At about 11 p.m. on Wednesday The Will County sheriff’s office and FBI executed a search warrant at a home in the 300 block of Louis Road in Joliet Township. They reportedly found the body of 1-year-old Semaj Crosby about an hour later, stuffed in a couch.
An autopsy did not determine the cause and manner of death, with results still pending further investigation. While Semaj’s death has been deemed “suspicious,” it has not been ruled a homicide.
Between 5 and 15 people live in the home at any given time, most of whom are “squatters,” Officer Ackerson said. Three children between the ages of 16 months and 13 years, including Semaj, live in the home with their mother and the DCFS will decide if the children stay in the home.
Semaj was last seen around 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, playing with children outside the home where she was found.
A massive FBI search by police agencies and the FBI of the Preston Heights subdivision took place, which included bloodhounds, a helicopter and more than a 100 volunteers. A pond in the Sugar Creek subdivision was also searched by a dive team.
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services officials were at the home at 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, investigating a previous allegation of neglect against the girl’s mother, says a statement from the agency. They saw all 3 of the children—including Semaj—and saw no obvious hazards or safety concerns, officials said.
Ackerson said that police had previously been called to the home a few times, most recently for a “domestic situation” on Easter Sunday. No arrests have been made in that incident.
DCFS has been working with the family since September 2016, with 4 unfounded investigations for neglect, and 2 other pending investigations for neglect opened in March 2017, agency officials said.