Authorities are looking into the death of a 2-year-old girl who was discovered at the home of a Massachusetts police lieutenant charged with child rape last year, according to a source.
As previously reported by The Messenger, James Feeley, 56, was charged in December with aggravated child rape and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14.
According to court documents received and analyzed by local news sources, Feeley acknowledged raping and assaulting a youngster on Christmas night in a cemetery.
Winthrop Police Chief Terrance Delehanty discovered Feeley at the gravesite with a revolver in his hand. Feeley was allegedly suicidal at the time.
He was put on administrative leave “pending the outcome of a criminal investigation,” Delehanty stated.
The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families was also investigating Feeley, a foster parent, according to The Messenger. At the time of the investigation, the government confirmed that no foster children were residing in his home, but it did not say whether any other youngsters were present.
On Friday, Boston 25 News reported that a 2-year-old girl who had been staying in Feeley’s home had been discovered dead.
A representative for the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office told the news source that an initial inquiry “indicates no signs of foul play or physical trauma.” Investigators are currently awaiting the findings of an autopsy.
According to Boston 25 News, police and firefighters arrived at his Winthrop house at 10:20 a.m. on Friday. Firefighters and EMTs on the scene took the boy to the hospital while conducting life-saving procedures, but he perished.
Feeley was arrested last month and has been jailed on $200,000 bail. He pleaded not guilty to all allegations.
On Friday, Delehanty also announced Feeley’s dismissal from the Winthrop Police Department.