Toddler Found Dead In South LA Motel; Cops Searching For Dad

A toddler was found dead at a motel in South Los Angeles and police are looking to question the boy’s father as a “person of interest.”

The victim, identified as 18-months-old Dee'ago Alexander Jones, was found dead at the property Tuesday morning, ABC7 reported. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is looking to speak with the boy's father, Shane Zachery Flowers, 23.

Officers were called to Rosa Bell Motel at 5606 S. Western Avenue around 11.10 a.m. in connection with an unresponsive child. On arrival, they found the child unconscious and not breathing. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead, the report said.

Though the LAPD told NBC Los Angeles that its special abused child unit was involved in the investigation, it refused to divulge more information, including whether there were any obvious signs of trauma on the child's body.

Meanwhile, the deceased child's mother Ryanna Jones said she believes Flowers is responsible for their son's death. "I don't know why he would run from this situation and just leave us there. And not come back," Jones told ABC7.

"He didn't even call to make sure he was even alive or OK. I just want him put away. I want him to get caught," she added.

She said they had been living in the motel as part of a program that offers shelter to homeless families with children. According to Jones, she woke up Tuesday morning to find the child not breathing. She added that Flowers told her that he had given the boy some medicine to help him sleep, but was unable to revive him. The boy's father told her that he used cold water and CPR to revive the child but failed to wake him up.

Jones said that Flowers had been violent with the child before, according to the report. "He was a happy baby. He didn't deserve any of this," she added.

In a similar case, a 34-year-old police officer in Baltimore is facing murder and child abuse charges in the death of his teenage stepson. Eric Banks Jr. was charged with first-and second-degree murder and child abuse in connection with the death of 15-year-old Dasan Jones.

The boy's body was found hidden in his stepfather's attic crawlspace last week. Officers also retrieved the teen's wet, blood-stained clothes that smelled of bleach in a dresser drawer.