Ada County coroner IDs teenager found dead in home with ‘deplorable’ conditions. He was 14
The Ada County Coroner’s Office on Friday identified the teenage boy who was found dead in a home that police called “deplorable.”
The Boise Police Department said it was called to a home off West Russet Street after 8 a.m. April 18 after one of the boy’s parents called and said they’d found their teenage son dead. The Coroner’s Office identified him as 14-year-old Dredonn Riach.
Riach’s manner and cause of death haven’t been released by the coroner’s office, which said further information was pending an investigation.
Boise Police Special Victims Unit Lt. Josiah Ransom previously said the conditions inside the home were “deplorable, unsafe, and some of the worst he has seen in his career,” according to a news release. He added that the home was “not fit for habitation by anyone, let alone children.” Seven other children, who were all found alive, were living in the home and placed with the Department of Health and Welfare.
Haley Williams, a spokesperson for the police department, told the Idaho Statesman on Tuesday that the investigation was “ongoing” and that the Boise Police Special Victims Unit was “looking into whether there was neglect or injury involved.” The unit is being assisted by the department’s violent crime detectives, who investigate all unattended deaths with these types of circumstances, police said.
“Once our detectives have completed the investigation it will be sent to the prosecutor’s office for review,” Williams added. Police said everyone in the household has been cooperative with law enforcement.
Williams said in an email Friday that police didn’t have any additional information.
Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar said in the news release that the department won’t know if Riach’s death was due to an ongoing medical problem or “some other contributing factor” until their investigation is completed.
“It is always troubling when a young person dies and our officers and detectives are working diligently to determine what factors may have contributed to this situation and what, if anything, could have been done to prevent it,” Winegar said. “I express my sympathy for the passing of this young boy.”
