Madelin Anika Day, a 4-year-old medically complex child in Mattoon, Illinois, was found unresponsive by her 24-year-old mother on November 16, 2022, and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The child had sustained permanent severe brain damage at 9 months old after ingesting a family friend's diabetes medication, leaving her wheelchair-bound, non-verbal, and dependent on tube feedings and full caregiving. An autopsy determined the cause of death was cocaine toxicity, with cocaine levels more than twice the fatal dose for a healthy adult; the manner of death was ruled homicide. Because the child could not ingest anything on her own, the cocaine must have been administered to her. The child's mother, Taylor West (age 24), and her boyfriend, Maverick Bowman (age 32), both tested positive for cocaine that day and were subsequently arrested and charged with first-degree murder and drug-induced homicide. Just six days before the child's death, DCFS had opened an investigation for medical neglect and environmental neglect against the mother based on reports of significant weight loss, vomiting, fever, poor hygiene, and the mother's failure to seek medical care, but the assigned child protection investigator never physically saw the child before she died.
Contexts/Conditions
Is there any mention of child drug ingestion or overdose?
The fatality report states: "The pathologist reported the child had cocaine in her system, and the amount was more than twice the dose that would be fatal for a healthy adult. The medical examiner's report determined the cause of death as cocaine toxicity." The WCIA news article confirms: "an autopsy revealed the child died of a cocaine overdose."
Is there any mention of a drowning incident (either intentional or accidental)?
Is there any mention of a firearm incident?
Is there any mention of inappropriate supervision (e.g., child wandered off and drowned)?
Is there any mention of inflicted injury? (e.g. slapped, punched, kicked, choked)
Is there any mention of malnutrition, starvation, or dehydration?
The fatality report documents significant weight loss: "the child weighed 23.8 lbs. the week prior to her death, a weight loss of 7 lbs. from the last documented weight check two months earlier of 30.42 lbs." It also states that "the mother ran out of formula about a month and a half earlier, and the school provided the child with formula which she did not tolerate well" and "the school staff had concerns about the child's hygiene and weight loss." The hotline report also noted the child "lost a lot of weight in the prior two weeks because of difficulty with child's feedings."
Is there any mention of medical neglect?
The fatality report explicitly discusses medical neglect: "The Department opened the investigation for allegations of medical neglect (#79) and environmental neglect (#82) against the mother." Additionally, "the child's primary care physician completed the CANTS 65-B, Evaluation of Medical Neglect of a Child and documented medical neglect of the child which contributed to her worsening condition and placed the child at risk for a serious outcome." The Department indicated the mother for medical neglect (#79).
Is there any mention of a motor vehicle crash or incident?
Is there any mention of a murder-suicide incident?
Is there any mention of outdoor elements (including hot car deaths)?
Is there any mention of prenatal substance exposure (including fetal alcohol syndrome or neonatal abstinence syndrome)?
Is there any mention of sexual abuse?
Is there any specific mention of shaken baby or abusive head trauma?
Is there any mention of prolonged abuse or torture (including restraints, captivity)?
Is there any mention of an unsafe sleeping environment?
Individuals Involved
Was an adoptive parent or guardian involved in the death?
Was a biological father involved in the death?
Was a biological mother involved in the death?
The fatality report states: "The child's mother and the mother's paramour tested positive for cocaine the day of the child's death, and the mother and the paramour were held without bail in jail on charges of first-degree murder and drug-induced homicide. The Department indicated the mother and the paramour for death by abuse (#1) and substance misuse by abuse (#15)." The WAND news article identifies the mother as Taylor M West, age 24, arrested for Drug Induced Homicide and First Degree Murder.
Was a day care worker, babysitter, or nanny involved in the death?
Was a female paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., girlfriend, stepmother)?
Was a foster parent involved in the death?
Was a male paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., boyfriend, stepfather)?
The fatality report refers to "the mother's paramour" who "tested positive for cocaine the day of the child's death" and was charged with first-degree murder and drug-induced homicide. The disability memorial page identifies him as "her boyfriend." The news articles identify him as Maverick C Bowman, age 32.
Was another adult relative involved in the death? (e.g., grandfather, aunt)
Was a sibling involved in the death?
Child Characteristics
Was the child adopted?
Was the child homeschooled (including "cyberschooling") or taken out of school?
Was the child in foster care at the time of the incident?
Was the child living with relatives at the time of the incident (but not parents)?
Is there any mention of a neurological developmental child disability? (e.g., autism, intellectual disability, nonverbal)
The fatality report states the child "sustained permanent and severe brain damage" from a hypoxic brain injury at 9 months old, resulting in the child being "non-verbal" and dependent on others for all basic needs. The report also documents diagnoses of "hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy" and "obtundation." The child lacked motor skills to put substances in her mouth, indicating profound neurological/developmental disability.
Is there any mention of a physical child disability? (e.g., feeding tube)
The fatality report states: "the child required a wheelchair, was non-verbal, and depended on others for all her basic needs" and "she required feeding through a tube and lacked the motor skills to put the substance in her mouth." The WCIA and WAND news articles also describe the child as "disabled."
Is there any mention of prematurity or low birthweight?
Is there a history of child protection reports prior to death (for this child or siblings)?
The fatality report documents multiple prior child protection reports. First, in October 2018, the child came to the attention of the Department after the hypoxic brain injury: "The Department unfounded the mother and father for head injuries by neglect (#52)." Second, six days prior to the child's death, the Department opened a new investigation for medical neglect (#79) and environmental neglect (#82), which was still open at the time of the child's death.
Does the child have a history of foster care (but not in care at time of incident)?
Is there a history of a sibling death (separate incident from this death)?
Parent/Caregiver Factors
Was an adult charged or arrested for the child's death?
The fatality report states the mother and paramour "were held without bail in jail on charges of first-degree murder and drug-induced homicide." The WAND news article states: "Taylor M West, age 24, and Maverick C Bowman, age 32, were arrested on Coles County warrants for Drug Induced Homicide and First Degree Murder."
Is domestic violence by the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is there any mention that the death occurred in a temporary shelter or while homeless?
Is an intellectual disability of the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is the mental health of the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is a history of arrests or criminal charges for the parent/caregiver referenced?
The WCIA news article states: "Bowman was charged with felon in possession of a firearm and possession of controlled substances." The "felon in possession of a firearm" charge necessarily implies Bowman had a prior felony conviction predating the child's death, as felon status is a prerequisite for that charge. This prior criminal history is separate from the murder and drug-induced homicide charges stemming from the child's death.
Is substance use by the parent/caregiver referenced?
The fatality report states: "The child's mother and the mother's paramour tested positive for cocaine the day of the child's death." It also notes: "the mother and child previously smelled of marijuana." The Department indicated both the mother and paramour for "substance misuse by abuse (#15)."
Notable Details
The fatality report reveals significant systemic child welfare failures. In the six days between the DCFS hotline report and the child's death, the child protection investigator never physically saw the child, did not contact the hotline reporter, did not observe the home environment, did not interview the mother in person, and did not contact the child's physicians or specialists. Contributing factors included a permanent supervisor being on a 10-day vacation, a temporarily assigned supervisor who did not follow up, understaffing at the field office, and the absence of real-time technology for supervisors to track whether investigators had seen children. The permanent supervisor acknowledged that "child protection staff should not have gone two days without trying to see the child in person" and that "currently there was no real time way for supervisors to know if an investigator saw the child or attempted to see the child." The child also had a significant history — at 9 months old, she sustained permanent severe brain damage from ingesting a family friend's diabetes medication, an incident that first brought her to the Department's attention.
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