Dad faces charges in death of 3-year-old son; what happened to this child's mother? (Fresno, California)

Whoa, just a second here. Dad DONALD NELSON is apparently spending the night in his car with his severely battered preschool age son, and eventually Daddy just happens to notice when he starts driving around that the child is not breathing. He calls 911, the boy is taken to the hospital, and the boy is pronounced dead.

Meanwhile, the last line of this article wonders where the father's other children are(!?!).

What I'd like to know is where the mother of these children are, and why it doesn't even occur to the reporters (or the police?) to ask this question. Why does this apparently violent, homeless father have possession of a child this young, and, so it seems, other kids who are supposedly "missing"?

Whenever an abusive father has killed a child and there is no visible mother around, we must ask what happened to the mother. Is she dead? If so, by natural causes? Is she "missing"? If so, do we know that she wasn't driven out of the home by death threats or violence? Was she stripped of custody by this loser? What?

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2014/01/02/3420706/homeless-3-year-old-rushed-to.html

Fresno police: Father faces charges in death of 3-year-old

By Jim Guy and Jacob Rayburn

The Fresno Bee

January 2, 2014 Updated 11 hours ago

Fresno police Chief Jerry Dyer said the father of a 3-year-old boy who died Thursday morning is facing charges of at least child abuse and possibly murder.

Detectives are investigating the boy's death in central Fresno, where the child was found not breathing by police Thursday morning. Detective Sgt. Dave Ramos said officers went to Palm and Garland avenues about 8:30 a.m. after the boy's father called 911.

The father reported that he and the boy spent the night in their car and that as he was driving he noticed that the boy, who was wrapped in a blanket, was not breathing. Dyer said when officers arrived they found Donald Nelson holding his son.

Officers performed CPR and the boy was rushed via ambulance to Community Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about 9 a.m. While the son was taken to the hospital, an officer saw significant injuries to the child and an investigation was launched.

Dyer said police requested an autopsy Thursday to determine the severity of the charges that Nelson will face.

In addition, police are trying to locate another of the father's children.