Mother of LI toddler considering legal action for no Amber Alert

<p>Maria Busone, the mother of the 2-year-old from Long Island killed along with his father in Virginia, is considering legal action against the New York State Police for not issuing an Amber Alert.</p>

News 12 Staff

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Jun 7, 2018, 9:47 AM

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Updated 2,413 days ago

Maria Busone, the mother of the 2-year-old from Long Island killed along with his father in Virginia, is considering legal action against the New York State Police for not issuing an Amber Alert.

State police say the alert wasn't warranted because the father, John Ligurgo, didn't have a criminal history.

According to Rockbridge County Deputy Tony McFadden, the 2-year-old, Jovani Ligurgo, and his father, who is believed to have abducted him, were found in a car on fire Wednesday, both with bullet wounds.

Suffolk police say Jovani, who was reported missing by his mother Tuesday afternoon, was discovered in John Ligurgo’s Jeep Cherokee in the residential neighborhood.

It wasn't immediately clear if the gunshots were the cause of death.

An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.

The course of events that led to the tragic end began Tuesday around 3:30 p.m. when police responded to a 911 call about a fire at the Brettonwood Condo complex in Coram.

Police believe the fire started in John’s second-floor bedroom, but he and his son were not in the apartment.

An hour later, Jovani's mother, Maria, called police because her son had not yet been returned by John per a family court visitation order.

She then drove to the condo after hearing about the fire and told police that he might be armed with a hunting rifle.

Suffolk police say that's when they began a missing person’s investigation, but no Amber Alert was issued at that time.

There was also no alert to local media until after midnight.

The vehicle's description, along with the missing person’s information, was entered into NCIC, a national alert system that's only accessible to law enforcement.

Suffolk Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said that at 7:30 p.m., the NYPD alerted Suffolk police that the vehicle had entered New Jersey.

But at 8:45 a.m., Suffolk police were notified that John’s vehicle was found with two occupants dead inside.

Busone and Ligurgo were scheduled to meet Thursday for a custody hearing.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to pay for Jovani's funeral expenses.