The death of a 1-year-old Kentucky boy has led to the arrests of his mother and her boyfriend after investigators say they uncovered disturbing evidence suggesting the child had been living in hazardous conditions long before the emergency that ultimately brought police to the home.

Deavan Williams and Alexandrae Price, both 22, were taken into custody in Allen County following an investigation into what happened on July 27.

Williams, Price’s boyfriend, is facing a murder charge along with allegations of child abuse.

Price, the child’s mother, has also been charged with child abuse.

But according to court documents and police accounts, investigators are now looking far beyond what happened on that single night.

They say the conditions surrounding the little boy had already produced multiple warning signs.

An Emergency Call Leads Investigators to a Much Larger Case
Authorities said the child was taken to a hospital at approximately 10 p.m. on July 27.

Medical personnel reportedly observed injuries that raised concerns, including bleeding around his mouth and bruising on his body.

The boy could not be saved.

Investigators then began examining what had happened before he arrived at the hospital.

According to court documents cited by local media, Williams was the adult responsible for watching the child at the time.

Williams allegedly told investigators that he had fallen asleep.

Authorities say the child had consumed portions of a heavily soiled diaper and suffered a fatal choking episode.

But investigators also learned something that made the circumstances even more troubling.

According to the arrest records, Williams acknowledged that he already knew the child had a history of attempting to eat diapers and other unsafe objects.

That raised an obvious question for investigators:

If the danger was already known, why was the little boy still able to reach those objects while unsupervised?

Police Say the Child’s Living Conditions Were Dangerous
When investigators examined the family’s living environment, the case expanded significantly.

Authorities described an un-air-conditioned garage filled with garbage, discarded beer cans and soiled diapers.

Investigators reported a strong smell of cat urine.

The child’s playpen was allegedly positioned directly on a contaminated floor.

Court records cited in media reports describe animal waste, sewage and other biological hazards in areas accessible to the child.

Investigators also described poor ventilation and excessive moisture.

A basement area reportedly contained large amounts of debris along with flies and spiders.

The overall conditions were so severe that Williams and Price allegedly acknowledged being surprised the child had not developed parasites.

Police say the boy was also sometimes washed using an outdoor hose rather than being bathed inside the home.

Those allegations have transformed the investigation from a single choking emergency into a broader examination of the environment in which the child had been living.

Investigators Say There Had Been Earlier Warning Signs
One of the most consequential details in the case involves what the adults allegedly knew before July 27.

Williams reportedly told investigators that the child had previously attempted to consume diapers, pieces of couch cushions and other objects that could be dangerous.

Price was also allegedly aware of some of those behaviors.

Court records further allege that Williams had given the child extremely spicy food despite Price telling him to stop.

Taken together, investigators argue that the circumstances show the risks surrounding the child were not entirely unexpected.

The prosecution will ultimately have to establish what each defendant knew, what responsibilities each had for the child and whether their actions meet the elements of the criminal charges filed against them.

The Charges Against the Two Adults Are Different
Williams faces the most serious accusation.

Authorities have charged him with murder in connection with the child’s death, along with child-abuse allegations arising from the conditions and treatment investigators say they uncovered.

Price faces child-abuse allegations.

Both were booked into the Allen County Detention Center.

The distinction between their charges is important.

The allegations contained in arrest documents represent the prosecution’s account of the case at this stage. They have not yet been established through a criminal trial.

Both defendants are entitled to challenge the evidence against them.

A Case About More Than One Night
The most troubling aspect of the investigation may ultimately be the timeline.

Police are not simply examining the moments immediately before the child became unresponsive.

They are looking at the days and weeks that came before.

They want to know how long the hazardous living conditions existed.

They are examining who knew about the child’s tendency to put dangerous objects in his mouth.

And they are attempting to determine whether there were opportunities to prevent the emergency that occurred on July 27.

The answers could become central as prosecutors build their cases against Williams and Price.

For now, what began with a 1-year-old arriving at a Kentucky hospital has opened a much wider investigation into the conditions of his short life.

The images described in court records — the contaminated playpen, piles of trash, poor ventilation and unsafe objects within reach — provide investigators with evidence of an environment they allege posed a continuing danger.

But the most consequential question will be decided through the legal process:

Whether the adults responsible for protecting the child knowingly allowed those dangers to continue until it was too late.

Main Sources: New York Post, WLEX, WKRC, Allen County court and law-enforcement records