Friends create memorial fund for dead toddler

Donations can be made at Central Bank in Sioux City

Nicole Paseka,

Community members continued to rally around the Saunsoci family Wednesday following the death of 20-month-old Nathaniel Saunsoci-Mitchell.

A family friend from Sioux City helped create a memorial fund in Nathaniel's honor to help pay for his funeral expenses and assist the family financially.

"Not only do they not have food, they don't have a headstone or anything," Will Meier said. "They wouldn't have asked if I wouldn't have prompted them."

Nathaniel, son of Jackie Saunsoci, 18, and Nathan Mitchell, died Sunday at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha after severe head injuries. He was living with a South Sioux City foster family when his injuries occurred.

Members of the Saunsoci family said Nathaniel also suffered two breaks in his collar bone, a broken leg and a dog-bite to his nose.

Meier said when he first asked the Saunsoci family if there was anything he could bring them, they first responded "apples," then "grapes." They also mentioned they did not have a headstone for Nathaniel.

"It's a different kind of poverty. Unless you've been down there, it's difficult to understand," Meier said.

Donations to the family of Nathaniel Saunsoci-Mitchell can be made in person or by mail to Central Bank in Sioux City, 522 Fourth St., P.O. Box 776, 51101. Amy Chace, vice president and branch manager of Central Bank, is overseeing the donations. The bank can be contacted at 712-293-2265.

While friends assisted the family financially, Dakota County officials continued their investigation into the child's death.

"Children are the most vulnerable people in our society, and it's important for everybody to know that this sort of thing is treat appropriately," Dakota County Attorney Ed Matney said on Wednesday.

Matney said it is "difficult to say" how long the investigation could take.

"These sorts of things take a long time to get all the materials in. We want to make sure we have everything in place," he said. "The autopsy report can take anywhere from a week up to a month to get the full report in."

After Matney receives information from the investigators and evaluates the autopsy report, he will then decide if criminal charges will be filed. He declined to speculate on how long that will take.

No criminal charges have been filed against Nathaniel's most recent foster parents at this time.

Matney said he plans to interact with members of the Saunsoci family during the investigation.

"I think that the family members of this child ... they need time to get through the process and to grieve. I wish them well through that process. It's obviously an extremely difficult process."

Matney added that the investigation has been under way since Friday, when Nathaniel was first seen at the Mercy Medical Center emergency room in Sioux City.

Nathaniel's burial will be at 10 a.m. today at the Omaha Indian Cemetery in Macy, Neb. A traditional dinner will follow at the Alfred Gilpin Building in Macy.

Previous foster parents of Nathaniel's, not the ones he was living with most recently, were shocked to learn of his death.

"He was just a sweet little boy, and I wished they would have left him here," said Susan Goodburn. She and her husband, Robert Goodburn, cared for Nathaniel from December 2005 to early March 2006. Nathaniel was not in the Goodburns' home when he received the injuries that ended his life.

Goodburn remembered Nathaniel as a wonderful child who suffered from severe asthma.

"He was wheezing all the time," she said. "He could be fine one minute and not the next. You really had to stay on top of it."

Goodburn was upset to learn Nathaniel was in a foster home with five other children because he required extra care for his severe asthma.

Meier, the family friend, also mentioned Nathaniel's battles with asthma. He said the asthma made it more difficult for young Jackie Saunsoci to care for her infant son.

"She was a good mother, and the health issues were so severe," Meier said.

"(Nathaniel) just had it brutal ... battling his health condition, then this."

Journal staff writer Nicole Paseka can be reached at 712-293-4276 or nicolepaseka@siouxcityjournal.com