CLEVELAND — Willie Robinson's parents claimed they couldn't afford medical treatment for the dying 8-year-old boy's cancer, prosecutors said, but they had enough money to pay a veterinarian to treat their pet pit bull for fleas. A Cuyahoga County grand jury on Wednesday indicted William Robinson Sr. and Monica Hussing for involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and felonious assault.

Willie died nearly a year ago, on March 22, shortly after he was admitted to MetroHealth Medical Center suffering from the final stages of Hodgkin's lymphoma, one of the most common and curable of cancers to strike children. The county coroner found that the child died of the cancer and pneumonia, but ruled his death a homicide.



Prosecutors said parental neglect was as responsible for Willie's death as the diseases.

"They never once took him to a doctor," said County Prosecutor Bill Mason. "It just is not right. This kid should be alive today."

Investigators said while Willie suffered without care, his parents paid $87 to have the pit bull, Petey, treated for fleas.

Assistant County Prosecutor Anna Faraglia worked on the case for the past year with police and family members. She said she is outraged by how the parents ignored a child who begged them to take him to see a doctor, but was rejected.

"There were some horrific symptoms," she said. "What weren't they seeing? Even a blind person would have known there was something wrong with him."

The parents were not arrested Wednesday, and have remained free since Willie's death. They will appear in court for an arraignment hearing in about two weeks, Faraglia said.