Two Brookfield residents have been charged with Second-Degree Murder and other felonies after the findings of a death investigation.
According to a post on the Brookfield Police Department’s Facebook page, at 3:22 a.m. on February 9, officers responded to a call of an unresponsive 11-year-old boy on West Avenue. The child was transported by Linn County Ambulance to Pershing Memorial Hospital, where resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced deceased.
An autopsy was conducted at the Boone County Medical Examiner’s Office in Columbia. After conducting a thorough investigation and reviewing results of the autopsy findings, 48-year-old Darrel L. Royal and 50-year-old Nancy J. Royal are facing multiple felony charges.
According to online court documents, each has been charged with a Class A Felony for Second-Degree Murder; a Class A Felony for Abuse or Neglect of a Child Resulting in Death; a Class B Felony for Abuse or Neglect of a Child- Serious Emotional or Physical Injury- No Sexual Contact; and Class D Felonies for Abuse or Neglect of a Child- No Sexual Contact and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Creating a Substantial Risk in the First Degree, First Offense- No Sexual Contact.
On August 30, officers executed arrest warrants, and the subjects were transported to the Brookfield Police Department, processed and turned over to the Linn County Sheriff’s Department for transport to the Macon County Jail, with no bond authorized.
Each of the accused is scheduled to be arraigned at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 4, at Linn County Circuit Court.