The Coos County district attorney stated on Wednesday that exposure and hypothermia were factors in the death of the 5-year-old kid whose body was discovered two miles from his house last month.
On November 9, Joshua James McCoy disappeared. Angela German, 43, Joshua’s mother, told police that she woke up from a nap she had taken with her son and found him gone. According to her, the youngster had autism, didn’t talk much, and disliked wearing clothes. People with autism often react by feeling uneasy about their clothes.
The boy’s nude body was discovered three days later, on November 12, in Hauser, an unincorporated settlement in Coos County, just down the street from his house on Stage Road.
Although the issue is still being investigated, district attorney Paul Frasier told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Wednesday that he does not expect any arrests to be made anytime soon.
He stated that the autopsy revealed hypothermia was a contributing cause of death and that officials are awaiting the results of toxicology tests.
According to a probable cause affidavit submitted by Coos County Sheriff’s Deputy BradLee Davis in support of a search warrant of German’s property, the child’s body was discovered partially beneath a bush approximately 20 feet from the road.
His body had no marks, bruises, or scrapes that investigators could see. Joshua’s body was inspected at the scene by a deputy medical examiner, who noted that there were no indications of trauma.
The early stages of the investigation and German’s interactions with child protection authorities in two states are detailed in the affidavit.
Although it doesn’t specify when the order was written, the court filing notes that Coos County Circuit Judge Matthew Muenchrath just approved a pick-up order for the boy that was received by Oregon child welfare authorities.
When the child vanished, the Oregon Department of Human Services had been keeping an eye on German for at least six months.
According to the affidavit, child welfare professionals filed a case against the family in May after receiving claims that Joshua had been neglected and mistreated.
According to the affidavit, state employees recorded alcohol consumption, a dirty house with food on the floor, and human waste within the house.
According to the court document, the Department of Human Services had a record of a second referral and another welfare check concerning German’s care of her son in July.
According to the affidavit, German’s decision to leave Oregon for Utah was influenced by her interactions with child welfare authorities in that state, where they also launched their own investigation.
In an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive on Wednesday, Jake Sunderland, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Human Services, expressed his condolences to the family, community, and anyone affected by this tragic loss.
According to him, the agency arranges a thorough examination of the death by a critical incident response team, which looks into child fatalities when the victim, their siblings, or other children in the home have previously interacted with child welfare authorities within a year of the death. However, he said that laws forbid disclosing information about such cases. The results will be made public by the agency.
A request for comment from the Utah Department of Health & Human Services was likewise not immediately answered.
According to the affidavit, German did not call the police when her son vanished that day.
The deputy said that her acquaintance in Utah reported the youngster missing after receiving a call from German regarding the disappearance. The woman informed the police that German didn’t call because she had previously had a negative encounter with law enforcement.
German’s friend in Utah told investigators that German mistreated her son and slept a lot.
German, a certified nurse, was unavailable for comment on Wednesday. The Oregon Board of Nursing reports that she has no disciplinary history and that her license is still valid.
German, who was interviewed by a sergeant, stated that she had been sad and had panic attacks while living with her friend in Utah with Joshua. She informed investigators that after seeking mental health therapy, she was given prescriptions for ketamine and barbiturates.
She informed investigators that she and her kid went to bed at 1:30 p.m. and woke up approximately ninety minutes later due to the presence of ducks in the house. It dawned on her then that her son was gone.
The affidavit claims that German lied to police about when she went to sleep, stating that she slept from approximately 10:30 a.m. to approximately 1 p.m.
According to the affidavit, Angela stated that Joshua’s favorite activities are taking pictures of weird items or making movies of himself using his Samsung tablet or cell phone.
According to the affidavit, investigators were able to get the carrier to set up an emergency ping, which indicates that the phone is within roughly a mile and a half of the residence.
When he was discovered, his phone was ten feet away from his body.
Criminal justice is the area of expertise for enterprise reporter Noelle Crombie. You can reach her at [email protected] or 503-276-7184.
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