DENVER-
Police on Tuesday were investigating the death of a 7-year-old boy who officers said appeared to be suffering from malnutrition.
Jon Phillips, 26, and Sarah Berry, 21, were being held for investigation of homicide, police spokesman John White said. It was not immediately clear how the boy and the suspects were related.
KUSA-TV, citing police officials it did not identify, said the boy weighed just 30 pounds when he was found and may have been kept in a closet at least periodically.
White did not comment on the broadcast report.
Denver Human Services Manager Roxane White said the boy had a younger sibling whom the agency placed with a foster family.
“Our community is deeply saddened by the tragic death of a 7-year-old boy under highly suspicious circumstances on Sunday,” she said. She said counterparts in Jefferson County also were investigating.
She wouldn’t comment further, saying she did not want to compromise investigations by the police and prosecutors.
White said officers were called to a home around 3 p.m. Sunday on a report of an adolescent in cardiac arrest. When they arrived, they found the boy, who was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead around 3:45 p.m., police said.
Chief Deputy Coroner Michelle Weiss-Samaras said an autopsy was conducted but further tests were needed to determine a cause of death. She said the boy had not been identified yet.
