Brother, 10, of toddler who starved to death in 2012 dies of cardiac arrest while in foster care

• Xavier Brothers-Bartholomew was found in full cardiac arrest at medically supervised foster home in Cleveland
• His 18-month-old brother, Isaac, died of malnourishment in 2012
• Parents James Brothers and Adrienne Bartholomew pleaded guilty last year to child endangering charges and were sentenced to six years
• The head of Erie County Children Services said mistreatment by the parents didn't cause Xavier's death

By Associated Press and Snejana Farberov for MailOnline

Published: 11:35 EST, 5 January 2015 | Updated: 15:06 EST, 5 January 2015

A 10-year-old special-needs boy has died in a Cleveland foster home, just over two years after his baby brother was starved to death by his parents and grandmother.

Authorities say Xavier Brothers-Bartholomew was found in full cardiac arrest Sunday and was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.

The cause and circumstances surrounding his death are being investigated by the Cuyahoga County medical examiner and Cleveland police, which is normal procedure when a child dies.

Sibling dies: Xavier Brothers-Bartholomew was found in full cardiac arrest more than two years after his 18-month-old brother, Isaac (pictured), passed away from malnourishment

Sentenced: James Brothers (left) and Adrienne Bartholomew (right) are serving six-year prison terms after pleading guilty to child endangering

Grandma jailed: Deborah Nelson, the children's grandmother and paid caregiver, was sentenced to two years in prison in November 2013 as part of a plea deal

Xavier and his five siblings became the focus of attention in November 2012 when their 18-month-old brother, Isaac, was found dead in his crib in the family's home in Vermilion, west of Cleveland.

Authorities ruled that Isaac had died of malnourishment and that his siblings had been neglected by their parents, James Brothers and Adrienne Bartholomew, and their grandmother and paid caregiver, Deborah Nelson.

The parents pleaded guilty last year to child endangering charges and were sentenced to six years in state prison.

The children's grandmother, 63-year-old Ms Nelson, was sentenced to two years in prison in November 2013 as part of a plea deal.

Police and paramedics responded to a foster home in the 300 block of East 160th Street at around 3pm Sunday after getting a 911 call about a young boy in cardiac arrest.

Xavier was rushed to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, where he was pronounded dead on arrival.

'It’s a very sad day for us,' Karen Balconi Ghezzi, director of Erie County Children Services, told the station Fox8.

Balconi Ghezzi added that mistreatment by the parents didn't cause Xavier's death.

A case worker visited the 10-year-old every week at the medically supervised foster home run by a licensed nurse and said he was receiving proper care.

Isaac, Xavier and three other siblings were born with a genetic disorder that causes physical and mental impairments. All the children had been suffering from malnutrition, including a 6-year-old who weighed only 23lbs.

A lawsuit filed in November 2014 on behalf of Isaac's estate and the guardian for his siblings said the eldest child, a boy who is not disabled, often was left to care for the younger children.

New home: Xavier had been living in this medically supervised foster home run by a licensed Cleveland nurse

The lawsuit was filed against the parents and grandmother, officials in Erie County whose agencies were responsible for overseeing the children's well-being and doctors who had treated the children.

The attorney who filed the lawsuit said the disabled children had begun to thrive in foster care and had doubled their weight.

A Cuyahoga County official said Xavier lived in a foster home for children with special needs. She said Erie County remained responsible for monitoring the well-being of Xavier and his siblings.