The parents of Natalie Hill, the 3-month-old Westwego girl who died July 16 from rat bites, are back in juvenile court today to hear a judge's decision on who will have custody of Natalie's older brother.
The infant was found covered with "hundreds" of rat bites and lying in a pool of blood in her crib in the family's Central Avenue home.
In a one-sentence press release on Wednesday, Jefferson Parish Coroner Robert Treuting listed the cause of Natalie's death as "exsanguination due to destruction of soft tissue secondary to murine activity," meaning that the baby died of blood loss because of the rat bites.
Treuting's announcement came on the same day that the girl's parents, Robby Hill and Casey Laine, were waiting at the Jefferson Parish Juvenile Justice Center in Harvey to find out whether their 14-month-old son would be released from state custody. The juvenile court decision was delayed until today.
Hill and Lane arrived at juvenile court about 12:40 p.m. today. The hearing is closed to anyone not directly involved in the case, including the news media.
Hearing officer Salvador Mule decided to delay the decision on whether the boy should be placed with the couple or with their relatives or somewhere else. The boy remains in state custody while officials visit relatives' homes to determine whether they are suitable.
Laine and Hill lost custody of the boy after Natalie died. The couple has said they were aware of rat problems around the home and heard rats scratching in the walls of the house but never saw the rats inside the building.
A family friend said the judge intimated that he would consider the coroner's report when he decided whether to return the boy to his parents.