The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

POLICE Commissioner Clayton Fernander said the parents of the two-year-old boy found dead in Fox Hill on Tuesday are unfit to keep their other four young children.

He said the Ministry of Social Services will investigate and determine whether the children should remain with their parents. He said the mother and father are in police custody.

The toddler, Daniel Nixon, was found dead in bushes near his home on Tuesday. The child had apparent injuries to his neck and head.

 An autopsy will determine the cause of his death.

 The commissioner said the pathologist was invited to the scene and did a preliminary assessment, but she was unclear about the nature of the injuries.

 “We have to do a better job managing and taking care of our children,” Commissioner Fernander said.

 He said what neighbours told the media about the child’s environment concerned him, with some reportedly saying they saw the child unattended outside late at night.

 “You have to speak up, man, as neighbours, you have to speak up,” he said.

 The two-year-old’s grandmother, Barbara Nixon, said the boy was at home with his mother before he went missing. She said the house door was open while the boy’s mother was washing the baby’s clothes in the bathroom –– creating the opportunity for him to go outside.

 Daniel is the youngest of four children. The others are aged ten, five, and four.

 “There are four other young kids living at that residence, and I don’t feel, based on what I’ve seen and what was brought to my attention, the parents are not fit to keep these individuals, these children, so that’s why social service are on board and they will do their investigation,” Commissioner Fernander said.