Margie and Christopher Shaver (Greenville Co. Detention Center)LANDRUM, SC (FOX Carolina) -
Deputies have arrested the parents of a 2-year-old boy who was killed when a dresser fell on top of him and his sister, saying his death was preventable and the home was roach and rodent-infested.
Greenville County deputies said they charged 27-year-old Margie Shaver with homicide by child neglect following her son Chandler Shaver's death on March 12.
Shaver kept Chandler and his 4-year-old sister locked in an unsanitary, unsafe bedroom and failed to supervise their activities the night of his death, according to Master Deputy Laura Campbell with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office.
Campbell said when the chest of drawers fell on both children, it made a loud enough noise for Shaver to hear, but she failed to do anything to help her child.
Deputies said the chest of drawers compressed Chandler to the point of causing fatal asphyxia, which investigators said was preventable.
According to the arrest warrants, the bedroom was covered in filth along with the rest of the home, which was heavily soiled with feces and animal urine, infested with roaches and rodents and generally unsafe for children.
Deputies said the home placed Chandler and his sister at unreasonable harm, charging Shaver and her husband 30-year-old Christopher Shaver with unlawful neglect of a child. Deputies said Christopher Shaver was not at home at the time of his son's death.
The couple's daughter was placed in Department of Social Services protective custody shortly after her brother's death, deputies said.
Margie Shaver was denied bond while her husband was given a $50,000 bond during their hearings Thursday.
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