Mother charged after 4-year-old left home alone dies in Mundelein house fire, police say

MUNDELEIN, Ill. - A Mundelein mother has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after authorities said she left her 4-year-old son home alone for nearly 20 hours before he died in a house fire.

The backstory:

The fire was reported at 12:20 a.m. March 23 at a home in the 200 block of Dalton Avenue.

When firefighters arrived, they found the house fully engulfed in flames. Mundelein police said officers learned 4-year-old Christopher Alfaro-Rodriguez was still inside.

Firefighters extinguished the fire and found Christopher dead in the basement, according to police.

The child's mother, 21-year-old Aliannay Rodriguez, and another person were outside the home when first responders arrived.

Rodriguez initially told investigators she had left Christopher home alone while she went to get food and returned to find the house on fire.

However, investigators said video surveillance, location data and witness statements showed Rodriguez had been working for a cleaning service and had not been at the home for nearly 20 hours before the fire.

Authorities said another adult who lived at the residence saw Christopher before leaving the home on the morning of March 22. That person was away for the rest of the day and did not realize the child had been left alone, police said.

Mother charged:

Rodriguez was arrested July 16 on a warrant charging her with involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment resulting in death and child abandonment, according to police.

Investigators determined Christopher died from smoke inhalation. Authorities said the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction.

Rodriguez was booked into the Lake County Jail.

MundeleinCrime and Public SafetyNews