A tragic unraveling stands before the community of Metro Atlanta as two Marietta parents, 31-year-olds Michael Horn and Alexiss Eitrem, have been charged with several felonies connected to the death of their 5-year-old son. The boy was put on life support and subsequently died after days of fighting for his life, authorities reported yesterday. The Marietta Police responded to the 911 call from the home on Ramona Street, where the couple alerted dispatchers they had been performing CPR on the child, who was not breathing and responsive; despite their efforts, first responders found the boy still unresponsive on the floor, according to Atlanta News First.
As the boy was swiftly transferred to Kennestone Hospital and then life-flighted to Arthur M. Blank Hospital at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the police initiated their investigation into what appeared to be a case shadowed by abuse, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta, the case details involve inflictions upon the child that culminated not only in internal bleeding but also trauma to the brain. The boy’s life was officially claimed yesterday, around 11 a.m., after fighting for his young life on life support. The tragedy deepens as the Cobb County Division of Family and Children Services have assumed custody of the couple’s four other children in the aftermath.
Horn is facing charges including aggravated battery, aggravated assault, first-degree cruelty to a child and four other counts of second-degree cruelty to a child, while Eitrem is charged with five counts of cruelty to a child in the second degree, these charges are as listed by both sources; detectives are contemplating an upgrade in charges pending additional evidence. Officer Chuck McPhilamy of the Marietta Police highlighted the immediate visibility of the victim's injuries, telling FOX 5 Atlanta, "This 5-year-old who is now deceased had visible injuries that didn’t seem right."
Neighbors and the wider community are left grappling with the soul-gutting reality of such loss, Shirley Jones, a neighbor whose daughter was a friend of one of the surviving children, spoke with FOX 5 Atlanta and expressed her shock, "I got chills all over my body. She said that was her best friend. My heart goes out. I mean, it's a child. I don't know what else to say, but God be with him," whereas the full scope of what horrors these children endured may yet come to light, as details surrounding the cause of the boy's unresponsiveness and whether the other children bore marks of abuse are yet to be uncovered.
