A 9-year-old boy who survived cancer was found dead under a lawn chair, Pennsylvania authorities confirmed.
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced the identity of Azuree Charles, who had been reported missing.
More than 30 officers from the New Kensington Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, and other nearby areas were informed of the case and helped find the missing child, who Ziccarelli confirmed died of homicide.
“This is a horrible tragedy for our community here at New Kensington and our county at large,” Ziccarelli told reporters. She also asked the public for help in providing information and wants those with details to call the New Kensington Police Department.
“To our community at large, hold your children near, they are our most precious gifts. We will not rest until we determine what or who caused this child’s death,” Ziccarelli said.
“We do have a person of interest,” she continued. “I can’t comment any further at this time as this is an ongoing investigation.”
“I can confirm that this is a homicide and the child did die at the hands of another person. Based on everything we know at this time in the investigation, we do not believe there is a danger to the community-at-large.”
Ziccarelli could not say how Azuree’s mother is coping with the loss but did confirm that the child has three younger siblings.
No arrests have been made in Azuree’s death.
New Kensington police arrested his father, Jean Charles, into custody on an unrelated warrant for a simple assault and child endangerment case after allegedly punching his son in the eye and leaving a bruise in November.
It is unclear if the son was Azuree, PEOPLE reported.
Azuree’s neighbors said that the boy had just beat pediatric cancer. Neighbor Osie Taylor found Azuree’s body and told the outlet, “All he does is ride his bike and play with his sister and for something like this to happen to him, it’s unbelievable. It’s got to stop, whatever is going on.”
Taylor, 70, volunteered to assist with the search because he was familiar with the areas where neighborhood kids played. He was the one that later discovered Azuree’s body under a lawn chair in a wooded area behind his home.
“I knew something wasn’t right because my lawn chair was out of place,” Taylor said to TribLive, adding: “He was a very gentle, nice kid. He laughed all the time and played with his sisters all the time. He was a very, very nice kid, always well mannered. He got along well with everybody.”
