The mother of a murdered 6-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of killing him after police found his body in the trunk of her car, according to court records and interviews with family members.
Family members said on Saturday that the boy’s father, Tori Hart, was trying to gain custody of his child at the time of the boy’s death.
The woman was arrested after police in Orono received a call on Friday, saying a car was moving on the rim of a tire with a broken rear window. When officers stopped the car in Mound, they noticed blood in the car and found the body in the trunk.
Police said the female driver of the vehicle and another person were arrested on suspicion of murder, but have not yet been charged or identified as the victim. Police have not yet released details of the death.
Family members have accused Dakota County social workers of failing to protect a child who has been placed in foster care for nearly a year after the boy’s mother did not properly care for him, interviews and court records show. The boy was returned to his mother in December due to objections from his foster parents and other family members.
“This district has failed this child for a long time,” said Nikita Kronberg, a relative of the mother, who was his foster mother for 11 months.
Hart’s fiancée, Josie Josephson, said many members of the family had “expressed great concern”.
The Dakota County social worker in charge of the case did not respond to reports.
Josephson said the boy is a happy, patient child who loves to play with matches with a matchbox and dreams of one day becoming a firefighter. He suffers from a rare genetic disorder called Towns-Brock syndrome, which leads to kidney disease and hearing problems that require hearing aids.
The boy “was loved by everyone who met him,” Josephson said. “He just had more medical needs than the average child.”
Family members said the boy’s behavior had changed after his mother regained custody of the boy five months ago. Family members said he started misbehaving at school and was abusive to other children, including pushing another child off a slide on the playground. He kicked another child in the throat.
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