Joshua DeShaney  / Karen (Grieving citizen )
Each day, I pray that you are free of fear and pain. I thought of you today, dear one, and pray you are at peace. Close

There is hope!!!  / Loida Polanco
IT SAD TO HEAR THAT SOMEBODY DIES,BUT IT SO GOOD TO KNOW THAT TRERE IS HOPE TO SEE THEM AGAIN.THE BIBLE GIVE US IN JOHN 5:28,29.WE WILL HAVE THAT CHANGE TO SEE THEM AGAIN.IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE TALK TO A JEHOVAH WITNESS AND THEY WILL GLADLY TELL YOU MORE. Close

CPS / Sylvia Alonzo
If we could just get rid of CPS and just have Foster Agencies to receive the children that would be great! Less Children would die.  CPS enjoys washing their hands and return the children to have them murdered by their abusers.  Sure every case is different, but more and more children are dieing because of the over worked, exhausted CPS workers that just want to close a case.  I understand how much paperwork is involved and when a child enters foster case its more paperwork; and then when a child gets adopted its even more paperwork - CPS just don't want to do it. I pray for the every child that goes back to their predators.  God Bless all the Children.   Close

May You Suffer NO MORE Joshua DeShaney  / Karen (Grieving Citizen )
Please remember Joshua DeShaney in your prayers. At age 4 he had his futuer taken away by his father, Randy, who beat him and injured his brain. May Joshua finally be free of fear, terror, pain and suffering. Please remember him in your prayers. Close

Pls Pray For Joshua DeShaney  / Karen (grieving citizen )
It was today, March 8, 24 years ago (1984) that your future was taken away from you, Little Joshua, by your own biological father. How he could have done this, no one will ever be able to explain. You remain an angel and a brave little soldier who is an inspiration to us all. We will never forget you. You are loved by many. While those who harmed you (your father, his girlfriend, CPS) live on and deny any responsibility in your injuries and subsequent loss of your life as you knew it, we all know that you suffered at their hands and your injuries are on their consciences. On this day and every day, we remember and love you. Close

ANDREW, KAY AND I MISS YOU VERY MUCH  / Jennifer (aunt)
I LOVE YOU RONCE AND MISS YOU   PLAY ON THE CLOUDS BABY  I'LL SEE U WHEN THE LORD CALLS ON ME Close

why? why? why ?  / Cheri Brooks (friends /angels )
Date: Mar 3, 2008 2:48 PM


New York mother accused of drowning her three children in the bathtub


GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - A social services agency, the police department and the courts had been involved. And so had schools, day-care providers and nonprofit agencies.

And despite all those people who tried to help her, Leatrice Brewer now stands accused of drowning her three young children in the bathtub of her tiny apartment one week ago. The 27-year-old woman is facing murder charges.

"I don't think we'll ever know whether or not we could have prevented this," said Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, saying that Brewer had "literally dozens and dozens and dozens" of contacts with people who tried to help her.


"We have to remember that this was a crime that was committed by an individual that apparently has some very serious mental health issues that are unpredictable," Suozzi said.

A funeral service was held Saturday for 6-year-old Jewell Ward, and her half brothers, Michael Demesyeux, 5, and Innocent Demesyeux, 18 months. Their bodies were carried into the chapel in a single casket.

Brewer remains in a hospital jail ward as she recovers from injuries she got when she jumped out a second-story window after calling 911 to report the killings.

The impoverished working-class community in Nassau County was devastated, said the Rev. Dr. William A. Watson, Jr., pastor of St. John's Baptist Church in Westbury, where the funeral was held.

"There is a sense of loss as opposed to anything else. Children have a way of touching your heart," he said earlier.

The clergyman said he intended to support Brewer. "We're not here to justify or judge. We are here to see if we can help. We are in the business of redemption," Watson said.

Mother no stranger to agencies
Only two days before the children's deaths on Feb. 24, case workers had gone to Brewer's home to investigate a report the youngsters might be in imminent danger from their mother.

They found no one home that Friday, and in an apparent bureaucratic slip-up a supervisor scheduled case workers to go back on Sunday, rather than the next day.

The supervisor, Eddie Arrendondo, has been suspended without pay as the county reviews more than 1,000 pending child welfare cases. The supervisor, who had 19 years on the job, is fighting the open-ended suspension through arbitration.

"We don't know what would have been found on Friday or Saturday," said Mary Curtis, a deputy county executive for health and human services. "I can't tell you what would have happened."

Public agencies had been aware of Brewer long before last weekend.

The county Child Protective Services agency had investigated 10 cases involving her in the past five years, three of which required follow-up. Brewer had been arrested seven times for various offenses since 2000 and had been referred to substance-abuse classes and parenting classes, as well as nonprofit assistance agencies, officials said.

However, whenever case workers investigated, they never determined that the situation required the children to be removed from the home. "The children seemed well cared for," Curtis said. They were clothed and fed, were going to school, and "the apartment was well taken care of," she said.

One time Brewer was found sleeping in her car once while the children were on a nearby playground, and another time she left them alone in the apartment to do laundry, officials said.

Brewer is due in court on Friday. Her court-appointed attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

'Tragic irony'
Nearly 1,500 children died from abuse or neglect in 2005, more than a fourth of them at the hands of their mothers, according to a federal government study.

Santa Clara University law professor Michelle Oberman, co-author of "Mothers Who Kill Their Children: Understanding the Acts of Moms From Susan Smith to the Prom Mom," said Brewer may have snapped under the pressure of raising her children as a single mother, dealing with disgruntled fathers and other disputes.

The father of the two boys, Innocent Desmesyeux, had a Family Court hearing scheduled with Brewer on the Monday after the killings to discuss a visitation schedule with his sons.

"The inclination is to say she's just evil," said Oberman, a defense witness for Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who in 2001 methodically drowned her five children in a bathtub.

"But this was a mom who was in over her head," she said of Brewer. "The most important thing in her life was her children; you'll hear that from any mother on any playground anywhere. Yet in this instance, she was sinking.

"The tragic irony is that at some deep level, this is about love and desperation. The cruel irony is she probably did love her children."

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CPS TAKES THE ONES THAT DON'T NEED TO BE TAKEN AND LEAVES THE ONES THAT DOES  / Casey Upton (passing by )
I HAVE 3 LIL GIRLS AND WE LEAVE IN GEORGIA. I SIGN CUSTODY OVER TO MY PARENTS AFTER CPS CAME INVOLVED WITH ME FOR SMOKING SOME POT. THEN 2002 MY DAD PASSEDAWAY MY MOTHER HAD CONTROL OF EVERYTHING SHE STARTED BEATING ON MY KIDS, I STOPPED SMOKING BUT CPS DIDN'T WANT TO LET ME HAVE MY KIDS BACK AFTER 3 YRS OF REPORTS OF ABUSE THEY FINALLEY TOOK THEM FROM MY MOTHER AFTER MY OLDEST 10  AT THE TIME CARRIED BRUSIES FOR 8 WEEKS FOR A BOWL OF CEREAL. I HAVE BEEN WORKING A CASEPLAN WITH CPS FOR ALMOST 2 YRS AND THEY STILL HAVEN'T MOVED MY KIDS HOME FOR GOOD Close

my grandchild died because he was givenback to his abusive father  / Victoria Poulin (grandmother)
 the system gave my grandchildren back to his abusive father  without any follow up . IN ASHORT SPEN OF SIX WEEKS THE 2 YEAR OLD WAS BEATEN TO DEATH AND HIS 3 YEAR OLD BROTHER WAS ABUSED AND WITH SCARS HE may never over come . the system is broke . how do we fix it and stop the suffering of thechildren ? I have the 3 year oldback now but why did one have to die? Close

Rileigh Akeen, El Reno, OK  / Ellen Landgraf
Rest in Peace!  I pray that justice is served, so that your precious little life is not a total waste!

El Reno Tribune 11Nov07
http://www.elrenotribune.com/site/death111107?page=0%2C0
Time running out as mother seeks answers
By Daniel Lapham/Staff Writer

As she prepares to deploy with the 45th Infantry Brigade to fight for her country, El Reno resident Ella Akeen, 20, is trying to find the pieces to her broken heart.

Akeen wiped away a tear as she talked about the events leading up to the Sept. 22 death of her 7-month-old daughter, Rileigh Akeen.

“I’m in the National Guard, and I had to go on a short training mission to Camp Gruber,” Akeen said. “I left on Sept. 16 and when I got back my baby was gone.”

Many mysteries have surrounded the events leading up to Rileigh Akeen’s death that have her mother desperately looking for answers that could bring justice to her daughter’s unexplained death, she said.

“I just want justice for my baby before I have to go to Iraq,” she said.

Akeen said she was suppored to report for duty Friday, but her commanding officers are trying to make arrangements for her to stay in El Reno to serve. At this point, she said she is not sure of where she will be stationed.

Akeen said she joined the National Guard so she could build a better life for her and her daughter. Now she is going as a tool to cope with her loss.

Akeen said she is still trying to figure out what happened while she was training at Camp Gruber in eastern Oklahoma. During that time, a friend had agreed to care for the child until she returned.

As she trained through the following week, Akeen said she talked to her friend nearly every night and everything seemed to be going fine until Friday, Sept. 21. On that day, she was told her child had fallen and hurt her head. Family members who saw the child later told Akeen the bruises were “bad.”

The next day Akeen began receiving calls from her friend about 2 p.m. but was unable to return the call due to training until 3:45 p.m. She was told her child had stopped breathing.

“That’s when my phone cut out,” she said. “My first sergeant and I kept trying to get hold of her. I didn’t know what to do. Finally he called the hospital and they told him the news. I left immediately and arrived back here at 6 p.m.”

When she arrived, Akeen said members of her family were the only people at her house and she was still trying to figure out what was going on.

“Apparently when my family was at the hospital, they (the police) came out and told them they were ruling it a homicide,” Akeen said. “I thought it was an accident. Now, I don’t know what to do. I call the police every day. I’ve talked to the district attorney’s office, and they keep telling my they are waiting on paperwork.”

The medical examiner told Akeen that Rileigh had three separate head injuries and died from a subdural hematoma, bleeding in the brain.

“I would like to see someone arrested before I leave,” Akeen said. “I am not going to let this go. I want to see justice for my baby.”

El Reno Police Chief Fred Savage said they have turned in all of their paperwork on the case and are waiting to hear from the district attorney.

“We have finished up our part and have presented our findings to the district attorney,” Savage said. They presented the case last month, he said, and have submitted followup information the district attorney’s office has requiested as well.

Paul Hesse, assistant district attorney for Canadian County, said he is still waiting for more information before he can decide whether he will file charges in the death. 




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Declan Stewart, another child failed by the system in Oklahoma  / Elen Landgraf

You and so many other children deserved to grow up!  I pray for justice for your precious lives!

Rest in peace, Declan!  I know that you are in a better place. 

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Jezebel "BeeBell" & Juliana Donnell  / Ellen Landgraf (Jezebel "BeeBell" Donnell's great-aunt )
We miss you so much!  Your little lives were precious, you both deserved to grow up!  There is an empty space in our hearts, our lives will never be the same without you.  I pray for justice for you both.

Aunt Ellen Close

I miss you so much baby Zander  / Denise Mitchell (Foster mom of Zander )
 I am a foster mom, and the ONLY mom Zander ever REALLY knew. On April 1st 2007, Zander , his sister and brother were returned to their birth farther who brutally murdered 2 1/2 year old baby Zander, on July 10th, 2007. My life will never be the same again and the pain will never leave my heart. I grieve for all three children, as Zander is lost to us by death, and the other two returned to the system. Zander and his sister were with us for 27 months and the baby came at 10 days old and he was 28 days shy of his 1st birthday when the children were returned. How do you get past such a tragic situation as this?
 Zander baby, I did not give birth to you it's true but daddy and I alone had your life and in your death NO ONE can take that from us, YOU WERE OUR BABY BOY!!!!!!! We love you baby and you are dearly missed.
                                             Love 4-ever, mommy and daddy Close

Trenay lies in peace we will always remember her  / Kenisha Gray (mother)
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please read DEATH TRIGGERS REVIEW OF CHILD-WELFARE CASE  / Cheri Brooks From Ohio (angels)
Death triggers review of child-welfare case
Girl's file noted signs of abuse

By Rick Callahan
Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- Child welfare officials turned over a large case file yesterday to prosecutors investigating why a 3-year-old girl allegedly beaten to death by her mother and the mother's boyfriend was returned to them despite evidence of earlier abuse.

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said he will scour that file to determine why TaJanay Bailey, who died Tuesday, was taken from foster care in October and returned to her mother, Charity Bailey, and her live-in boyfriend, Lawrence Green.

Bailey and Green, both 20, were charged Wednesday with murder, neglect and other charges in TaJanay's death. They are being held without bond at the Marion County Jail.

Brizzi said his main question in reviewing the lengthy case file that child welfare workers had compiled on TaJanay is why the Department of Child Services never notified police that a caseworker found that the girl was physically abused last year in her mother's care.

That determination was made in May 2006 after a physician at an Indianapolis hospital reported suspected abuse, noting extensive bruising on TaJanay.

"Having a baby in a safe environment and then returned to parents who were already deemed to be abusive, that's the part where the system obviously at some point was not working," Brizzi said. "There's nothing we can do to bring this little girl back, but hopefully by finding out the answers to these questions we can prevent it from happening again."

Among other things, he said his probe into TaJanay's death will seek to answer who ordered her removal from foster care and whether the caseworker or a supervisor objected.

Susan Tielking, a Department of Child Services spokeswoman, said she could not comment on the Bailey case. She said a department team is reviewing the case and would forward its findings to Brizzi's office.

"We are thoroughly investigating everything and looking through every file and piece of paper we have," Tielking said.

Brizzi plans to seek life sentences without parole for both Bailey and Green, who are scheduled to appear in court today for an initial hearing on the charges.

He said there is evidence the pair "systemically tortured" TaJanay last week after she soiled herself, beating her repeatedly. Green is also accused of hanging the girl on a hook by her T-shirt, injuring her.

A probable-cause affidavit filed Wednesday said Bailey told officers after they were called to the couple's filth-ridden apartment early Tuesday that Green had beaten TaJanay.

"Yesterday he beat her real bad like today but she didn't die," Bailey is quoted in the affidavit as telling an officer.

Green told officers that shortly before TaJanay's death, Bailey struck her daughter in the face, sending her head backward into a wall and causing her to become unconscious, according to the document·

An autopsy found TaJanay died of blunt force trauma to her head, neck and abdomen.

TaJanay's former foster mother, Janice Springfield, said she repeatedly warned a child welfare case worker about evidence of physical abuse involving TaJanay at the hands of Bailey and Green.

Springfield said she had TaJanay and her 6-month-old brother, Lawrence Green Jr., removed from her home early last month and moved to another foster home because she was told the siblings would soon be returned to Bailey and Green's care. She said she didn't want to play a role in the children going directly from her home to Bailey and Green's household.

Springfield said she hopes the pair are convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

"And as for the system, I want them to look at all the evidence and all the facts in this case and I want them to do something, starting with saying, 'We made an error in judgment,' " she said.

Springfield said TaJanay was a sweet child who loved french fries, watching her favorite cartoon, "Dora the Explorer," and singing along with the Campbell Soup Co.'s "Possibilities" commercial.

"Whenever it came on she would just stop what she was doing and stand there and sing it. You know, just small little things made her happy," she said.

TaJanay, who had spent much of her life in foster care, died the same day the Annie E. Casey Foundation -- a Baltimore-based child-advocacy group -- honored Indiana for its efforts to reform its child welfare system.

Legislation passed by the General Assembly has resulted in the Department of Child Services hiring more than 400 new caseworkers since mid-2005 and reducing caseloads, once as high as 60 for some workers, to what is expected to be no more than 17 by the middle of next year.

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To Trenay Duchane  / Brianna Green (Cousin)
I want the family of Trenay Duchane to know that they are in my prayers, and so are the two victims. Trenay who lost her life, and Treshae who is recovering from her physical scars and only time will tell how long it will take for her to recover from the mental and emotional scars.  I love you Trenay, and always will. I just hate that you were treated the way you were, and how you left this earth.  You are free now from all that went on and I am happy that you are in a better place now.  Justice will prevail, baby girl, and your death will not be in vain. God will see that they will be punished for what they have done.  Love you always, Trenay. Close

Declan Stewart who I never got to meet!  / Kenyon Littles (distant relative )
Declan I never got to meet you and wanted you to know I heard that you were a great, cute, loving child.  I think and pray for you all the time!  I know you are in good hands now and safe.  I am sure my mom and others are watching over you.  I am sure we will meet one day and I will give you the bigest hug ever! Close

my baby girl  / Me Scroggins (cuzin)

this is basically a letter to olivia 

hey olivia i'm sorry about what u had 2 go through and i love  and  miss u so much too many tears i shed but no matta how hard or long i cry it cant  bring u back to us i'll miss your lovin smile and you joyful attitude i love more words can describe. R.I.P OLIVIA

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I AM A CURRENT FOSTER MOTHER  / CYNTHIA LOPEZ

MY HEART TRUELY GOES OUT TO ALL THE CHILDREN THAT HAVE DIED IN THE CARE OF THESE ANIMALS THAT WOULD HARM OUR CHILDREN OF TODAYS SOCIETY!! IT IS VERY SAD THAT THESE PEOPLE MAKE US FOSTER PARENTS WHO ARE LOVING AND GENIUNE TO CAREING FOR THESE CHILDREN LOOK BAD IT IS VERY SAD!! THIER ARE ALL DIFFERANT SITUATIONS AND SOMETIMES THE CPS DOES MAKE THE WRONG CALLS OF NEGLECT AND SOMETIMES THE CHILDREN GET TAKEN AWAY FOR ALL THE GOOD REASONS! BUT IN NO WAY SHOULD THESE CHILDREN SUFFER OR BE PUT INTO THESE KIND OF SITUATIONS! MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON THESE PEOPLE! MAY GOD BLESS THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THIS WEBSITE!! I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE AND TRUELY CARE FOR THE CHILDREN THAT HAVE CAME THREW MY HOME!! EVEN AFTER THEY HAVE LEFT MY HOME WE STILL KEEP IN TOUCH AND TO THIS DAY WE STILL SEE THEM!! AND GET THANKED FOR TAKING SUCH GOOD CARE OF THEIR CHILDREN. SO SEE NOT ALL OF US FOSTER PARENTS ARE BAD ITS SAD THIER ARE SOME OF THEM THAT ARE! MAY GOD BLESS YOU!!

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Mommy and Daddy sure miss you Little Man  / Trudi Lewis (Mother)
There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think of you. We miss you so very much and always remember..........FAMILIES ARE FOREVER...........and we will see again. Close