Wisconsin Mom and Boyfriend Arrested After 4-Year-Old Found ‘Stiff’ Outside Dairy Queen: Police
WEST ALLIS, WISCONSIN — A Wisconsin mother and her boyfriend are under arrest after a 4-year-old boy, identified as Dante Campbell, was found unresponsive and “stiff” outside a Dairy Queen in West Allis over the weekend, according to police.
Authorities say the couple pulled into the parking lot of a Dairy Queen near 108th Street and Greenfield Avenue Saturday morning while the mother called for help, claiming her son wasn’t breathing.
Disturbing Discovery at Dairy Queen
Police said the 31-year-old woman and her 21-year-old boyfriend — both West Allis residents — remain in custody as investigators piece together how the child died.
According to court records reviewed by FOX6 Milwaukee, the couple stopped to drop off the boy’s twin sister with a friend before the mother allegedly told the woman nearby, “I need to go to the hospital — my son is not breathing, I think he is dead.”
She then sped away, witnesses told investigators.
Moments later, around 8 a.m., the mother reportedly called West Allis police dispatch, saying she was driving her unresponsive son to the hospital. The dispatcher instructed her to stop near a West Allis Fire Department station, and she pulled into a nearby Dairy Queen.
Fire personnel arrived within minutes and began performing CPR on the child. Police said Dante was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
‘Heavy-Handed’ Discipline and Troubling Scene Inside Home
Detectives immediately launched an investigation that led to the arrests of both the mother and her boyfriend later that day.
In interviews with police, the woman claimed that her boyfriend had been watching Dante and his siblings the previous night — and admitted he was “heavy-handed” when disciplining them.
The boyfriend allegedly told investigators that Dante “fell down a flight of stairs” the night before and was “stiff” and “smelled bad” when he checked on him the next morning.
However, authorities said the child’s injuries were not consistent with a fall, and officers noted disturbing conditions inside the home — including a strong smell of rubbing alcohol in the bathroom and urine odors in the children’s bedroom.
“This was not an accident,” one law enforcement source told WTMJ, adding that the boy’s bruising and physical condition appeared to show prolonged abuse.
Child Previously Lived with Relatives
Relatives told local reporters that Dante had been living with other family members before recently being returned to his mother’s care.
Rosy Hudson, a woman identifying herself as Dante’s aunt, said the boy had been “a happy child” and that family members had expressed concern for his safety.
“He was taken from us by the very people who were supposed to keep him safe,” Hudson said in a GoFundMe post created to help cover funeral expenses.
Investigation and Possible Charges
The West Allis Police Department confirmed Monday that detectives are not seeking any additional suspects, and the case is being reviewed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
Officials say criminal charges are expected soon, pending autopsy and forensic results.
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