Cobb father charged in boy’s death after police say sick child was left alone

A father is facing second-degree murder and child cruelty charges after Cobb County police say he left his sick 2-year-old child alone for about six hours.

Police announced Lolo Anilus’ arrest Thursday, a week after officers went to the Legacy at West Cobb Apartments in response to reports of an “unresponsive 2-year-old male,” the department said in a statement.

Officers rendered aid to the boy at the apartment complex, located south of Marietta, and he was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials said in a news release.

During the investigation, police said they discovered “elements of negligence.”

The 39-year-old father originally told authorities he had been home asleep with the child, who “was displaying symptoms of illness and distress in the form of fever, mouth pain, and refusal to eat,” according to a warrant.

But the warrant said investigators later disproved that story through video surveillance and an interview with the man’s daughter. Instead, authorities said he left the sick boy “unattended and unsupervised” for about six hours, from 2 p.m. to just after 8 p.m. on Sept. 3. The child could not feed himself, change his diaper or receive proper medical care, the warrant said.

“This caused the juvenile male to experience excessive physical and mental pain that resulted in the juvenile male’s death,” the warrant says.

The Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office declined to release any information about the boy’s death because of the pending investigation. His name also was not released.

Anilus was booked into the county jail Wednesday night. Online records from the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office show he is also being held on a U.S. Department of Homeland Security detainer. DHS did not immediately respond to emailed questions Thursday afternoon.