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The death of an 8-year-old Erie boy who had been living in "deplorable" conditions has led to criminal charges against the boy's parents and the mother's boyfriend.

Erie police on Jan. 15 charged the three with involuntary manslaughter and other counts in the death of the boy, Michael N. Hayes, who was found dead in an apartment on Jan. 22, 2024.
The defendants are the parents, Teana R. Fuller, 37, and Patrick J. Hayes, 45, and Fuller's boyfriend at the time of Michael's death, Joseph C. Ambrose, 46, according to charging documents.

The charges were docketed Jan. 15. Fuller, Hayes and Ambrose had not been arraigned on the charges as of early afternoon of Jan. 15.

The three are charged with involuntary manslaughter based on allegations that they caused Michael's death by acting "in a reckless or grossly negligent manner," according to the criminal complaints.
The coroner's report shows the Erie County Coroner's Office determined that Michael died of acute bronchopneumonia, a type of pneumonia that includes severe inflammation of the lungs.
Michael was found "clad in a diaper and lying supine on the bedroom floor with his legs atop clothing on the floor," Chief Deputy Coroner Nick Rekitt wrote in the report. Michael also had "small sores on his extremities appearing to be bug bites and both roaches and bedbugs crawling on him," according to the report. "There were no lights in the room and the overall living conditions were deplorable."

Michael's 12-year-old brother found him in the room, alerted his mother's boyfriend "and 911 was called," according to the report. The report said Michael was last seen at 11:30 p.m. the previous night "and had been complaining of abdominal pain and had vomited yesterday. He had not been eating much but reportedly ate chicken nuggets yesterday."
The affidavits also include statements police said they collected from two of Fuller's relatives. One reported not being at Fuller's home since Christmas 2023 "due to the conditions, describing the home as infested with roaches and bedbugs," the detectives wrote. The relative also told police that the relative had seen photos of Michael that Fuller sent through Facebook Messenger throughout the year, and that the relative repeatedly told Fuller Michel looked sick, was losing weight and needed to see a doctor.

The relative stated "that Fuller repeatedly dismissed the concerns, saying (Michael) 'just had a cold,'" the detectives wrote.
A second relative of Fuller's reported last seeing Michael in October 2023. The relative told police the boy appeared very thin, sick, coughing and having trouble breathing, according to information in the affidavit. Fuller reportedly told the relative Michael had an upper respiratory infection.


In an interview with Erie police on Jan. 23, 2024, the same day police said they obtained Michael's medical records, Fuller told detectives when asked about Michael's weight loss that he was a picky eater and believed his weight began to decline in November 2023, according to information in the affidavit.
Detectives wrote that Fuller also told them Michael was frequently sick, and as a result was not eating as much as he previously had.

"When asked why no one took him to the doctor during this period, she stated, 'I don't know' and acknowledged that despite his declining condition, she did not seek medical attention for him," the detectives wrote in the affidavit.
Patrick Hayes, the father, who told police he lives in Millcreek Township and would see his sons on the weekends, said he believed Michael last attended school Jan. 8.

According to police, Hayes told them he last saw Michael Jan. 20, 2024, when he and Ambrose took his sons to Walmart so he could pick up items including ginger ale to calm Michael's stomach, as the boy had been complaining of stomach pains for several weeks.

On the evening of Jan. 21, according to Hayes, he received a Facebook Messenger call from Ambrose in which Ambrose stated Michael woke up screaming and crying in pain but eventually stopped crying. Hayes said he told Ambrose to call him if anything changed, the detectives wrote in the affidavits.

Hayes said he received another call from Ambrose early the next morning, informing him that Micheal was not breathing and had no pulse, according to information in the affidavits.
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