3 charged in child neglect leading to death of Reading 6-year-old

Three Reading residents have been charged in what prosecutors describe as the neglect-related death of a 6-year-old girl in their care.

Investigators said the child was locked in a hot room for more than three days and died of dehydration and prolonged exposure to extreme heat. Police reported that when they were called to the scene the child was wearing a soiled diaper that hadn’t been changed for days, and she appeared to have been dead for some time.

The temperature in the room may have been as high as 100 degrees with 90% humidity, according to detectives from the Berks County district attorney’s office.

Jazmine A. Rodriguez, 44; Manuel A. Rodriguez Sr., 46; and Manuel A. Rodriguez Jr., 20, all of the 1200 block of Schuylkill Avenue, are charged with criminal homicide and related charges, according to the DA’s office. The elder defendants are in custody. Manuel Rodriguez Jr. was at large as of Monday afternoon, investigators said.

Detectives gave the following account:

On May 28, Reading police were dispatched to the home for a report of a young child in cardiac arrest. Upon arrival, officers learned that Reading Fire and EMS personnel had found her dead.

County detectives took over the case because it was deemed a child-abuse matter, which falls under their purview, according to District Attorney John Adams’ protocol.

Detectives learned the victim was in the care of her grandmother Jazmine Rodriguez, her grandfather Manuel Rodriguez Sr. and her uncle Manuel Rodriguez Jr.

The investigation included interviews with the defendants and witnesses and a review of video surveillance footage from the home and information on cellular devices that belonged to the defendants.

Tower Health forensic pathologist Dr. Neil Hoffman performed an autopsy and determined the child died of dehydration and prolonged exposure to high ambient temperature due to child neglect. He said her condition at the time of her death was consistent with the victim being locked in the hot room for more than three days. The child had a severe rash consistent with a diaper that hadn’t been changed for days.

The death was ruled a homicide.

Police said the grandparents told them that the victim had been locked in her room due to behavioral problems that put other children in the house in danger. Investigators found evidence that a surveillance camera in the child’s room was removed before police arrived to respond to the death. The camera was used to monitor the girl.

A witness who had been to the home told police that when the victim came home from school, she would have to stand in a corner facing a wall until her grandmother returned home. If she went to the bathroom, someone escorted her and then returned her to the corner. The witness said the child had to be in bed by 7 p.m. and was denied food and water because the family did not want her having to use the bathroom.

Investigators found evidence that videos had been deleted from Manuel Rodriguez Sr.’s cellphone. Jazmin Rodriguez’s phone indicated she had done several searches on how to abandon a 6-year-old girl.

In addition to homicide, the three defendants are charged with conspiracy, unlawful restraint/serious bodily injury, false imprisonment, endangering welfare of children, reckless endangerment and tampering or fabricating evidence.

Source: Berkshire mont