An autistic 8-year-old boy who died after he was wrapped in sheets during a prayer service suffocated, the medical examiner's office said Monday. The death was ruled a homicide.
Terrance Cottrell Jr. died because his chest was somehow restricted and could not expand, according to a statement issued by the office of the Milwaukee County coroner.
"Air was not able to get in or out," said Eileen Weller, the office's administrative manager.
Weller declined to release further details, saying police were still investigating the death.
Police arrested a man Saturday on suspicion of physical abuse causing death, said Lt. Steven Spingola. The prosecutor said he hasn't decided on charges yet and planned to meet Tuesday with the head of his office's homicide division to study the case further.
Authorities have not identified who was arrested, but David Hemphill Sr., bishop of the Faith Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith, said the man is his brother, Ray, another minister who led Friday's service.
Ray Hemphill remained in jail Monday, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department.
The mother had been taking her son to the church in a run-down strip mall three times a week for the last three weeks in hopes of curing his autism, David Hemphill said.
It was after more than an hour of prayer that a parishioner noticed the boy was no longer moving and called emergency workers, Hemphill said.
"We were asking God to take this spirit that was tormenting this little boy to death," Hemphill said. "We were praying that hard, but not to kill."
Hemphill said he has not talked to his brother or the boy's mother, Patricia Cooper, since Friday night. Cooper's voicemail was full when the Associated Press tried to reach her Monday evening.
Hemphill said church members had wrapped the boy in sheets to keep him from scratching himself and others, but he was allowed to sit "any way that he feels comfortable."
David Hemphill started the independent church in 1997. It meets twice a week and has a congregation of six families.
Autism is a developmental disability, typically diagnosed during the first three years of life, that affects the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills.