Authorities in Atlanta are investigating their failure to conduct welfare checks requested at least three times by social services before a 4-year-old girl died from extreme malnourishment.
Rodney Weaver, 31, was charged with the starvation death of Treasure McWeay and the abuse of her brothers, aged 5 and 3.
The children were locked up in their rooms, without food, water, or access to the bathroom before Treasure’s death two weeks before Christmas.
Investigators described little Treasure as “just pure bone” at the time of her tragic passing. She and her siblings were kidnapped by their father and kept in a squalor duplex since July.
The father did not have legal custody of the children. The State Division of Family and Children repeatedly asked police to help locate the kidnapped children.
“Officers were dispatched to the home, but it does not appear officers had contact with Mr. McWeay or the children during these calls,” Atlanta Police said in a statement.
“In an effort to ensure these calls were handled properly, the Atlanta Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards had initiated an investigation into these calls.”
