JANESVILLE — A 20-year-old family member has been arrested in connection with the death of an 8-year-old Saturday in a rural Rock County home.
Dayveon Lathrop was arrested Tuesday morning and is facing a possible charges of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse, Rock County Sheriff Curtis Fell said at a Tuesday news conference.
Fell said the cause of death was homicide.
Lathrop also faces possible charges of child neglect, bail jumping, possession of drug paraphernalia.
Fell didn’t elaborate on how the suspect and victim were related in the family.
The Rock County Sheriff’s Office first learned of the missing child when they were called to the 5500 block of W. Miles Rd Saturday at 6:13 p.m.
West Miles road is located south of Indianford near the Rock River.
A Town of Fulton officer and a Rock County sheriff’s deputy arrived by about 6:30 p.m.
Searchers used a K-9 and drone team along with more than 20 deputies to search for the child.
Investigators say they detained the suspect during the search, then obtained a search warrant to enter the home where they discovered the body of the child.
A forensic autopsy was performed Monday, and the suspect was arrested about 11 a.m. Tuesday on the newest charges.