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Findings of the autopsy showed that the child, identified by police as Joshua Rumph, weighed only 10 pounds, 4 ounces, Chief Deputy Coroner PSS Murthy said. He said Joshua, who lived with his mother in an apartment in the 800 block of Alan Page Drive Southeast, was extremely emaciated, extremely thin and has virtually no body fat. Murthy, who performed the autopsy, said the preliminary cause of death was ruled as a severe case of malnourishment. Joshuas mother, identified by Canton police as 19-year-old Juanita Johnson-Millender, was arrested on felony charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangering. She was being held in the Stark County Jail Thursday in lieu of a $500,000 cash bond, Canton Police Sgt. When the child was found in his crib Wednesday by Canton Fire Department paramedics, Murthy said Joshua was wearing a little housecoat and some clothes underneath it. The clothing was soaked with urine, and the child had extremely severe diaper rash. Stark County Family Court Administrator Richard DeHeer said Joshuas 2-year-old brother, identified by police as Jeremiah Rumph, was taken from the mother and placed into the temporary custody of the Job and Family Services Department after a hearing Thursday before Judge John Hoffman. Citing court records, DeHeer said Jeremiah was found to have a scratch on his face, a black eye and a bump on his forehead. In addition to placing Jeremiah in a foster home, Hoffman also issued an order prohibiting the mother and grandmother - identified as Madeline Rumph, 42 - from any contact with Jeremiah, DeHeer said. He said records showed the court had one previous report about the mother, but there was no arrest and no details because the case was dismissed.
In his long career in pathology, the past 10 years as chief deputy to Stark County Coroner James R. Pritchard and five years before that with the Cuyahoga County Coroners Office, Murthy said flatly: I have not come across such a severe case of malnourishment. Murthy said he checked with a well-known area pediatrician about the normal weight for a 17-month-old boy and was told that it should be 26 to 28 pounds. Angelo said the boys father, identified as Jamarr Rumph, was living in Florida. Detectives who responded to the call at the Alan Page Drive apartment, DeHeer said, were unable to locate any baby food or cereal, appropriate for this childs age, in the home. DeHeer said court records showed the following circumstances before police arrived at the apartment: Johnson-Millender, the mother, called a friend at 10:30 am Wednesday. She and her friend watched television while Jeremiah played with one of his friends.
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