More than 3-years after he died, a boy’s mom is now charged in his death
By TYLER FINGERT
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MOBILE, AL (WALA) — It took more than three years to get an indictment, but now a Mobile boy’s mom is facing criminal charges in his death.
The only picture we have of 8-year-old Lebrawn Rankin is one of him smiling, but a grand jury indictment released on Tuesday paints a bleaker picture. One that attorney Tommy James, who is representing Lenrawn’s estate, says is complete neglect.
“He would come to school with heavy diapers, sometimes he would have the same diaper he left school with on Friday they would mark it with his initials L for Lebrawn and come back on Monday with that same diaper,” James said.
Zedria Rankin is facing two charges in her 8-year-olds death. One count of reckless manslaughter and one count of aggravated child abuse.
“We’re happy this little boy is finally going to get justice,” James said. “It has been a long time coming.”
Lebrawn suffered from cerebral palsy and weighed just 23 pounds when he died in 2018.
We are told his ribs were visible through his skin.
The grand jury found that Lebrawn’s mom recklessly caused his death by failing to provide food or care for him. This indictment is more than a year in the making.
“It was a lengthy investigation because it involves a lot of medical records and medical reports and those kinds of things,” said Ashley Rich, Mobile County’s District Attorney. “But also due to COVID for the last 18 months, we’ve been hit or miss on whether we’d get a grand jury.”
Zedria is also facing a civil lawsuit. James is suing her and the Alabama Department of Human Resources on the boy’s behalf. He says the system failed Lebrawn. James says teachers at his school reported their suspicions of abuse.
“They literally were concerned for his life and sadly what they were concerned would happen actually did happen because DHR didn’t do their job,” James said.
Court documents show DHR has denied the allegations but tell us they cannot comment on pending lawsuits.
Zedria’s bond has been set at $75,000 with a $5,000-dollar cash component.
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