A Wisconsin mother who was arrested in late March after the body of her young son was found dead in her car’s trunk has now been charged in the boy’s death.
Sagal Hussein, 25, of Howard, is currently being held in Brown County jail on a $500,000 cash bond and is due back in court on May 7 after her first appearance in court on April 29. She faces nine counts, including chronic neglect of a child causing death, hiding the corpse of a child, and obstruction of an officer, The Associated Press reported.
The body of 5-year-old Josias Marquez, who had not been seen since November 2019 by anyone but Hussein, had likely been dead for months when authorities found his decomposed body on March 31 in the trunk of his mother’s car, The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Josias—a special needs child with life-long medical issues—was found to be “significantly undernourished.” He weighed just 20 pounds, which would have caused “significant risk of death,” but the cause of the boy’s death could not be confirmed until further investigation, the medical examiner’s office said.
Police said the boy was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. According to a 26-page complaint (pdf), Josias used a wheelchair and was dependent on others for feeding.
Hussein’s public defender did not return a request for comment Thursday.
Missing for Months
Authorities with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office were called to Hussein’s home in the Village of Howard in Green Bay on Jan. 26, after a neighbor called because two of her other children were reportedly left unsupervised outside.
After responding officers arrived at the home, the eldest child told police her mother left them alone the other night and that the children also did not know where she was. Once police found Hussein, she told the officers the children were alone for only about 40 minutes.
Brown County Child Protective Services later took the two children into temporary custody, Crimeonline reported.
Authorities later learned that Hussein also had a third child—Josias—who she initially claimed was with his father, Miguel Marcello, who was allegedly in another state. Authorities, however, could not verify the claim.
The father of Hussein’s other two children, James Marquez of California, said he had no idea who Marcello is. Marquez said he is the father of Josias, though Hussein denies this and is certain Marcello is the father.
“James knew in the beginning that JJM [Josias] wasn’t his child, but said that James told her he didn’t care if he was the actual father or not he would take care of JJM as his own,” Hussein said according to the complaint.
Hussein told investigators there was never a DNA test completed and that based on the conversations she had with Marquez, he was acting as if he was the father to Josias. Hussein proceeded with an elaborate description of why she hadn’t been able to make contact with Josias while he was in Marcello’s care.
Police arrested Hussein on March 30 due to the discrepancies in her story and her lack of cooperation, officials said. A search warrant was issued for her residence and vehicle and Josias’s semi-decomposed body was found the next day in the trunk of her car.
Marquez told investigators he wouldn’t believe Hussein would ever intentionally hurt the boy, but he could see her stop providing care for him because she “never liked caring for him,” according to the complaint.
Amal Ishamel, Hussein’s mother, said she was in shock after learning about the news. and that she wouldn’t intentionally kill her own son.
“What I know is my daughter, Sagal, is that she was a loving mother and she didn’t kill her own son and what I believe is it was not her intention to hurt or kill her own child,” Ishamel said.
Hussein’s other two children are currently in foster care, Ishamel said at the time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.