Caregiver Charged Following Scalding-Related Death Of Disabled Boy, 8
(STMW) -- The caregiver of an 8-year-old north suburban boy was charged with criminal neglect after he suffered burns in a hot bath last month, and may face upgraded charges after the boy died Monday.
Aiden Bard was burned when he was placed in a bath at his home in the 9000 block of LaCrosse Avenue in Skokie about 4:12 p.m. on March 25, according to Skokie police and the Cook County medical examiner's office.
The boy, who is disabled, was taken to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, and later transferred to Loyola University Medical Center's burn unit for specialized care of second-degree burns to his lower extremities, police said.
His caretaker, 39-year-old Adaku A. Ukah, was initially charged March 27 with criminal neglect of a disabled person, according to police.
Aiden died at Loyola at 12:25 p.m. Monday, according to the medical examiner's office. An autopsy found he died of complications of thermal injuries from immersion in hot water, and his death was ruled an accident.
Ukah, of the 6000 block of South Winthrop in Chicago, was ordered held on a $25,000 bond.
Skokie detectives are working with the Cook County state's attorney's office to determine if additional charges will be filed in light of the boy's death, police said.
The state Department of Children and Family Services is also investigating the caretaker, agency spokeswoman Veronica Resa said. That investigation is pending.
Ukah is next scheduled to appear in court April 28.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
