IA - Mason Wyckoff, 2, Dead under Suspicious Circumstances (Mother?) July 2016

A two-year-old boy has been found dead in his Iowa home, where his unconscious mother was also found by police. Mason Wyckoff was found when the Polk County Sheriff's Department was called to a property in Grimes, about 15 miles north-west of Des Moines, shortly after 10am on Friday. The two-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene... Local detectives and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are working to figure out what happened inside Erickson's home.

Dillon Wyckoff (pictured), Mason's father, said he and Stephenie Erickson have been locked in a bitter custody battle since they separated, adding the tragic death of his son 'could have been prevented'

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tlcya said:

UGGH Mom unconscious, child dead, an obvious contentious fight about custody. I hope I am wrong. I suspect this may have been about winning at all costs.

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GRIMES, Ia. — Candles, flowers and a stuffed Elmo doll sat on the steps of 303 N.W. Valley View Drive on Sunday, a very different scene from the police tape and crime investigators surrounding the house Friday afternoon when 2-year-old Mason Wyckoff was found dead. As the sun set in Grimes on Sunday night, family and friends of the toddler gathered outside the home to honor his life. They released blue balloons with messages that read "fly high with the angels, sweet Mason." Blue was his favorite color and the color of his special blanket. About 60 people, including a few Grimes first responders and police officers, attended, to honor the life of the little blond-haired, blue-eyed boy they lost too soon. "I'm not super religious and my family is not super religious," Meg Viola, cousin of Mason's father, Dillon Wyckoff, said as she led the group through a prayer. "But we know that little Mason is in heaven."...

Cunningham said at the vigil that the family had feared for months that Erickson was mentally unstable. She said Erickson had allegedly told Dillon Wyckoff that he would never see his son again. "I tried contacting DHS (the Department of Human Services). We've dealt with over seven different police departments for over a year," Cunningham said. "They kept telling us that we had to wait for 'something to happen.' And look at what did."

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The mother of a toddler found dead in a Grimes home last week has also died. Stephenie Erickson, 33, was found unconscious at 303 NW Valley View Drive in Grimes on July 22. Her son, Mason Wyckoff, 2, was dead inside the home... She died Thursday at about noon, said Sgt. Brandon Bracelin, spokesman for the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Law enforcement officials have not said that Erickson killed her son, only that they don't believe anyone from outside the home was involved in the incident. A cause of death won't be released for either Mason Wyckoff and Erickson until toxicology reports and autopsy results are finished, Bracelin said.

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