A Detroit mother has been charged with murder and torture after police found the decomposing body of her blind 3-year-old son stuffed in a freezer in their home.
Azuradee France, 31, was hit with a string of charges on Sunday over the death of her little boy, Chase Allen, the Detroit News reported.
Chase’s body was discovered in the home’s basement freezer last Friday after police and child services were called to conduct a welfare check on the boy.
The medical examiner ruled the boy’s death a homicide, but details surrounding exactly how he was killed haven’t been released.
It wasn’t immediately clear when Chase died or when his remains were put in the freezer.
When police and child services entered the home last week, they also found her five other children living in squalid conditions.
The five surviving kids were taken to a hospital for evaluation.
France was charged with felony murder, first-degree child abuse, torture and concealing the death of an individual, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said.
“The alleged facts in this case have astounded even the seriously jaded,” Worthy said. “Our children continue to be at risk — not just from gun violence but also from the alleged murderer that lives in the house with them.”
The accused killer’s own mother, Toni Haynes, told the outlet she and other family members had previously warned child services about her daughter — but they would go and inspect and then “give her kids right back to her.”
She said France had previously told her the slain boy had burned his hand on a plateful of noodles and later went to live with his paternal grandfather’s girlfriend.