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Critics Call For New Probe Into Toddler's Death

(CBS) – There is still no official cause of death – or charges – in the mysterious death of a toddler in Joliet Township more than four months ago.

People are desperate for answers, CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports.

Family members and activists gathered Thursday outside the Will County courthouse calling for an outside inquiry into the death of 16-month-old Semaj Crosby.

In late April, the little girl went missing from her Joliet Township home. After a day of searching, the child was found in her family's rental home under a couch.

But the corner says the autopsy was inconclusive and has not yet ruled on a cause of death.

"I hold my city accountable," resident Mireya Reyes said at a news conference Thursday. "We need to know what happened. We need to know who -- why. She was an innocent life. Her life mattered."

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has faced scrutiny since the girl's death. A DCFS worker had visited the family the day before the girl's disappearance.

Local authorities say Semaj and the other children were living in squalid conditions.

CBS 2 has reached out to the Will County Sheriff's Department for an update on the case.

 

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