The last time Charles Snyder saw his son Kristopher alive, the boy appeared skinnier than usual as he lay in a playpen in the home his mother shared with a new boyfriend.
But Mr. Snyder said that while he considered reporting the 7-year-old’s condition to child-welfare authorities, his current domestic partner talked him out of it on the grounds that the mother, Samantha Hardiman, was doing the best she could to care for the profoundly disabled child.
Less than a month later, on June 2, 2023, Kristopher was dead. His emaciated frame weighed in at just 19 pounds…