Overview
- Eight-year-old Markell Pierce was found unresponsive Friday in Round Lake Beach and was later pronounced dead at a hospital, with an autopsy showing signs consistent with long-term malnourishment and physical abuse.
- Mother Dominique Servant, 33, and her boyfriend, Joey L. Ruffin, 38, are charged with two counts of first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death, and a judge ordered both held pending trial.
- Prosecutors allege nearly two years of deliberate abuse that included confinement under camera surveillance, beatings with a belt, forced weight holding, and incidents recorded on a cellphone.
- A 10-year-old sibling was interviewed at the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center and admitted to a hospital for signs of abuse and malnourishment.
- Daycare director Carrie Pinske says she reported red flags to DCFS months earlier, including persistent hunger and hair loss, and the children were withdrawn from care three days after the agency contacted her.