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6-year-old Flagstaff boy kept in a closet for month died of starvation, autopsy finds

The boy's parents and his grandmother have been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and child abuse in his death.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Editor's note: The above video is from a March 2020 newscast. 

An autopsy report for a 6-year-old Flagstaff boy who police say was locked in a closet and deprived of food shows he died of starvation.

The boy's parents and his grandmother have been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and child abuse in his death. 

They have pleaded not guilty. 

The autopsy report noted that Deshaun Martinez was in a non-life-sustaining state of starvation. 

He weighed 18 pounds when he was found unresponsive in early March, well-below average for his age. 

The medical examiner noted that Deshaun had a skeletal appearance with skin stretched over his bones and almost no body fat. 

Credit: AP
Wanda Ahasteen stops by a memorial for a 6-year-old boy in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. Police have arrested the boy's parents and grandmother on suspicion of murder and child abuse in the boy's death. (Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)

MORE ARTICLES: 

- Memorial grows for Flagstaff boy whose parents, grandmother were jailed in death

- Parents, grandmother arrested after 6-year-old kept in closet for a month dies in Flagstaff

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