An Indiana couple could faces charges after police said they singled out their 10-year-old son for neglectful treatment.

According to court documents obtained by the Muncie Star Press, Melody Greenwood, 38, and Adam Greenwood, 36, were arrested by Muncie, Indiana police after bringing their 10-year-old son to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in late February.

Medical staff alerted the Indiana Department of Child Services upon noticing that the boy was showing signs of “nutritional” neglect and child abuse, police say. When law enforcement interviewed the boy and the rest of his family, the child reportedly detailed a harrowing experience, allegedly at the hands of his parents.

A 49-year-old woman in Indiana will spend several years behind bars for killing her 10-year-old foster son by sitting on the boy’s midsection for several minutes after he had asked a neighbor to call 911 because he was being abused.

Senior Judge Michael Bergerson on Friday ordered Jennifer Lee Wilson to serve the maximum sentence of six years in a state correctional facility for her role in the death of young Dakota Stevens.

Bergerson suspended one year of the sentence, allowing Wilson to spend the final year of her sentence on probation, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported.

Wilson in October formally pleaded guilty to one count of reckless homicide in Dakota’s tragic death.

As Law&Crime previously reported, deputies with the Porter County Sheriff’s Office at about 3:37 p.m. on April 25, 2024, responded to a call regarding an unresponsive 10-year-old at a home in the 200 block of Falcon Way in Valparaiso, which is about 150 miles northwest of Indianapolis.

Once there, first responders found the boy — later identified as Dakota — lying on the ground near the home’s driveway. Someone was providing CPR to the boy, who deputies said was “not conscious, not breathing, and had no pulse.” First responders also noted that the victim had visible bruising to his lower neck and chest.

Deputies took over CPR until emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene and took Dakota to a hospital, where he died two days later. An autopsy determined his manner of death was a homicide, and the cause of death was severe swelling in the brain and being “deprived of oxygen for an extended period of time.” He also suffered organ damage as well as hemorrhaging of the liver and lungs.

At the scene, police made contact with Wilson, whom they described as being “visibly distraught.”

The mother of a Black 10-year-old boy arrested in Mississippi for urinating behind her car while she went into an office on a personal errand has filed a lawsuit against the police and the city where it happened.

Latonya Eason alleges in her federal lawsuit that police in the small town of Senatobia used excessive force in August when they jailed her son Quantavious Eason “like a regular a criminal” and ordered him to serve a probation term before his case was dismissed in his favor.

The federal lawsuit names the city of Senatobia, Chief Richard Chandler, the officer who arrested the boy and four other officers.

“We firmly believe that every individual, regardless of age, deserves to be treated with dignity and respect by those sworn to protect and serve,” said the family’s attorney, Carlos E. Moore, in a news release. “It is our firm belief that law enforcement agencies must prioritize the protection of citizens’ rights and well-being, especially when dealing with vulnerable populations such as children.”

The drama happened on Aug. 10 when Latonya Eason went into an office for what was supposed to be a short visit while her son and his sister waited in the car. But while waiting, her son told his sister he needed to use the restroom, court documents said.

While his mom was finishing up inside the building, Quantavious said he could not wait to go to another place to use the bathroom and needed to go now.

“Without his mother’s permission, he decided to discreetly relieve himself by opening his mother’s car door and using the restroom behind the door, so as to not expose himself,” court documents said.

A Senatobia police officer saw him, notified his mom, gave her a verbal reprimand and sent them on their way. She also verbally reprimanded him, “as any parent does to their child,” court documents said.

But then five officers arrived and told Latonya Eason her son “must go to jail” for urinating behind her car door, the lawsuit alleges.

Quantavious was put into a police cruiser and jailed. He was charged in Tate County Youth Court for being a “child in need of services” before he was released to his mother.

As Law&Crime reported, Tate County Youth Court Judge Rusty Harlow Jr. ordered the boy to serve a term of three months probation and undergo drug testing at the probation officer’s discretion. He was also prohibited from having weapons. Harlow also ordered the boy to write a book report on late NBA star Kobe Bryant as a penalty. His mom refused to sign the probation document when she learned of the conditions the judge ordered.

Harlow ultimately reversed course, dropping the case.

The lawsuit alleges charges were filed because of “personal animosity, bias, and lack of reason outside the interests of justice.”

Latonya Eason said it was unconscionable her child was arrested and ordered to serve probation for doing what “the average child” and “probably some grown men” would do when they have to go and there’s no public bathroom.

The lawsuit alleges police negligence caused her and her son “embarrassment, harassment, PTSD, shock, and other physical, emotional, and traumatizing injuries.”

“Instead of enjoying activities a child would enjoy, his youth is tainted by malicious prosecution,” said the lawsuit, which seeks $2 million in damages for physical injuries, emotional distress, mental anguish and attorney’s fees.

One officer was no longer employed and other officers involved were disciplined, the chief said days after the incident in a Facebook post.

A representative from the police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday from Law&Crime.

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

A 22-year-old woman in North Carolina has been arrested for allegedly killing her 10-year-old sister, stabbing the child multiple times inside of their family home before dragging her body into the backyard. Kaneijah Zyir Bradley was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with the murder of her younger sister, authorities announced.

According to a news release from the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, deputies at about 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday responded to a residence located in the 2000 block of Beaverdam Road regarding a mother reporting her 10-year-old child missing.

Upon arriving at the scene, first responders learned that the girl’s mother had located the missing child in the backyard of the home. Deputies on the scene said the little girl “appeared to be deceased.”

“Further investigation revealed that the child had been stabbed multiple times and was in fact deceased,” the sheriff’s office wrote in the release. “Through investigation by Investigators, it is believed that the victim had been stabbed inside the home and moved outside to the rear of the home.”

Investigators quickly homed in on a suspect and placed Bradley under arrest for murder. She is currently being housed in the Halifax County Detention Center without bond. She is scheduled to appear in county district court on Jan. 25.

The sheriff’s office said that the motive for alleged attack “is unclear at this time” as the investigation remains ongoing. Authorities are asking anyone with information relevant to the case to contact Lieutenant R. Somogyi at (252) 583-8201.