A mother sought on a murder warrant in the neglect death of her special needs son has been found dead in Texas.
Birmingham police have been searching for 53-year-old Serena Starkey since earlier this month.
Sgt. LaQuitta Wade said detectives were notified Monday by the Medical Examiner of Southwestern Institute of Forensics Science in Dallas that Starkey died Friday, June 21.
Wade said there was no foul play involved. The cause and manner of her death is pending an autopsy.
The investigation began March 2 when Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service was dispatched to a person down call at the Extended Stay America on Cahaba Park Circle off U.S. 280. It was about 7:30 a.m. that Saturday.
Aston Starkey, a 13-year-old boy with Down’s Syndrome, was rushed to Grandview Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Wade said South Precinct officers, as well as homicide detectives, responded to the hospital and launched an unclassified death investigation. Shelby County DHR also launched an investigation.
The preliminary investigation revealed Aston died under suspicious circumstances, Wade said.
On June 6, Shelby County Coroner Lina Evans notified Birmingham police that Aston’s autopsy showed he died as result of malnutrition and dehydration complicated by neglect. The medical examiner’s office ruled the manner of death a homicide.
The murder warrant against Starkey was issued June 7 by the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.
Authorities had been searching for the mother since then.
Aston was originally born in Florida. He and his mother moved around frequently, authorities said, and had been living in Birmingham for about a year.
Aston was not in school and was rarely, if ever, taken to the doctor, authorities said. They may have previously lived in Montgomery.
