A 1-year-old child, Javion Sexton, died from a single gunshot wound on June 18, 2020, in a South Bend, Indiana, home. An autopsy ruled the manner of death accidental; investigators said the shot was fired by his 4-year-old sibling during an accidental discharge. Authorities found firearms and illegal drugs accessible to the children in the residence, and a grand jury returned indictments against Javion’s parents.

Arrest warrants were issued in October 2020 for the father, Avion Sexton Sr., then 23, and the mother, Eboni Hosea, on charges including neglect of a dependent resulting in death and drug offenses. Hosea turned herself in and was released on bond. Avion Sexton Sr. was later convicted by a jury in April 2022 of felony neglect of a dependent resulting in death and multiple drug offenses; prosecutors said deadly weapons and fentanyl had been left within reach of the children. A judge sentenced him to 40 years in prison in June 2022; the judge noted the surviving child would have to live with the memory of pulling the trigger.

Are there readers who knew the family or have information about how firearms and drugs came to be left accessible in that home?