Blue Ash police are four days into an investigation after an 11-year-old boy was found dead inside a home on Belleview Avenue, and they say they still have more questions than answers.
The boy was discovered the evening of Friday, Oct. 23, after first responders answered a call for a well-being check at a home in the 4700 block of Belleview Avenue, between Summit and Kenwood roads, WLWT first reported. Officers found the child dead inside the home.
A woman who was also inside was taken to a hospital. Police have not disclosed her condition, the nature of her injuries or her relationship to the child.
The Hamilton County Coroner's Office was called in to determine the cause of death. Those results remain pending, and no timeline has been given for when a determination might come, according to WLWT. Police have said they will not release additional details about the investigation until the coroner completes that work.
Blue Ash police have not said whether the death is being investigated as a homicide, FOX 19 reported. They have not identified the woman taken to the hospital or described her connection to the child.
Family identifies child
The boy's biological mother and maternal grandmother identified him as 11-year-old Cohen Slusher, according to a separate WLWT report. Police have not officially released the child's name.
Family members told WLWT they were notified of the death on Saturday, Oct. 24, and said they are still searching for answers. They said Cohen had been living in Blue Ash with his paternal grandmother. Whether the woman taken to the hospital was the paternal grandmother has not been confirmed.
School district, neighbors respond
Sycamore Community Schools told WLWT the boy was "not currently attending any of our Sycamore school buildings." The district said it could not share more, citing privacy laws.
Neighbors told reporters the home had been quieter than usual in the days before the well-being check. Addy Tonn, a neighbor, told WLWT the family had become less visible in the neighborhood.
"When we stopped seeing them so much outside of their house, and it seemed to be more reclusive there, we kind of noticed … we thought that was abnormal behavior, but not to the point where it was concerning," Tonn said.
Ben Richards, who lives across the street, told FOX 19 he did not know a child lived in the home. Richards said he arrived home from dinner to find the coroner's vehicle parked in the driveway.
The investigation remains open, with the coroner's findings expected to shape what Blue Ash police disclose next.







