Ja’Ceon Terry died on July 17 at a center for children with emotional or mental health needs

According to a spokesman for the Louisville Metro Police, the investigation continues into Ja’Ceon Terry’s July 17 death. No one has been charged with a crime stemming from Ja’Ceon’s death.

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office released the boy’s cause of death last week.

At the time he died, Ja’Ceon was under the care of workers at Brooklawn, a children’s treatment center in Louisville.

Two employees at the center for children with emotional or mental health needs have been fired in the aftermath of Ja’Ceon’s death.

Positional or postural asphyxiation occurs when someone’s position prevents them from breathing. Usually, it happens when the nose and mouth or blocked, or the chest is unable to expand enough to take in adequate breaths.

The police spokesman tells TD the department “received the information from the coroner’s office.” and that “this case is still an ongoing investigation.”

He added: “Once we have gathered all of the facts related to this death, we will present them to the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office to determine how we will proceed.”

According to the Courier-Journal, Seven Counties Services, which operates Brooklawn, confirmed the firings, saying the agency was “completely devastated by the unspeakable loss of a child in our care.”

The statement adds that Ja’Ceon “should not have died on our watch. As protectors of Kentucky’s most vulnerable children, we are dedicated to making sure it never happens again.”

A statement was also provided to the paper by Susan Dunlap, a spokeswoman for the state’s Cabinet for Heath and Family Services, which assigns children within the foster care system to facilities like Brooklawn.

The cabinet statement said that it “mourns the passing of any child or any person of any age in its care.”

“This sadness was deepened more upon learning the results of the autopsy, identifying asphyxiation as cause of death,” it concluded, adding the cabinet has suspended placing children at Brooklawn for the time being.

Mercado and partner Tyron Deneer recorded the Wednesday traffic stop in which their 10-day-old daughter was taken, five months after losing 18-month-old son Amen’Ra to Fla. CPS

American Idol alum Syesha Mercado and partner Tyron Deneer have lost custody of their newborn daughter following a roadside safety check in Florida on Wednesday.
This news comes just five months after her 18-month-old son Amen’Ra was — in her words — “forcefully and legally kidnapped” by the Florida Department of Children and Families on March 11.

Deneer and Mercado recorded this week’s police encounter on Instagram, writing: “THEY TOOK OUR BABY AGAIN!”
In the video of their interaction with Manatee County sheriff’s deputies, the couple receives a court order to turn over the then-10-day-old baby for a hospital checkup despite their claims they have paperwork proving she had just gone on Tuesday.

“My baby is days old, and you’re taking my baby away from me. You have no heart. This is so wrong,” Mercado can be heard saying in the video.
The traffic stop was reportedly a surprise to the couple, as they had asked that all casework be handled through their lawyers, The Root reported.

The child remains in state protection following an August 12 court hearing, according to the Miami Herald-Tribune.

Mercado appeared on season 7 of American Idol in 2008, placing third to David Cook and David Archuleta.
The 34-year-old singer claims she had previously taken her son Ra to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in Florida for fluids while transitioning from breastfeeding to the bottle due to her pregnancy when Child Protective Services took the boy.
“On March 11th, our sun [sic] Amen’Ra was forcefully and legally kidnapped from us by CPS, who claim we refused a B12 shot that was a matter of life and death, which is an absolute lie,” states Mercado’s GoFundMe page. “We never refused a B12 shot, and at no point was he on the verge of death.”

Mercado also insists her children are prime examples of racial discrimination in Manatee County.
“Our Sun [sic] has since been placed with a white foster family without interviewing qualified relatives or friends of our family for placement while they investigate. We are given limited information and presently only have weekly zoom visitation for an hour with our sun, with no court order stating these visitation limitations,” reads her GoFundMe, which was initially created to help bring her son Ra home.

“The racial discrimination that our community is facing right now is focused on Police Brutality because of the visibility and documentation. But we don’t think about the other forms of systematic oppression that come as a sub-set. In particular, the Victimization of our children through the Foster Care System. They become the forgotten ones, falling through the cracks because mothers and fathers are too afraid to take on the gigantic task of standing up to a way of thinking and laws that are steeped in colonial times. Parents are coerced to sign plans and documents under mental duress, essentially signing away their rights to a system that doesn’t love or understand us,” the fundraiser continues.

The Florida Department of Children and Families did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative for Mercado also did not respond to it.

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital provided  the following statement.
“Our first priority at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital is always the safety and privacy of our patients and their families. Therefore, we strictly follow privacy laws that limit the amount of information we can release regarding this particular case. However, we can say that our first responsibility is always to the child brought to us for care, and we are legally obligated to notify the Department of Children and Families (DCF) when we detect signs of possible abuse or neglect. It is DCF that investigates the situation and makes the ultimate decision about what course of action is in the best interests of the child.”

Mercado’s GoFundMe has raised over $250,000 as of this publication.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

Chicago authorities on Monday discovered a newborn baby abandoned in a discarded dresser in an alleyway, according to police.

Detectives are trying to identify the baby, whom they believe is less than a week old, the Chicago Police Department said in a Tuesday press release.

Authorities responded to a call from a woman who found the baby in an alley on the 2300 block of North Oak Park Ave around 8 a.m., Fox 32 Chicago first reported.

Trash collection in the area was scheduled for Wednesday morning, officials told the outlet.

Police are asking anyone with information to call Area 5 Detective Figueroa at 312-746-6554. Anonymous tipsters can send information to cpdtip.com.