investigation, police learned Lasisah was with his father, Kentrell Willingham, and his father’s girlfriend Xjohnna Hannah, for a few days. A family member of Lasiah met Kentrell, on Thursday in the 1600 hundred block of South Oliver to exchange custody. The family member left with Lasiah and a short time later realized the boy was unresponsive. The family member and Lasiah’s legal guardian immediately drove the boy to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police arrested 25-year-old Willingham and 25-year-old Hannah for first-degree murder and aggravated endangerment of a child. The investigation is still ongoing and will be presented to the District Attorney’s Office.
Eyewitness News spoke with neighbor, living directly below Willingham and Hannah at the Chalet Apartments. That neighbor, Aries Woods, said she heard a lot of commotion in the days leading up to the 1-year-old’s death and the arrests.
“If there was abuse going on in that house and I heard it and I didn’t say anything, like, I feel horrible now because I just thought it was just noise. And it could’ve been something else,” Woods said.
As a mother, living with her children in the same apartment complex as the couple accused in the 1-year-old’s death, Woods said the situation hits close to home in more ways than actual proximity.
The small child’s death is a situation she said hurts and one in which she doesn’t understand.
Wichita police said the investigation into the 1-year-old’s death is ongoing.
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