Grandfather of disabled 2-year-old forced to 'army crawl' to his food refused to keep him alive when mother 'stopped giving him water,' police say

A 48-year-old gramps successful Montana is accused of fatally neglecting his disabled grandson, allegedly refusing to assistance the toddler adjacent erstwhile the victim's parent stopped bringing him food and water.

Christopher Michael Cox has been charged with felony negligent homicide and misdemeanor kid endangerment successful the boy's horrific death.

In tribunal documents filed precocious past month, prosecutors alleged that Cox caused the toddler's decease by failing to supply him with the basal needs indispensable to prolong life, according to a report from Butte CBS affiliate KXLF.

The latest filings reportedly corroborate that the unfortunate was calved with spina bifida, a disablement that near him immobile. Those documents besides asserted that the family's location was "squalid and unsanitary."

Cox is the 2nd idiosyncratic charged successful transportation with the 2-year-old's death. The toddler's 28-year-old mother, Nichole Lynn Boyer, was arrested successful October 2025 connected 1 number of deliberate homicide.

Cox is presently being held successful the Beaverhead County Jail connected $500,000 bond, records show. If convicted connected the homicide charge, helium faces a maximum of 20 years successful a authorities correctional facility.

As Law&Crime previously reported, deputies with the Beaverhead County Sheriff's Office responded to a telephone connected Oct. 16, 2025, astir a deceased kid astatine a residence successful the 300 artifact of Main Street successful Lima, Montana, which is astir 300 miles southwest of Billings. The caller identified herself arsenic Boyer, who said her lad had been "sick for months and was present deceased."

Upon arriving, archetypal responders said Boyer stated, "just instrumentality maine to jail." Deputies rapidly "observed the odor of decomposing quality remains" erstwhile they went wrong the home, which was covered successful "trash and rotten food, arsenic good arsenic carnal urine and feces."

EMS directed deputies to an upstairs chamber wherever they recovered the lad "on a heap of laundry, bedsheets, trash, and different items connected the level adjacent to a mattress."

"The kid was covered up with a sweatshirt that Boyer aboriginal indicated belonged to her," the affidavit said. "The kid appeared to beryllium successful an precocious authorities of decomposition."

The chamber wherever the lad was located was described arsenic "filthy" and had the aerial conditioner moving adjacent though the somesthesia extracurricular was astir 44 degrees.

When questioned by police, Boyer said she utilized to cheque connected her lad 3 to 4 times per day, but added that she "did not retrieve the full period of September" earlier making "several comments astir needing to spell to jail."

As the questioning continued, Boyer said she kept the unfortunate successful a "padded area" of the upstairs chamber and would typically acceptable his nutrient connected the crushed and fto him "army crawl" to it erstwhile helium was hungry, arsenic his aesculapian information prevented him from walking. However, she said she "became overwhelmed successful August" with caring for her 3 different children and her father.

The concern allegedly continued to deteriorate successful September. From the affidavit:

Boyer said that astatine immoderate constituent successful September, she got overwhelmed and stopped caring for the child. When asked why, she stated that she "didn't prioritize him." She stated, "I judge I should person done more," and agreed that her deficiency of attraction led to [her son's] death. She stated, "my deficiency of not paying attraction and prioritizing different things implicit him led to him dying."

The parent past confirmed that she knew her lad had been dormant for immoderate clip owed to her nonaccomplishment to attraction for him. Police wrote:

Boyer said that she didn't cognize the past clip she really remembers [her son] eating, and that she stopped giving him h2o sometime successful September. Boyer was unclear whether she stopped giving [her son] nutrient and h2o earlier oregon aft helium was deceased. When asked if [her son] starved to death, Boyer said she didn't know. When asked if [her son] froze to death, Boyer stated that she didn't deliberation so.

Boyer stated that she knew [her son] had passed successful September, but she had convinced herself that helium was inactive alive. She didn't privation to judge [her son's] decease until that morning, erstwhile she yet "called the constabulary connected myself."

Nichole Boyer is besides being held astatine the Beaverhead County Jail connected $500,000 bond.