LACONIA — Neighbors who live in the apartment next to where a boy's suspicious death is under investigation by authorities say they have been concerned for some time about activity in the apartment in a complex on Blueberry Lane.
“It’s been ongoing and we were all concerned,” said Joyce Hendrickson, who lives in Apartment 66 in the Wingate Village complex along with her grown children, Phil Hendrickson and Brandy Hendrickson.
On Tuesday the state Attorney General’s Office announced it was investigating a “suspicious death of a male child.” The agency gave no other details, and on Thursday a spokeswoman said the office had no additional information to release.
The boy lived in Apartment 67, along with two other brothers, a sister, their grandmother, and two dogs, said Hendrickson. She estimated the victim was either 5 or 6 years old.
Phil Hendrickson said other neighbors witnessed events before any emergency responders arrived around 8 a.m. Tuesday. The girl was standing outside the apartment talking to 9-1-1 on a cellphone. The grandmother then rushed outside and reportedly said, “He’s not breathing.”
Moments after the Fire Department ambulance arrived, the neighbors saw an EMT rushing out carrying a boy in his arms and place him in the ambulance, which then sped away.
Phil Hendrickson said he had been concerned about the children living in the apartment for about a year. In February he noticed one of the children outside barefoot. In June, when he saw other activity that concerned him, he recorded a video and filed a complaint with the Laconia Police Department.
Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield on Thursday deferred all questions related to the case to the attorney general's office.
Joyce Hendrickson said that, in the two years the children have been living with the grandmother, she has heard a lot of shouting and banging and other sounds coming from the apartment, which troubled her.
Laconia Police have been called to the apartment several times in recent months, according to police logs which the department regularly provides to The Daily Sun.
On June 22, officers were dispatched to the address to deal with a juvenile matter. Two days later they returned to “assist another agency,” according to the log entry. In addition, officers went there on June 26 in an attempt to locate someone, according to the police log.
Police also received animal complaints directed at the apartment on Aug. 9, and Oct. 21.
Hendrickson said state and local police were on the scene Tuesday until about 11:30 p.m.
She said on Wednesday — Christmas Day — the grandmother returned to the apartment briefly and walked out with Christmas presents and two dogs.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.