How Could You? Hall of Shame-Dayveon Lathrop-Child Death

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Town of Fulton, Wisconsin, 20-year-old Dayton Lathrop “is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in the death of his 8-year-old adopted sister, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday. Lathrop appeared in court Friday afternoon.

Authorities found the young girl’s body on Sunday in a home in the Town of Fulton, and the Rock County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday it had arrested Lathrop.

According to the criminal complaint, Lathrop’s adopted father left the 8-year-old in Lathrop’s care around 4 p.m. Saturday. When the father returned about an hour and 45 minutes later, he noticed the girl was not home. When he asked Lathrop where she was, “Lathrop made a comment to the effect of ‘she is dead,'” according to the complaint.

The father called 911 and started looking for his daughter.

According to the complaint, two people who were in the area during the time the girl was in Lathrop’s care told law enforcement they saw Lathrop and the girl arguing around 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

The complaint states officers found two knives, a tactical style knife and a smaller pocket knife, in a shower at the family’s home, and they also noticed “a large amount” of laundry detergent spilled on the laundry room floor.

Once officers got a search warrant, they searched the house more and, according to the complaint, used a substance to identify the presence of blood and hemoglobin on the shower’s walls and floor.

On Sunday, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office searched the home’s basement. According to the complaint, a detective found the girl’s body in a storage tote in the laundry room. The tote also contained an empty bottle of bleach, an empty bottle of hydrogen peroxide and paper towels with suspected blood on them.

The complaint states a forensic pathologist autopsied the girl’s body and found multiple stab wounds. The forensic pathologist said those wounds are consistent with the tactical style knife authorities found. ”

20-year-old man criminally charged in death of adopted sister in Rock County
[WKOW 3/18/24 by Caroline Date]

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