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5-year-old boy remains in hospital after being found inside home where mother died

EAST PITTSBURGH, Pa. — A 5-year-old boy remains in a hospital after he was found emaciated and his mother was found dead inside an East Pittsburgh home last week during a welfare check.

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“It's hard. it's hard because it happened unexpectedly. Nobody expected this all of the sudden,” said Char LaRue, the boy’s aunt.

LaRue said her cousin, 32-year-old Touzre White, had battled heart problems for three years and had been on disability.

"She was just at home on oxygen, trying to take care of her son. She was doing the best she could with her son," LaRue said.

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Police found both of them inside their Main Street home in East Pittsburgh last Wednesday.

LaRue said Touzre died of a heart attack and had been dead for five days.

The family requested police to check on her after not being able to reach her.

"That's when they discovered her. And the little boy was right beside her. So he don't even understand what happened to his mother. That's what was making me cry. That's just sad," LaRue said.

The boy's aunt told Channel 11 he was alone in the home for several days with his mother's body. She said he is nonverbal with autism and had not eaten in several days.

He's still being treated at Children's Hospital.

"He's fine. My aunt went to see him. He's jumping around playing, laughing, eating. And he'll soon be going with family," LaRue said.

The family has started a GoFundMe account to help with funeral costs for White.

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