Local News

Toddler dies at home on Memorial Drive in DeKalb

By Fran Jeffries
Nov 26, 2012

DeKalb County police are investigating the death of a 2-year-old boy that happened Saturday allegedly while he was being cared for by his stepfather.

Doctors said the toddler, Michael Weeks, suffered cardiac arrest and had bruises on his chest and thighs, according to a police incident report obtained by Channel 2 Action News.

The boy’s stepfather, Devon Sawyer, 22, told police he and the boy had taken a nap and when he awoke he found the tot unresponsive at home in the 2000 block of Memorial Drive around 5:30 p.m., according to the police report.

The report said the mother, Danielle Calhoun, had gone out to run errands around 1 p.m. and left her son in the care of Sawyer.

At around 2:30 pm, Sawyer ran to a neighbor’s house with the child in his arms seeking help. The neighbor attempted to resuscitate the child, then called 911. The child was taken to Hughes Spalding hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the police report.

The fiance told authorities he took a nap with the child lying beside him. He said when he woke up, he found the child unresponsive, according to the report.

No one has been charged in the incident, according to police.

“I’m just so hurt I feel like I can’t even cry anymore today,” Calhoun told Channel 2. “I want to know what happened to my son. I need closure because there’s so many missing pieces.”

Sawyer was interviewed by police then released, according to Channel 2.

Please check back for updates.

About the Author

Fran Jeffries is a Newsletter Producer. She joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2005 as an Education Editor. She worked as a Breaking News Editor and Social Media Producer before joining the Newsletter team.

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