WYOMING, Mich. - Two people have been arrested in the death of a child this spring in Wyoming.
Wyoming Police say that they were called to a home in the 2600 block of Longstreet Avenue on March 16 on reports of a 1 ½ -year-old boy who was not responsive. They found the child, Yurik Birkenmeyer, had already died.
A medical examiner later determined his cause of death to be dehydration due to neglect, according to court documents.
His parents, identified by the prosecutor's office as Alexander Birkenmeyer and Andrea Todd, were arrested Monday.
Both are facing charges of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse in the toddler's death. They are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday morning.
Wyoming Police say in probable cause documents that Yurik was placed in a "very hot room with a space heater running near his crib" and died "due to lack of water."
Investigators say in the documents that Todd had concerns that Birkenmeyer wasn't giving Yurik food and water when he was caring for the boy.
They also say that Todd initially claimed she gave food and water to Yurik when she got home from work and heard him crying. She later admitted that that wasn't true, according to the probable cause documents. Police also say in the documents that she allegedly ignored his crying and cancelled a doctor's appointment and "went back to sleep."
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