PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A Rhode Island woman facing a child cruelty and neglect charge in connection with the death of her infant son in 2017 has left the country, as the child’s father did, according to authorities.
Arinola Olawusi, 37, out on $10,000 bail since April 2017 after pleading not guilty, had been attending court hearings in her case until last summer according to court records, The Providence Journal reported Wednesday.
But in February when she failed to show up for a hearing, U.S. marshals and state police went looking for her. Her parents told them their daughter had traveled to Nigeria on a one-way ticket, authorities said.
A message seeking comment was left with her attorney on Wednesday.
Her husband, Olalekan Olawusi, 44, faces first-degree child abuse charges and fled to Nigeria in 2017 before he was arraigned, authorities said.
Their son, Tobi Olawusi, 11 months, died in December 2017 at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, eight months after arriving by ambulance clinically dead and suffering from multiple bone fractures, a fractured skull and a human bite mark.
“Our goal to pursue and prosecute Arinola Olawusi and Olalekan Olawusi has not changed,” said Kristy dosReis, a spokesperson for state Attorney General Peter Neronha.
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