LA CROSSE (WKBT) -- A court date has been set for the woman accused of killing a six-year-old in Medary six months ago.
Judge Ramona Gonzalez set Josie Dikeman's bond at $1 million cash.
Dikeman is facing an intentional homicide charge for the death of Alexavier Pedrin.
She is also facing charges of chronic neglect of a child, as well as physical abuse of a child and repeated acts of bodily harm.
A family searching for answer piled into the La Crosse County courtroom Monday morning.
“We love him dearly and we miss him so bad. And there’s no excuse for child abuse," said Cheryl Anderson, AJ's grandmother.
AJ was found unresponsive in a home in Medary on Feb. 11.
“Any time that our deputies respond to the death of a child, it is a traumatic and tragic situation,” said John Siegel, the La Crosse County Sheriff.
Since his death, investigators compiled a 16-page criminal complaint.
The complaint said Josie Dikeman called 911 because the child was not responding and an empty pill bottle was on the ground.
Responders were unable to revive AJ.
“After doing interviews and scene processing, they had questions about how the death occurred,” Siegel said.
Multiple groups were involved in the investigation over the past six months.
An autopsy revealed blunt force injuries on his head, neck and body.
A doctor says in the report that his cause of death was blunt force trauma.
The Xanax in his system also contributed to his death.
“The culmination of that work was the arrest Friday," Siegel said.
Witnesses in the complaint told investigators that Dikeman had a history of hurting AJ.
He had been hospitalized at Gundersen in January for a femur fracture. A Gunderson doctor told investigators she had concerns of child abuse at that time.
District attorney Tim Gruenke told the court Monday that Dikeman had been charged with child neglect twice in the past.
"We think it’s a danger to the public given her history with the children and her history with this case. And also, we’re concerned about intimidation of potential witnesses," Gruenke said.
Attorney Chris Zachar argued for Dikeman, stating her past offenses were not recent and she had no risk of fleeing.
“The allegations in this case, while serious, appear to be entirely circumstantial as of this point and only represent one side of the story," Zachar said.
Still—Gonzalez set that $1 million cash bond based on the complaint's contents.
“Based upon the contents of this complaint, and even granting her the presumption of innocence... the matter is serious enough that that we will set that bond at $1 million as requested," Gonzalez said.
For Anderson, this is a glimpse at justice for her grandson.
“She’ll be behind bars, no other child can get hurt at this moment and we’ll get justice for Alexavier," Anderson said.
But she says they’ll keep showing up—because the fight isn’t over yet.
“If it can help one other child, even. That’s what our goal is going to be," Anderson said.
Dikeman will next appear in court on Wednesday, May 31.
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