Family members have identified the 11-year-old boy found dead inside a Blue Ash home as Cohen Slusher, according to Fox 19.
Slusher had been living with his grandmother, who had legal custody of him, while his mother was going through drug rehabilitation, the family told Fox 19. WLWT reporter Karin Johnson, citing the boy's biological mother and maternal grandmother, reported that Slusher was living with his paternal grandmother in Blue Ash.
The family said they do not know what happened to Slusher but want answers.
As we reported Oct. 27, Blue Ash police and fire crews responded to the 4700 block of Belleview Avenue for a welfare check on Friday, Oct. 23, shortly after 7:30 p.m. Officers found the 11-year-old dead inside the home.
An unidentified woman was also found inside the residence and taken to the hospital, police said. Police have not released the woman's identity, her condition or whether she had any relation to the child.
The boy's biological mother and maternal grandmother told WLWT they were notified on Saturday, Oct. 24, that Slusher had been found dead.
The Hamilton County Coroner's Office is working to determine Slusher's cause of death, Blue Ash police said. Those results are pending.
Ben Richards, who lives across the street on Bellview Avenue, told Fox 19 he had no idea a child was living in the home.
"There was never a boy out playing in the yard, never saw him, ever," Richards said. "So that's why I was kind of shocked there was a young boy that lived there."
Slusher was a student at the Warren County Educational Service Center, according to assistant superintendent Christina Even. The center released a statement saying it was saddened by the loss.
Sycamore Schools told WLWT the boy was not currently attending any of its school buildings. The district cited privacy laws in declining to share further details.
Blue Ash police have not stated whether the death is being investigated as a homicide.
