Caretaker of 9 year old who passed away, arrested in Warwick

On Sunday, January 13, the Warwick Police Department successfully executed an arrest warrant for one count of “cruelty to, or neglect of child”, for Michelle Rothgeb, the 55-year-old guardian of a 9-year-old juvenile girl that passed away on Thursday, January 3rd of this year.

According to Major Mark Ullucci, Rothgeb was taken into custody at her residence, located at 405 Oakland Beach Avenue, at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. Rothgeb was held at the Warwick Police Department overnight for arraignment

It had been stated previously that Rothgeb has eight adopted special needs children.

For the last ten days, the Warwick Police Detective Division, along with DCYF and the Attorney General’s Office, conducted an in-depth investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of this 9 year old child.

On Thursday, January 3 at approximately 4:50 pm, members of the Warwick Police and Fire Departments responded to a medical call at 405 Oakland Beach Avenue. The 9 year old child with a previous medical condition, was transported to Kent Hospital. Shortly after arriving at Kent Hospital, the child was declared deceased.