FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. — A woman and her boyfriend were charged after a malnourished 4-year-old boy covered in cuts and bruises died Wednesday at a local hospital.
The child's mother, Rylee Fararro, and her boyfriend, Hayden Rosener, were both charged with one felony count each of abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death and first-degree child endangerment resulting in death. Rosener was also charged with possession of a controlled substance.
The Fredericktown Police Department said officers responded to Madison Medical Center shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday to investigate "suspicious circumstances" after Fararro brought her unresponsive son to the emergency room. After arriving, medical staff told police the child had died and showed signs of abuse or neglect.
An exact cause of the child's death was not given.
Fararro was immediately detained at the hospital. Officers found Rosener at the couple's apartment and detained him for questioning.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control was asked to assist with the investigation. According to probable cause statements filed by state police investigators, the child's body appeared malnourished and was covered in bruises, abrasions and lacerations.
Rosener and Fararro had joint custody of the boy for several months while they were in a relationship. Fararro told investigators that she was awoken at about midnight by Rosener, who brought the unresponsive boy to her in a panic. Rosener stayed at the apartment while Fararro rushed the child to the hospital.
Fararro admitted she and Rosener both frequently use opioids in her apartment.
Fararro said she works around 60 hours a week and her boyfriend was the main caretaker for the child, and that she used to never see suspicious marks or bruises on her child until Rosener became the main caretaker.
In the past, Fararro had taken several photos on her phone of suspicious marks on the child, which she showed to investigators. The graphic photos showed the child with various and severe facial and head wounds.
Fararro said she had suspected her boyfriend of physically abusing her child but had chosen not to report it to police, adding that Rosener had discouraged her from taking him to the hospital for treatment of the wounds.
When asked about her son's malnourishment, Farraro told investigators she had noticed he was getting thin but had been told by Rosener that it was normal.
Rosener claimed in a police interview that the boy had a long history of temper tantrums, and had complained in recent days of stomach pains and trouble defecating.
On March 26, Rosener said, the boy began throwing a temper tantrum while Rosener was trying to help him in the bathroom. He said the boy threw himself from the toilet and hit his head on the toilet's edge, reopening previous wounds to the boy's ear and nose.
Rosener claimed the boy often fell and injured himself, but admitted after further questioning that he had "gone too far" one time when he lost his temper with the boy, not elaborating on the incident but saying he had since reformed.
Rosener described another time that he was trying to put soap in the boy's mouth and the boy fell during the struggle, striking his head.
According to court documents, a previous investigation was conducted by the Missouri Department of Social Services Children's Division. Social service workers assessed the home on Nov. 26, 2023, and a caseworker recommended that the boy not be left alone with Rosener as his primary caretaker because of concerns over drug use and his unpredictable behavior.
Police also found a plastic bag containing white powder in Rosener's clothing when he was processed at the jail. Rosener told police it was crushed Oxycodone that he did not have a prescription for.
A police search of the couple's apartment revealed poor living conditions, including a strong odor of urine. Drug paraphernalia and a "sufficient food supply" were also present, police said.
A judge set Rosener's bond at $1 million, and Fararro's bond at $500,000.
