Quintin Harold McGrew, 28, is charged with unlawful neglect to a child after Dorchester County Sheriff L.C. Knight said McGrew left 2-month-old Aiden McGrew in the living room while he slept in a bedroom for more than an hour .
McGrew's wife, Chantel McGrew, said on Wednesday that she supports her husband "100%" and that the loss of their son has been "extremely" hard on them.
"Having to go to work and then go home to an empty house, it's very, very upsetting," Chantel McGrew said. "When you wake up at 2 o'clock in the morning wondering where your baby is at, because the baby will wake up at 2 o'clock in the morning for his feeding and he's not there. All you can do is visit his grave site. It's really hard."
DHEC officials also reported on Wednesday that the dog that attacked Aiden has been put down.
The attack happened at the McGrew's mobile home on Sandpit Drive on April 20. The baby's mother told investigators that 2-month-old Aiden McGrew was apparently pulled from his swing and had his leg torn off by a golden retriever labrador mix.
Chantel McGrew said she found Aiden on the floor when she returned from taking her 7-year-old to the doctor. She also told deputies that the family was dog-sitting the golden retriever-labrador mix.
Dorchester County Sheriff's Office officials say the couple was planning to adopt the dog.
The Dorchester County Coroner's Office listed parental neglect as one of the causes for the 2-month-old's death. Coroner Chris Nisbet listed the cause of death as exsanguination, due to transection of blood vessels, due to animal eating, due to parental neglect.
He listed the manner of death as homicide.
Nisbet said that the baby was in a high chair when the child was attacked by the dog in the single-wide trailer home. However, during a frantic 911 call, McGrew's mother described the seat as a swing.
According to Nisbet, two adults, three children, two dogs and several chickens lived inside the home.
Dorchester County Sheriff L.C. Knight said that the infant was asleep near the father's room when the boy was attacked by the dog around 11 a.m.
(WCSC - May 2, 2012)
