Panel to review death of Perry County youth

The death of 4-year-old Ethan Patrick Williams of rural Perry County will be examined by a Child Fatality Review Panel on Thursday, county coroner Herb Miller said. Williams, son of Danny Wayne Williams Jr. and Emily H. Altom, died Thursday at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. An autopsy was performed by the St. Louis medical examiner, but it will be three to four weeks before results are available. The panel, which will meet at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Miller Family Funeral Home in Perryville, will be closed to the public. The panel's job is to understand the cause of the death of any child under "unclear, unexplained or suspicious circumstance," according to information from the state Department of Social Services. The discussions of the review panel are confidential to insure that information that is private under state and federal law, such as medical or child abuse information, is not revealed.