By Shereen Siewert

One person is in custody and another person is being sought by police in connection with the death of a Merrill-area toddler whose battered body was found dead in November.

  • Cody Robertson
  • Amber Boyd

Cody Gene Robertson, 25, was arrested Wednesday in Merrill, police said. Police are seeking the child’s mother, 22-year-old Amber Paige Boyd. Both Robertson and Boyd are facing felony charges of child neglect causing death in connection with the 15-month-old child’s death.

Police say Boyd, at about 1:20 p.m. on Nov. 12, called 911 to report she found her child not breathing at her town of Corning home. Boyd told dispatchers she discovered the child “like five minutes” earlier, and called another person before calling 911. Officers and rescue crews arrived about 15 minutes later and noted that the child had numerous bruises to the face, head, arms and legs, according to the criminal complaint.

Paramedics report the child had makeup concealer covering scabs and abrasions on the neck, chin and near the eyebrows, with additional makeup on the child’s head.

According to court documents, an autopsy performed Nov. 13 showed the child had acute bronchiolitis, an acute inflammatory injury of the bronchioles that is usually caused by a viral infection, with dozens of lesions on the child’s body. The autopsy also noted additional lesions on the child’s scalp consistent with “fingers or something of similar size.”

The child weighed just 17 pounds at the time of his death, below the third percentile for children his age, prosecutors say. Blood test results showed the boy had methamphetamine in his body at the time of his death and additional tests showed his siblings also had methamphetamine in their urine, according to court documents. Methamphetamine was discovered at the scene.

Police say Boyd admitted that she and Robertson smoked methamphetamine in the living room on the day the boy died.

Robertson is due in Lincoln County Circuit Court Monday for a bond hearing.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Boyd is asked to call the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office at 715-536-6272. Callers may also call Crime Stoppers of Lincoln County at 715-536-3726 or use the P3 App.