BOSTON -- The father of a 4-year-old boy who died while in custody of the Department of Social Services said his son was murdered, not the victim of an accident.

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Rhondella Richardson Reports On Father

NewsCenter 5's Rhondella Richardson reported that Dontel Jeffers' father, Elery Rohan Jeffers, 36, said he wants answers from DSS. Jeffers lives on the Caribbean island of Nevis.

"I didn't take care of Dontel for (fours years) for him to die like that. He did not die of natural causes. You know how we feel right now? I can't sleep, I cannot eat," said Jeffers. "When I look at him, all I do is cry."

Dontel died of heart failure Sunday after his foster mother brought him to Caritas Carney Hospital. The results of an autopsy are pending.

Dontel had lived with his father and grandmother until his father's incarceration and deportation. He stayed with his mother until she entered a drug rehabilitation program. DSS took custody of the boy in December and placed him in a group home run by St. Mary's Church. Then, for reasons unknown to the family, Dontel was taken out of that group home and placed in a private foster home in Dorchester.

"The (DSS) commissioner came to give his condolences to the Jeffers family about Dontel. The investigation is still going on," said Dontel's cousin Vincent James.

"They have to pay for what happened to Dontel," said Jeffers. "All I can say is that it really hurts, and they made a lot of mistakes and they know what they did was wrong."

Jeffers said he hoped to see his son this summer. Dontel's funeral arrangements have not been finalized.