BOSTON -- The mysterious death of a young boy in foster care in Dorchester three weeks ago has local leaders demanding answers Monday.

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Kelley Tuthill Reports On Investigation

NewsCenter 5's Kelley Tuthill reported that Boston Mayor Tom Menino wants police to dig out their cold case files and take a closer look at the unsolved murders of two other foster kids.

Dontel Jeffers died just days after being placed in a foster home. When Dontel's mother lost custody because of a substance abuse problem, family members tried to gain custody of the boy. He was placed in a foster home where family members say he was abused before his death. Autopsy results are pending.

His family remained desperate for answers.

"We still don't know why Dontel died," Dontel's cousin, Vincent James, said. "We still don't have a death certificate. We haven't heard from the Boston police -- any reports."

The case has brought attention to two unsolved murders of foster children. In 1994, 9-year-old Michelle Walton was found dead under hundreds of pounds of sheetrock at a Mattapan foster home. An investigation found she had been murdered and chronically sexually abused.

Gage Guillen, 3, died one year later after what appeared to be an accident in a Dorchester foster home. His death was later ruled a homicide.

"I want to look at all these cases and make sure that the foster parents are qualified, and these two individuals that were murdered, we have to get to the bottom of it. I am going to ask the police commissioner and the cold case division to take a very serious look at these cases," Menino said.

"Enough is enough with DSS, and we need new leadership. There are too many unsolved murder cases in DSS and too many child abuse cases that are unsolved. The department needs to be overhauled," James said.