When a child becomes ill, it's the caregiver's duty to seek medical attention if needed. That's the bare minimum. Ideally, a parent would do their best to ensure the child is comfortable, drinking fluids, and taking medicine as prescribed while recovering from a sickness.
An Arizona father, however, is now facing three felony charges after his son was found dead in his home following an illness. Not only did the man allegedly fail to seek medical care before it was too late, but he also allegedly allowed the 9-year-old's body to sit on the couch long after he died without calling authorities. The details are chilling.
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Last week, Joseph Antonsen was arrested and charged with one felony count of negligent homicide, among other counts.
Joseph Gregory Antonsen, 38, was arrested July 14 in the Picture Rocks area in Arizona. The arrest came after the body of his 9-year-old son was discovered at his home; the father faces one felony count of negligent homicide and two felony counts of child abuse. Currently, Antonsen is being held on a $500,000 bond, according to jail records, via People.
The 9-year-old boy was found decomposing on a couch.
A news release the Pima County Sheriff’s Department shared with E! News detailed the state of the body when it was discovered during a welfare check. “The investigation revealed that the child had been deceased on a couch inside of the residence for an extended period of time," it read.
KVOA reported the boy was found in a sitting position; his body “was in the process of decomposition."
Additionally, the state of the house itself was disgusting.
The home had no running water or working toilets. Additionally, law enforcement found garbage piles near Antonsen's son's body, KVOA reported. They included "empty beer cans, large piles of soiled diapers, rotten foods, large amounts of one gallon bottles full of what appears to be urine, lots of insect activity, spiders like black widows, and brown recluse were observed inside the home along with spiderwebs everywhere throughout all the walls of the home."
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Antonsen claims his son fell sick on July 12.
He claimed the 9-year-old ultimately started "[shuddering] and going limp," Arizona Republic reported. Allegedly, Antonsen went to start his vehicle so he could take his son to get medical attention. When he returned inside the home, however, his son stopped breathing and did not have a pulse, per court documents.
The dad reportedly told police he knew he 'should have called somebody.'
Antonsen told police he "should have called somebody." Arizona Republic reported, but he allegedly left the house for a period of time despite knowing he should have sought help. Antonsen apparently refused to provide further information to detectives about why he didn't do so.
