4-year-old child dies after being found unresponsive in West Allis, 2 arrested

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- An investigation is underway after a 4-year-old child died in West Allis. The child has been identified as Dante Campbell.

The child's parents were arrested and remain in jail. We are not naming them as they have not been charged with anything yet.

But in search warrants, West Allis police said there is evidence of child abuse.

Just after 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, West Allis officials received a call from a woman indicating she was driving to the hospital with her son who was unresponsive.

The dispatcher requested the woman stop the car, as they were close to a West Allis Fire Department station, and provided CPR instructions for her.

The woman, according to police, pulled over near the Dairy Queen near 108th and Greenfield.

The West Allis Fire Department was called to the scene and transported the child to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

A search warrant obtained by CBS 58 says Campbell's father found him stiff in his bed Saturday morning and that he "smelled bad." He claimed Dante had fallen down a flight of stairs the night before.

Dante was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time after arriving.

A search warrant shows a child's bloody shirt was found in the car.

Photos of the boy's body taken by police show he was "covered in bruises on all sides of his body including face, head, shoulders, arms, legs, buttocks, and back."

Police records say the injuries are not consistent with falling down stairs.

Before going to the hospital, they took Dante's twin sister to a friend's house. There, his mother told a man, "I need to go to the hospital, my son is not breathing, I think he is dead!"

Another woman told police that Dante's mother asked her to go back to her apartment on S. 92nd. Three other children -ages 8, 10, and 11- were still at their apartment when police arrived.

In a later interview with investigators, Dante's mother said she worked all day Friday and had not seen the boy since Thursday night.

She said the father was watching them.

She told police Campbell's father was "heavy handed" when disciplining the children.

The 21-year-old man and 31-year-old woman, both from West Allis, were arrested in connection with this incident. Charges are being referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.

The case remains under investigation by the West Allis Police Department.

Police are not looking for any additional suspects.