ELWOOD, Ind. -- A Madison County woman was arrested Thursday on neglect allegations in connection with the death of her son, whom authorities initially thought perished in a fire.

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Mother Accused Of Neglect In Son's Death

And the Madison County prosecutor says he is considering whether to file charges against child-welfare workers, saying he believes they failed to adequately supervise the care of the boy, who was a ward of the state.

Jennifer Norris (pictured, right), 26, faces a charge of neglect of a dependent, RTV6's Sy Jenkins reported.

An autopsy and toxicology tests showed Mark Adrian Norris II (pictured, below) died of pneumonia before a fire burned his Elwood home Jan. 21, Madison County Coroner Marian Dunnichay said last week.

Officials initially thought he had died as a result of the fire.

Authorities also changed their minds about the fire's origin. They originally said the fire was accidental, but they later backed off that statement.

Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said neglect led the boy to die of pneumonia. He also said the blaze may have been intentionally set to cover the boy's real cause of death.

"There was no other explanation for that fire except that it was intentionally set by someone," Cummings said. "It's hard to believe that anything else happened."

The body of the child, who had cerebral palsy and used a wheelchair, showed signs of malnourishment and extensive muscle deterioration, and had multiple bedsores, Dunnichay said.

Jennifer Norris, along with Mark's 1-year-old sister and 5-year-old brother, escaped unharmed from the fire. Mark was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials are also investigating Madison County child-welfare authorities, who were supervising the boy's care.

Cummings said he is trying to determine whether caseworkers failed in to the point of having committed a crime. He did not provide details.

He said either his office or the state would "effect change."

"Caseworkers who do not protect children are going to be looking at jail time," Cummings said. "Disadvantaged kids who cannot protect themselves are going to be protected, or caseworkers are going to go to jail."

The boy was made a ward of the state two months ago.

Jennifer Norris' initial hearing was scheduled for Friday.