Authorities in West Allis are investigating the death of a four-year-old boy as a homicide after discovering evidence that contradicts the initial story provided by his mother and her boyfriend. Both are now in custody as police work to uncover what led to the child’s death.
Officers were called to the area of 108th and Greenfield Avenue just after 8 a.m. on Saturday, October 18, after receiving a report that a young boy was unresponsive. When police arrived, paramedics were already performing life-saving measures.
The child, identified by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner as four-year-old Dante Campbell, was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Court documents and search warrants reveal disturbing details about what investigators found.
The child’s body was reportedly covered in bruises, and the account of how he was injured appeared inconsistent with the physical evidence. Minutes before the 911 call, investigators say Campbell’s mother and her boyfriend stopped at a friend’s home to drop off the boy’s twin sister.
According to filings, a witness overheard the mother say, “I need to go to the hospital, my son is not breathing, I think he is dead,” before the pair sped away. A short time later, police received a 911 call from Campbell’s mother. Officers eventually located the mother, her boyfriend, and the surviving children at a nearby Dairy Queen.
The mother told police that her boyfriend had been caring for the children and described him as “heavy-handed” with discipline. The boyfriend, in turn, told officers that he found Dante “stiff” and that the child “smelled bad.” He claimed the boy had fallen down a flight of stairs the previous evening.
However, investigators reported that the injuries on Dante’s body did not match a fall. During a search of the family’s apartment, police found three other children and noted troubling conditions, including a “strong smell of rubbing alcohol” in the bathroom and a “smell of urine in the children’s northwest bedroom.”
Detectives concluded that the boy’s bruising was inconsistent with accidental trauma, prompting them to classify the case as a homicide investigation. As of now, both the mother and her boyfriend remain in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail but have not yet been formally charged.
West Allis police confirmed they plan to refer charges to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office as the investigation continues. The tragic death of Dante Campbell has left the community shaken, as neighbors and authorities await justice for the young boy.