Records show Nebraska man kept alive for more than a week by 10-year-old son has died

LINCOLN, Neb. – Court records show the father of a 10-year-old Nebraska boy has died, days after he fell in their home and was found being cared for by his son.

An amended petition filed in court Monday says 45-year-old Bienvenu Asumani died Sunday. Additional information about his death wasn't available.

Lincoln police say an investigator went to the home Friday after a principal reported the boy had missed four days of school. An affidavit says the boy told police his father fell on a wet floor more than a week before, striking his head. The boy says he gave his father fluids and food.

Asumani was taken to a hospital, while his son was put in state custody.

Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Dan Zieg, who filed the petition, couldn't immediately be reached.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A 10-year-old Nebraska boy cared for and kept his father alive for more than a week after the man slipped on a wet floor in their Lincoln home, struck his head and became unresponsive.

Peter Asumani told a police investigator that he fed his father, 45-year-old Bienvenu Asumani, and gave him liquids, investigator Cynthia Koenig-Warnke said in affidavit filed in Lancaster County Juvenile Court. The investigator went to the family's home Friday after the boy's principal called police to report that he hadn't been in school for four days, Lincoln police spokeswoman Katie Flood said.

Asumani was breathing and his eyes were open, but he didn't respond to any questions, Koenig-Warnke said in the affidavit.

He was taken to Bryan Medical Center West hospital, while his son was placed in state custody. Hospital spokeswoman Lori Lee said Monday that she had no information on Asumani.

Peter said he couldn't communicate with his father during the ordeal. The two lived alone in the house. Flood said it wasn't clear whether the boy knew about the 911 phone system that he could have used to summon help or whether he tried to contact a neighbor or anyone else for help.

Russ Reno, a spokesman, for the Nebraska Health and Human Services Department would confirm only that the boy was in foster care on Monday. Reno wouldn't comment directly on the case but said it was routine in such cases for the department to immediately begin searching for a child's relatives.

The boy told Koenig-Warnke he had relatives in Arizona and his mother was in Africa, according to the affidavit.