2 in Custody Following Death of Girl in Oak Forest (Update)

Updated 1:03 a.m. March 30

The Cook County medical examiner's office had not yet released a cause of death for a 3-year-old girl in Oak Forest by Friday night, ABC7 Chicago reports. Oak Forest police said Friday afternoon that the death of a 3-year-old girl had been ruled a homicide.

Updated 4:47 p.m. March 29

Oak Forest police and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services have provided new information about the custody status of a 3-year-old girl killed earlier this week.

Police initially indicated Gina Presley was in the protective custody of DCFS. Oak Forest Chief Greg Anderson told Patch in a phone interview Friday afternoon family members speaking with investigators said the girl was removed from her mother's supervision and placed with an aunt in 2010.

Anderson had described this placement as "protective custody" in a press release sent to media outlets earlier Friday afternoon.

But the girl had never been in DCFS's protective custody, said Dave Clarkin, an agency spokesman. He didn't elaborate on specifics involved in Presley's case but reiterated that the girl was not in DCFS custody when she died.

Illinois’ Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act allows DCFS to “protect the best interest of the child” when it receives reports of abuse by offering services that prevent further harm, according to the Illinois DCFS website. These services include the emergency removal of a child from the family, which is known as protective custody.

Original article

The death of a 3-year-old girl in Oak Forest has been ruled a homicide, according to an autopsy performed by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

Gina Presley, 3, of the 15300 block of Walnut Road, was pronounced dead Tuesday after a call came into police reporting that she was choking. The autopsy performed on Wednesday determined she had died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Two people are being held for questioning, Oak Forest police said. Their identities won't be released unless formal charges are filed.

The girl was in the protective custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and was staying at a Walnut Road house, police said. A female guardian and a man, both unidentified by police at this time, were present and called 911 at around 11:22 p.m. after she started choking.

“When you see a child lose their life, it affects everyone," said Oak Forest Police Chief Greg Anderson. "Not only the family, it affects the whole community. This is a horrific crime on the most innocent of victims."

People who are associated with the girl are cooperating with police.

The South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force and Oak Forest police are conducting a joint investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Oak Forest Police Department at 708-687-1376.

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Editor's Note: The full name of the victim was added to the story. Police had released it Friday afternoon.