William Cheek held a picture yesterday of Dontel Jeffers with Cheeks daughter, taken in Christmas 2002. Dontel and his father lived with Cheek, of Dorchester, from 2001 to 2003. I consider him almost like my son, he said of the 4-year-old boy. (Globe Photo / Michael Dwyer)

According to Cheek's account of what his niece's friend said, the treatment was meant to teach Dontel not to wet the bed.

''You wouldn't do that to an animal. Why do it to a child?" Cheek said yesterday at his Dorchester home, where Dontel and his father lived from 2001 to 2003. ''I consider him almost like my son. He lived with me most of his life."

The foster mother, who has temporarily moved out of her Ballou Avenue home with her 1-year-old child, could not be reached for comment. At this time, the state Department of Social Services has ''no grounds" to believe that the child is not safe with her, a spokeswoman said. Authorities say at this point they are not treating the death as a homicide.

Cheek said he is angry that his niece's friend, who is the foster mother's cousin, did not report the alleged abuse to police, although it was not until after Dontel had died that his niece, 35, realized that he was the boy her friend had been talking about. A homicide detective interviewed Cheek's niece Tuesday, he said.

''What upsets me the most is if somebody had done something before, he would still be here," Cheek said.

The state took custody of the boy after his father was deported to St. Kitts and Nevis, a two-island nation in the Caribbean, after being arrested for domestic violence, and his mother was deemed unfit to care for him.

Cheek said he spoke with Dontel's father, Ellery, this week, and that he is distraught.

''He pleaded with me to do what I can for Dontel," Cheek said. ''I told him I'm going to make sure his boy gets some justice."

Cheek's 10-year-old daughter, Jade, who played with Dontel and once shared a room with him, said she is upset by what happened.

''He liked to play with his cars," she said, adding that she was angry about his death.

As investigators continue to wait for autopsy results, two officials close to the investigation acknowledged yesterday that there are doubts about the foster mother's explanation that the boy died as a result of an accidental fall off a bed.

One law enforcement official with knowledge of what Dontel's body looked like said there were signs that he had been beaten; an eye was swollen shut and there were ligature marks on his wrists, the official said.

And a state official knowledgeable about the case said that ''there are definitely questions about whether this was a simple accident."

Both officials spoke on condition that they not be named.

The state medical examiner's office completed a preliminary examination yesterday of Dontel's body, but won't be able to conclude whether his death was a homicide or an accident until specialized tests are done, David Procopio, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, said in a statement. Procopio declined to say in an interview what kind of tests the medical examiner's office will perform.

''We are still gathering evidence, and we will follow that evidence where it leads," Procopio said. ''Then, and only then, will we reach any conclusions."

Denise Monteiro, a spokeswoman for DSS, said she was told by the medical examiner's office that autopsy results might not be released until tomorrow at the earliest, but probably next week.

The foster mother does not have any prior criminal record or history of child abuse or neglect, according to DSS. The foster mother was trained to care for children like Dontel who have emotional and behavioral problems.

Dontel was taken to Caritas Carney Hospital in Dorchester by his foster mother Sunday, where he was pronounced dead after going into cardiac arrest. The 24-year-old Dorchester foster mother, who had been caring for Dontel for just 11 days, told investigators the child was jumping on a bed Saturday, fell off, and hit his head.