Detroit police have charged a mother with her son’s death this weekend. Azuradee France faces charges of murder, child abuse, first-degree torture and concealing an individual’s death after police discovered the body of her toddler son in freezer in the basement. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office reported Sunday that a medical examiner determined the child’s death to be homicide.
The boy is afraid his family is in danger
According to Detroit News, Detroit police officers visited Azuradee France’s home to check on a child Friday after family members feared he was in danger. After a call from an unnamed relative, police discovered the remains of a deceased child in a freezer in the basement of a French home. Police later arrested the 31-year-old mother, who had several other children living in the home. Police took five more children living in the house to the hospital for evaluation.
The dead child, they identified as Chayce, had multiple disabilities. Relatives of the victim told Fox 2 Detroit that the boy was blind. They also said Child Protective Services has been called more than a dozen times this year.
According to the report, authorities reported being unable to go or enter the home each time.
“She (the mother) couldn’t deal with it, and we all said leave him to us if you can’t deal with it,” a relative told the news agency. “He is the sweetest. He’s so sweet.”
During a news conference Friday, Detroit Police Chief James White described the boy’s death as “simply tragic” and also referred to other children in the home.
“Other kids – just imagine what they had to go through and what they had to endure while in that house. And yes, a baby is decomposing, and yes, a baby was found in the freezer,” White said.
The sheriff continued, saying there was something “wrong” with the way the mother communicated with the three officers who responded to the welfare call.
