Couple let their son, 8, die of curable cancer because they 'couldn't afford medical treatment' - but did get their pet pit bull de-fleaed

Willie Robinson succumbed to Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2008

Parents spent $87 to have pet dog Petey treated for fleas while their son was gravely ill, prosecutors say

A couple who failed to seek medical care for their cancer-stricken son because they said they couldn't afford medical care have pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Willie Robinson, eight, died of Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2008 after begging his parents to get him medical care, according to prosecutors. They say that had he received treatment, the youngster would have had a 96 percent chance of making a full recovery.

Monica Hussing and William Robinson Sr. claim they never took their cancer-stricken son Willie to the doctor because they didn't have the money.



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Neglect: Monica Hussing, 37, and William Robinson, 40, admitted that they did not take their cancer-stricken son to the doctor despite his begging

But somehow, the parents found the cash to have their family pit bull treated for fleas, prosecutors say.



Hussing, 37, and Robinson, 40, have been free on $150,000 bail each in Cleveland, Ohio, since their son died. On Monday, the parents pleaded guilty to attempted involuntary manslaughter and face up to eight years in prison.

Hussing's lawyer blamed Willie's death on the fact that the parents, who still have five children, were poor and did not have health insurance.

'Unfortunately, these people did not have that ability to get the proper health care and I think the entire system both in Warren, in Trumbull County and in Cuyahoga County it was just a little bit of... the ball was dropped,' John Luskin told WJW.

Pleaded for help: Prosecutors say Willie Robinson begged his mother and father to take him to the doctor

Preventable: Willie, 8, died of Hodgkin's lymphoma, which has a 96 percent survivability rate, if properly treated

But prosecutors say as Willie was dying a horrible, but preventable, death, Hussing and Robinson paid $87 to take their pit bull Petey to a veterinarian and have it treated for fleas.



After ignoring his pleas for medical help, Willie collapsed at their home March 22, 2008. It was then Hussing and Robinson finally took him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with cancer and died later that day.

The coroner ruled his death, caused by cancer and pneumonia, a homicide, meaning it was the result of his parents' actions.



Authorities say none of the couple's five other children, now 17, 16, 10, 9 and 8, received medical care. All of them have been removed from their parents and are living with an aunt.



The parents also kept their children out of school. Willie never saw a the inside of a classroom in his short life, authorities say.

Hogkin's Lymphoma is cancer of lymph tissue found in the lymph nodes, spleen, liver and bone marrow. Symptoms include: fatigue, fever and chills, loss of appetite and unexplained weight loss.

It is the most common form of childhood cancer and the most treatable, with up to 96 percent of children surviving at least five years after the cancer goes into remission.