“It wasn’t like the kid was healthy on Thursday and then died on Friday,” Becker said. “His death was a long process and his parents did nothing to stop it. That’s the most concerning thing about this.”

The Omosebis’ 11-year-old son was so weak when police arrived that he couldn’t walk out of the residence on his own and had a hard time talking, according to the criminal complaint. The boy was holding onto a Bible and an envelope that police said contained pamphlets about death, which were handed out to officers when they arrived at the residence, the complaint said.

The boy also signed his name to a handwritten letter that police found at the residence, the complaint said. It was addressed to “Lawyers of Sauk County Circuit Court” and included statements such as “The hunger is too much. Please help me now so I may eat,” “I can’t continue in such a life with no food” and “If I don’t get food now I’ll probably die of hunger.”

Becker said the boy was initially taken to Reedsburg Area Medical Center but was later moved to the American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, where he has been placed in protective custody.

“My heart goes out to the kids because the people they trusted the most betrayed them,” he said.