'Tried my hardest': Family member of 4-year-old Dante Campbell describes claims of abuse, attempts to contact CPS

Dante Campbell died Saturday after police say his mom called 911, reporting he was unresponsive, and pulled over into the Dairy Queen parking lot.

According to the West Allis Police Department, Dante's 31-year-old mother and 21-year-old father were arrested.

CBS 58 is not naming them yet because they haven’t been formally charged.

Now, family members are grappling with the loss.

A cousin of the boy’s father believes Dante was being abused by his parents for the last few months.

The cousin - who did not want to be identified by name or show her face - said she tried to get help.

“No 4-year-old kid deserves this," she told CBS 58 on Tuesday. “I was crying, because I was like, this is another victim now. This is not the first one.”

The cousin said Dante's father - who is now in custody - sexually assaulted her when she was a young teenager.

According to court records, he took a plea deal that downgraded the charges of second-degree sexual assault of a child to fourth-degree sexual assault.

He was sentenced in 2023 to 12 months of probation.

“I felt like my whole world came crumbling down, because I would always be on the lookout. I would always have to worry," his cousin said.

They had no contact until this July, when visiting her aunt - his mother - in the hospital.

It was the first time she met Dante and his twin sister, because Dante's father had just re-connected with their mother.

“When I would see them in the hospital, you could just tell when somebody’s being neglected," she explained. "They don’t have the proper clothes; they don’t have the proper diapers.”

That’s when her family noticed what they believed were signs of abuse, and the cousin said she contacted Child Protective Services.

“I called them and told them that these kids are being abused," she remembered. "They have black eyes, they have scratches, you can tell on their throat, it looks like they’re being choked."

She said she didn’t receive an update, even when she called again days later.

In September, she said CPS called her back and told her they couldn’t get in contact with the children's parents.

“I tried my hardest. I tried with everything," she explained. "Everybody’s just really, really heartbroken that we didn’t get to see this boy grow up.”

Now, her family is anxiously awaiting charges while grieving a boy they only knew for a short time.

"All we want is for Dante to get justice," the cousin said.

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office expects the West Allis Police Department to refer the case to them by Wednesday, and said charges will be filed in the coming days.

CBS 58 has reached out to several contacts at the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families with specific questions about these claims of abuse.

We will update this story when we hear back.