Homer Glen parents face felony charge after death of child who lived in filthy home

A Homer Glen father and mother are facing a felony charge of endangering the life and health of a 2-year-old child who died after becoming “unresponsive” in a residence containing garbage and evidence of drug use, police said.

Edward Weiher, 49, was taken to the Will County jail on Nov. 7 on charges of endangering the life and health of a child and unlawful controlled substance possession.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Alexa Balen, 27, who has not yet been jailed on the same charges. She was taken to a hospital for a medical condition, according to Will County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Dan Jungles.

Weiher and Balen are the parents of a 2-year-old child who died at 12:24 a.m. on Nov. 7 at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox.

In the six days since the child’s death, Will County Coroner Laurie Summers’ Office has not publicly released any information the incident.

The child was found “unresponsive” inside of a Homer Glen residence where Will County sheriff’s deputies saw “garbage, rotten food, soiled clothing, medical waste, and extensive evidence of drug use scatted about the residence,” Jungles said.

“Responding deputies also located multiple dosages of administered Narcan near the area where the [child] was initially located,” Jungles said.

Narcan, also known as naloxone, is medicine that is used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose. Jungles said the cause and manner of the child’s death is pending the results of autopsy and toxicological reports.

At 11:37 p.m. on Nov. 6, deputies responded to the 12000 block of West Thorn Apple Drive in Homer Glen for a report of an unresponsive child and learned there was “possible carbon monoxide” inside of the residence, Jungles said.

However, Homer Township firefighters and Nicor personnel were able to confirm no gas leak took place inside the residence, Jungles said.

When deputies arrived, they saw Weiher give chest compressions to the child inside of the home, Jungles said.

Balen was also there with a 6-year-old child, he said.

When Weiher and Balen were taken to the Will County Sheriff’s Office for questions, they allegedly made “incriminating statements” to detectives, Jungles said.

The 6-year-old child was taken into protective custody and handed over to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, he said.