Indiana – In a harrowing case in Indiana that drew nationwide attention, a 28-year-old mother, identified as S. Igou, is now facing multiple felony charges after her nearly 2-year-old son was found dead in a severe state. Igou reportedly admitted to not seeking medical care for any of her three children, including the deceased 22-month-old boy, because she was still adjusting to her new life as a single mom.
Igou was arrested on September 17, shortly after calling 911 to report that her son was dead. When officers from the police department responded to the scene, they found the toddler already deceased in his bed and noted signs indicating that he had been dead for a “significant amount of time.” She now faces two counts of felony neglect resulting in death related to the 22-month-old boy and three counts of felony neglect connected to her two surviving children, an 8-year-old boy and a 4-year-old child. She appeared in court this week and remains in custody at the county jail on a $2 million bond. Her next hearing is scheduled for November 19.
Court documents revealed that Igou’s account of what happened to the toddler raised immediate red flags. In her interview with detectives, Igou said that the young boy had been vomiting and struggling to keep food down around noon on the day she called 911. She claimed to have changed his diaper and put him to bed that night. However, when police arrived, they discovered the boy’s body severely deteriorated, and his diaper was “overflowing.”
Inside the home, officers reported conditions consistent with hoarding behavior. The space was described as extremely unsanitary, cluttered with trash, and infested with insects. The toddler’s crib, where he was said to sleep, had “decayed biological material” believed to have come from his body. When a detective told Igou that her son had clearly been dead for a significant amount of time before the 911 call, she appeared surprised and asked, “Did I do this?” The preliminary autopsy findings were equally distressing. The 22-month-old boy was found to be “extremely emaciated and malnourished” at the time of his death. Though he was nearly two years old, he weighed just 14 pounds, only four pounds more than his last recorded weight at a doctor’s visit when he was just two months old.
Police stated there was no evidence that any of the children had received medical care or routine checkups in that span of time. Igou admitted she had not taken her children to any doctors, claiming she was struggling with the transition of being a single parent after separating from her husband. She also said her 8-year-old son was supposed to be attending online school, but investigators found no record of enrollment. Igou told police that the children’s father had not seen them in five weeks and that she was trying to manage alone, though clearly overwhelmed and failing.
While the full autopsy report for the victim remains pending, the early findings suggest prolonged neglect and starvation. The case has prompted discussions among local officials about the signs of hidden child neglect, especially when social services are not involved. Igou’s case now moves forward, with prosecutors preparing to argue that her willful inaction and neglect directly led to the death of her youngest child, a boy who was dying in his crib while the outside world remained unaware. The outcome of this tragic case will be decided in the coming months, but the weight of what happened inside that home and how long it may have been going on has already left a deep scar.
