West Allis mother pleads not guilty in death of 6-year-old son

NOW: West Allis mother pleads not guilty in death of 6-year-old son
NEXT:

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS 58)-- A West Allis mother was charged on counts of chronic child neglect and false imprisonment in court on Friday, Oct. 15, after her 6-year-old son was stabbed in September.

Tasha Rockow, 32, pleaded not guilty and waived the preliminary hearing.

The newly-obtained 911 call paints the picture behind her son, Hank Brown Rockow's, final moments.

"My son fell! He was playing with a knife," Rockow said into the phone. "Why were you playing with a knife? He's falling asleep. Hey! Hey!"

Rockow repeatedly tells dispatch that her son fell while playing with a knife. Officials later said the stab wound seemed to be an "older injury."

"Do not pull it out," dispatch told Rockow. 

"He took it out. He took it out, and then told me there was a problem," Rockow responded.

Rockow goes on to explain why paramedics would soon discover the child's face was black and blue.

"I just want you guys to know that him and his brother fight. So, he has a black eye from fighting with his brother," Rockow said.

The criminal complaint reports that first responders found Brown-Rockow looking malnourished with gray skin, bruising head-to-toe, and human bite marks.

The Milwaukee County medical examiner's autopsy report revealed multiple blunt force injuries, cuts and bruising to internal organs. His death was ruled a homicide, a result of the stabbing.

Rockow's bail hearing will be on Oct. 25.

Share this article: