BUFFALO, N.Y. — Police say a Rent-A-Center employee saved a 4-year-old boy who spent at least two days alone in a Buffalo apartment after his mother died suddenly, according to The Buffalo News.
The Rent-A-Center employee, Taijuan Littleton, said he went to Shaleena Hamilton’s apartment in the 1300 block of East Delavan Avenue on Dec. 4 for a previously scheduled appointment. He knocked at the door, but Hamilton didn’t answer.
From behind the door, Littleton said he could hear Hamilton’s son talking and tried to talk to the boy.
“He asked the boy to open the door, but he didn’t,” homicide detective, Sgt. Jim Dunham, told The Buffalo News. “Littleton then looked through the window and saw the mother lying on the floor at the foot of the stairs. At that point, Littleton called 911. He also asked the boy again to open the door, and he did.”
When he got inside, Littleton realized the 43-year-old mother was dead and wrapped the boy in a blanket before taking him outside to his work truck.
Officers said the boy survived by drinking milk and eating maple syrup for two days.
An autopsy revealed that Hamilton died of natural causes.
The 4-year-old is now staying with relatives.
