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Neglect Charges Files in Dead Baby Case

Mar. 21, 2024 4:40p

(WGTD)---The death of a Kenosha baby has led to a half-dozen child neglect charges against the parents.

Domonic Dowell and Ciera Banks, both 31-years-old, are due in court for their initial appearances next month. 

According to the criminal complaint, police and paramedics responded to a home in the 1600 blk. of 50th St. Mar. 1st on a report of a child not breathing. They found the cold and stiff body of a 10-month-old on the floor, with Banks crying over the baby as she was listening over the phone to a dispatcher giving life-saving instructions. 

Dowell apparently had just gotten home from his third-shift job. Several older children were sitting on couch. 

According to the autopsy report, the baby tested positive for Covid, RSV and adenovirus. Also noted was the lack of a crib in the apartment, and the defendants' admission that the baby usually slept with them in their bed. An exact cause of death wasn't given. Officers noted blood near the baby's mouth and on the floor, but that blood wasn't explained in the complaint. 

A quantity of marijuana was recovered from the apartment. Two of the older children--ages 8 and 3--tested positive for exposure to THC. 

In addition, the condition of the apartment was described as deplorable, with rotting food, dead mice and live cockroaches in several rooms and feces smeared on multiple surfaces.  

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