Early in the morning, a child wearing a white sleeveless shirt runs along the road.

He looks back from time to time.

This footage was captured a week before 11-year-old boy A died on the 6th at a church in Cheonan after showing symptoms of a high fever and impaired consciousness.

At the time, boy A was found by firefighters and police who had been dispatched following a report that a child was missing, and was handed back over to the church.

[Fire Department Official: A child with an intellectual disability had left the house around 6 a.m., and we were called because he wouldn't come back in.]

Boy A had reportedly lived at the church ever since he was left there by his biological mother right after birth, and was diagnosed with an intellectual disability last year.

Notably, multiple suspected child abuse reports had already been filed repeatedly over the past five years while he was living at the church.

[Kim Ji-hoon / TJB Reporter: TJB's reporting revealed that three suspected abuse reports regarding his maternal grandmother were filed before boy A's death, prompting police to launch an investigation.]

There were two reports just earlier this month, filed by citizens who spotted boy A outside the church and suspected abuse.

In particular, three days before his death, boy A reportedly went directly to a police station to plead about the harm he was suffering.

Police and city officials discussed measures to transfer boy A to a protective facility, but in the end, separation measures were not implemented.

Police have detained a pastor in his 60s, surnamed B, on concerns of evidence destruction, and have also requested an arrest warrant for the maternal grandmother.

The maternal grandmother had reportedly been living with boy A at the church and acting as his de facto guardian for several months prior to the incident.

The substantive review of the arrest warrant for the maternal grandmother is scheduled to be held this morning at the Cheonan Branch of the Daejeon District Court.

The Child Who Visited the Police Before Death… Abuse Reports Existed Since 5 Years Ago (August 10, 2026, 8 News)

Reported by Kim Ji-hoon (TJB) | Produced by Bae Jun-hwi | Camera by Song Chang-gun (TJB) | Produced by SBS Digital News