Man accused of starving his son arrested; police speak out
MILWAUKEE - When officers found Jacarie Robinson last October, they said the 12-year-old appeared emaciated and his body was decomposing.
Authorities had been looking for his father, 45-year-old Romuan Moye, ever since. Now, around four months later with Moye in jail, they are looking for closure.
About five miles from his last known address, Milwaukee police officers found Moye near the intersection of Jackson and Kilbourn around 12:20 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25.
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Officer Thomas Kotnik is assigned to the fugitive apprehension unit within the Milwaukee Police Department's special investigations division. He said a tip led police there, where they set up surveillance that day.
Officer Thomas Kotnik
"We were able to develop an investigative lead that pointed us to the Lower East Side last weekend," Kotnik said.
Moye, who was the subject of Wisconsin’s Most Wanted, was arrested without incident.
"The facts in this case go beyond disturbing," detective Michael Driscoll told FOX6 News. "They kind of cut deep into your soul at times."
Prosecutors say Robinson's older brother found his body beneath a blanket inside Moye's home last October.
Romuan Moye
Robinson’s brother told police he'd grown suspicious of Moye for keeping Robinson from his other children.
Police went inside the home, near 39th and Elmhurst, where the boy was found and discovered an "overwhelming smell of mold, feces, and decay," per the complaint.
"It was a lengthier investigation," Kotnik said. "It took us obviously a lot longer than any of us wanted to take to find him."
But Kotnik said the arrest brings some relief for the family and police, knowing the case will now play out in court.
Jacarie Robinson's death; Milwaukee father in custody
The Milwaukee Police Department confirmed Romuan Moye, the father accused of starving his 12-year-old son to death, is in custody.
"Anytime you're investigating something that happens to a younger child, especially if you have kids, it can be very difficult for them," he said. "So, I think it was [...] it brought a lot of closure to our department, as well."
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Details have been limited, with prosecutors and police citing the open case.
A court commissioner set Moye’s bond at $500,000 cash and ordered he have no contact with any of his surviving children.
Moye is due back in court on March 4.