Rottweiler Kills Foster Boy

January 12, 2009 permalink

Alex Angulo was fatally mauled by a rottweiler in Chicago on Sunday, making him the first entry in our list of dead foster children for 2009. A foster toddler died in Kuraby Brisbane Australia on January 2, but the Australian press suppressed his name. It is likely that 2009 will see dozens more foster deaths.

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Boy mauled to death was going to be adopted

January 12, 2009, BY ANNIE SWEENEY Crime Reporter

A 4-year-old boy mauled to death Sunday by a Rottweiler at his Southwest Side foster home was going to be removed from the house and placed with a family who hoped to adopt him -- possibly as early as this week, officials said today.

Alex Angulo had been placed with the foster family in the 3800 block of West 61st Street in 2007, Cook County Public Guardian Robert Harris said.

Police are questioning why no one heard 4-year-old Alex Angulo getting mauled to death in the backyard of his Southwest Side foster home.
(Al Podgorski/Sun-Times)

Harris said there was a plan in place to move Alex — who was not related to anyone in the home — as early as Jan. 15 to a “pre-adoptive foster home.’’

“They had found one and he was supposed to be moving,’’ Harris said. The family and Alex had already had five “transitional” visits as well.

Kendall Marlowe, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, said Alex was going to be placed in another foster home, but he was not sure it would happen as soon as Jan. 15.

Alex was found dead in his backyard at 3:20 p.m. Sunday after being mauled by a Rottweiler, according to fire department officials.

Marlowe said that since Alex’s placement in 2007, there had been no investigations or “safety issues’’ at the home.

A December hearing had determined that Alex’s current placement was not a good permanent solution based on the fact that his foster mother was 77-years-old, according to court records.

A caseworker knew there were dogs in the home. Marlowe said it was the state’s understanding that the dogs were kept outside and the child would not have unsupervised contact with them.

The Public Guardian’s office, which has also been at the home, did not have any documentation about animals in the home.

Meanwhile, Chicago Police detectives were back at the home this morning. Among their questions was why no one in the home heard a young child getting mauled by the dog.

An adult was in the yard operating a snow blower when Alex let himself out and was attacked, police said. It is not clear where exactly he was attacked.

Alex has been in foster care since he was 7 days old after it was determined he had a sibling who was physically abused, according to court records.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times