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Sandra Yi ReportingSusie Buchanan, Neighbor: "I'm very sad. Jackson is the biggest sweetheart. No child deserves that."
Layton Police are investigating the suspicious death of a two-year old boy. Autopsy results show the boy died of blunt force trauma to the head and stomach, but how he received those injuries is still a mystery, although police suspect child abuse.
The boy's mother called police early yesterday morning, saying she wanted her boyfriend out of her apartment. When officers got there they found the boy unconscious.
Susie Buchanan: "He had a little purse thing around his neck, and he was proud of it. I said, 'Hi Jackson'. And he said, 'Hi', and went downstairs."
That was Wednesday night. It was the last time, she saw him.
Susie Buchanan: "He seemed fine. He walked fine. He didn't fall or trip. He wasn't confused. He went right down to his apartment."
But police say something happened overnight. At 3 a.m. the boy's mother ran to Buchanan's apartment after a fight with her new, live-in boyfriend.
Susie Buchanan: "She was way hysterical and she said that he was saying mean things to her about not being a good mom."
Buchanan, who just had surgery, thought the fight could turn violent, so she urged her neighbor to call 9-1-1. Police discovered the boyfriend, Clinton Rosenbaum, had misdemeanor warrants for DUI and theft. But they also found the toddler in bad shape.
Craig Gibson, Assistant Layton Police Chief: "His breathing was sporadic. He was unconscious."
He later died at the hospital. His mother said the boy fell out of bed. Rosenbaum told police he fell off a park slide last Friday. Buchanan says she saw the toddler, after it happened.
Susie Buchanan: "I didn't feel a bump, but Jackson was disoriented."
She says a little later he seemed ok, but urged Rosenbaum to take him to the doctor anyway. Still, police say, something isn't right. Doctors found the boy had head trauma and old bruises.
Craig Gibson: "Those injuries that he's got now are not indicative of the slide fall or falling out of bed."
Now they suspect child abuse. Susie Buchanan can't believe it.
Susie Buchanan: "Him and his mom were really close. They were all together. They just had each other, so I'm really shocked."
Police say a doctor saw the boy earlier this week, but didn't find anything. An autopsy is being done. Police are still investigating.
Again, the mother's boyfriend was arrested for outstanding warrants, but so far, no one's been arrested or charged in connection with the boy's death.
