Tamekca Evett Walker, 26, has been convicted of killing a 17-month-old girl who was a foster child in her home. She said the child cried constantly and so she held her hand over the girl’s mouth until she was quiet.

Walker was found guilty of second-degree-murder. The foster child also had internal injuries and a diaper rash so severe she’d been bleeding.

Source: Sacto woman guilty of murdering foster child - AP article published July 21, 2009 in the Silicon Valley Mercury News.

My comment is that it is about time that foster parents are found guilty of murder, rather than of some lesser charge like child maltreatment, when foster children are killed.

I’m grateful that I’ve spent twenty years as an activist exposing America’s sick child welfare system to the light of day.

I’m grateful for the emails and comments I received telling me how much this site has helped. Those testimonials mean a lot to me and always will.

Twenty years ago this month, my fourth child was born in Central California. Before I could leave the hospital a social worker visited my room to talk to me about my history of being battered by my child’s father. Later I learned that while I was there I nearly died, and during that time my child’s father threatened the doctor, so he decided to report us to CPS. I had to leave my baby in the hospital because she was premature, and on the day she was released a social worker picked her up and left a slip of paper on my front porch.

Only a few days later I learned what it was like to go into Juvenile Court to be given a social worker’s report filled with lies. That was the day I realized that our justice system was broken, that social workers could lie and nobody cared - and that they could get away with perjury. That was the day I started learning that our Constitution doesn’t apply in Juvenile Court and that I couldn’t have a jury trial. That was the day I started realizing how ineffective public defenders are for child welfare victims.

Okay - it has been twenty years. I am one of the very lucky ones who fought back, found an activist to help me, and who succeeded in getting my child home again (after eight months of separation.) Lucky me. But I was traumatized to an extreme - not only by my shock at the injustice of the child welfare system, but also by my family’s non-support, my need to cope with being a battered woman, and the end of my relationship with the man who battered me.

Trauma takes a long time to wear off, and twenty years later — honestly, I’m still dealing with it!

When this happened to me I was working as a welfare worker in the same Department of Social Services that contained the CPS agency that attacked and lied about me. I was sickened to learn that my employer allowed these vile social workers in the CPS unit to perjure themselves, violate regulations, and be rude to young, traumatized, suffering parents. My thought was that if they were doing this to me (another DSS employee) WHAT WERE THEY DOING TO ALL THE YOUNG PARENTS WITH LESS EDUCATION AND MONEY THAN ME? I was appalled. Shocked. Disgusted. I wanted to do something to help other parents going through this wretched system of injustice, and from the time my case closed in 1990 until now, I’ve been doing what I could when I could.

My main goal at first was to expose, expose, expose. I wanted the public to know what was going on in the social services department. I was fortunately led to a local weekly paper with a similar goal - to expose local government corruption. I wrote some articles. I contacted some child welfare victims and helped a few of them to file for State Administrative Hearings. I burnt out - and needed to turn my attention to raising my two youngest children - both preschoolers at that time.

Next I started a computer bulletin board service (BBS) via the FidoNet network. Anyone here know about FidoNet? I did that for five years and during that time contacted a few child welfare victims including the woman who wrote Don’ts and Do’s When Falsely Accused… she lived nearby and we got together quite a few times. When her case closed she moved out of state.

The internet got my attention next. I was handicapped by my finances - I was unable to afford a worthy computer for quite a few years. I learned to do some webdesign, and in 2000 started the Child Protection Reform Yahoo Group (which I’ve since given away) and next I created Fight CPS And Win - now simply called FightCPS. I’ve been developing this site since October 2000 - almost nine years.

Here’s the bad news (or maybe it is good news) . . . I’m ready to do something else with my life. I feel my most important goal here has been fulfilled. That goal was to expose the system to the American public. I feel that has been done, and that we’ve reached CRITICAL MASS in that now many people are speaking out about the injustice including wonderful state legislators in Georgia and Washington. Also the news media, especially television news, is speaking out to expose the system. That didn’t happen back when I started my activism, twenty years ago. Back then even child murders in the foster system were not carried in the news media, so I’m excited when I see television news commentators exposing CPS injustice. There are also multiple developing websites to cover this issue on the internet now, many more than when I started, and I see the seeds of greatness in some of them. Very exciting stuff! So I know that when I leave, there will be others to take my place and fill in the gaps. My mission here is complete.

I will always feel as I do about the crazy, unjust, and cruel child welfare system. I have not changed but I have other things to do now. I have no more children under age eighteen. I need to focus on other things in my life now.

I don’t know what will become of FightCPS.Com — and am considering all the options at this point. I won’t leave this month or next, but I’m sure by the end of 2009 I’ll no longer be doing this. Therefore I’m ready to hear from other activists or advocates who feel able to own and maintain this website. This will require someone to move the entire site to another server, so I’m looking for someone with confidence and competency in the web skills arena. It also requires someone with outstanding writing skills.

This site has thousands of links pointing to it. It ranks well in the search engines. For that reason, I don’t want to just dump it. I worked hard to make it rank well so that people in need of help could easily find us. I think it is a valuable site for that reason, and that it would be a shame to just close it down. I really want someone else to take it over, love it, develop it, and leave it on the web as a beacon of hope to whoever goes to Google and types in “child protective services”. It is the only anti-CPS site that shows up in the first page of search results.

Anyhow, if you’re someone who could take on this project and make it work, please contact me. I’m interested in hearing from you. My webmaster email link is at the bottom of this page. Please note that if I don’t know who you are, that’s a problem. I don’t want some government-paid disinformation agent to take over this site and subvert its purpose. Getting the right person for site ownership is more important than any other consideration at this point.

An unidentified Canadian foster parent, age 34, is on trial, accused of second-degree murder. Her three-year-old foster child, a Native American boy, died of a severe head injury sustained on January 26, 2007. The foster parent, a nurse, took the boy to the bathroom in the middle of the night and there he either fell and hit his head during a temper fit, or she hit him. The court must decide which is true.

A forensic pathologist, Dr. Bernard Bannach, testified that there was a sudden, unexpected blow to the head causing the brain to rotate within the skull, tearing veins and causing a subdural hematoma. He admitted that this could conceivably be caused by a fall rather than by an abusive blow to the head.

Dr. Alex Levin said the boy’s brain seemed to have been subjected to severe repeated trauma. The boy’s body was also covered with severe bruises including on the feet and lower back - places boys don’t usually bruise themselves.

In his opening statement the prosecutor, Mark Huyser-Wierenga, said that children with similar injuries were involved in automobile accidents or falls from three stories up, and that this injury couldn’t have been caused by anything other than child abuse.

Child protection social worker Edele Kaffo said that she saw nothing wrong with the way the child was being cared for by the accused foster parent. Her opinion was based on telephone calls and home visits between December 6, 2006, and January 26, 2007. Apparently the boy was in the home less than two months. He was taken from his poverty-stricken parents who were allegedly accused of instability, domestic violence, and alcoholism.

The foster mother believed the boy had fetal alcohol syndrome and took him to a pediatrician several times. The boy’s doctor, Dr. Kan Lee, testified that she claimed the boy woke up screaming and saying, “Daddy hurt me” and “Daddy bad.” He said that during the first doctor’s office visit the boy had multiple small bruises on his forehead, legs, and back as well as a cut on his thigh. During the second visit there were two new bruises.

Sources:
Blood-flooded brain led to boy’s death by Ben Gelinas, published in the Edmonton Journal.
No concerns about foster mom, case worker tells Edmonton murder trial by Florence Loyie, published in the Edmonton Journal.
Toddler showed signs of disorder: Foster mother complained of outbursts, court told by Karen Kleiss published October 30, 2008 in the Edmonton Journal.
Blow that killed foster boy was sudden, hard, court hears by Karen Kleis, published October 22, 2008 in the Edmonton Journal.
Ex-foster mother pleads not guilty to murder by Jennifer Yang, published October 15, 2008 in the Edmonton Journal.

Hannah Overton, 30, the Texas foster parent and Christian homeschooling mother of five convicted to life in prison without parole for the murder of a foster child, is asking for a new trial.

She was convicted in September 2007 because she allegedly forced a four year old, Andrew Burd, to drink a mixture of two cups water, salt, pepper, chili powder and Cajun spices as a punishment. Hannah’s version of this is different. She says the child requested the “Zatarain’s Seasoning” and she put it in water instead of on food because he had an overeating disorder. She says she did not force him to drink it as a punishment. Source: Free Hannah Overton Website.

While many more violent foster parents have gotten off with a mere hand-slap, this young woman was sentenced to life without parole even though she had no intention to kill the child. She reportedly panicked when she saw Andrew wasn’t breathing, and waited an hour and a half to call for medical assistance. This is what the prosecutor said made her responsible for Andrew’s death. Source: Woman Convicted In Foster Child’s Death Seeks New Trial published on November 7, 2008 at KWTX.com.

A commenter at Sarah Walston’s blog article about Hannah Overton said that the actual time Overton waited to take Andrew to the hospital was only five minutes, not an hour and a half.

This case shows that foster parenting is a dangerous occupation. For years now I’ve warned people NOT to get involved with the foster care industry because of the risk of false accusations, and because of things like this where foster children die or are murdered, and there must be accountability.

One foster parent wrote on Sarah Walston’s blog:
“This story TERRIFIES me because I currently have 2 foster children living in my home, and now I’m forced to think ‘What IF this happens to ME?’ This story shows how easily some unfortunate twist of fate, can leave someone wrongfully convicted…”

There is a website created by Overton’s Christian supporters: Free Hannah Overton.

My opinion on this is that she got a much longer sentence than she deserved. Without a doubt, forcing a child to drink hot spices is a form of child abuse, and she deserved some prison time if she actually did that, but to put her away for life without parole is far too much time, especially for a young woman who is unlikely to be a danger to society if set free.

Another blog article, Suffer the Children, gives an opposing view, criticizing the “Free Hannah Overton” movement and pointing to perceived flaws in the thinking and writing of those seeking to help her.

For a picture of Andrew Burd: Corpus Christi Couple Charged in Death.

See also: Hannah Overton convicted of killing foster son.

This case has become a favorite cause for bloggers, especially Christian bloggers:
Hannah Overton :: Pray for Hannan Overton :: Release Hannah Overton :: Free Hannah!!! :: Hannah Overton Alleged Salt Poisoning Case :: Urgent Prayer Request for Hannah Overton :: May God Bless Hannah Overton and Family :: Free Hannah Overton :: Free Hannah Overton.

Other FightCPS articles about Hannah Overton: Texas: Fosterer charged with murdering 4-yr-old boy with hot pepper

Hannah’s aunt posted extensive information on her MySpace blog in which she said part of the conviction relied on a FALSE affidavit filed by a CPS social worker! See: The Wrongful Conviction of Hannah Overton.

What is your opinion? Should Hannah Overton be freed? Should her sentence (life without parole) be exchanged for something less harsh? Or do you think she got what she deserved?

Lynn Paddock, 47, and her husband, Johnny, adopted six children from foster care. For people who adopt so many, I use the term “child collectors”. Now Johnny has divorced Lynn and she is on trial for suffocating four-year-old Sean.

Lynn Paddock is accused of suffocating Sean by wrapping him in blankets so tightly that he couldn’t breathe. She allegedly did this to keep him from wandering around in the hallways. She is also accused of using tape to bind another adopted child. She may stand trial for first-degree murder and child abuse at the same time.

Sean’s grandparents are suing the Paddocks and the social services agencies who placed him with her. Although my source article didn’t state it, I wonder if this is one of those cases where the social services agency refused to place the child with his grandparents. He was originally placed with an aunt and uncle, but was taken from them and sent to foster care. The article states, “The case has revealed flaws in the state’s child welfare system.”

Source: Adoptive mother to stand trial in son’s suffocation - AP article published in The Fayetteville Observer on May 19, 2008.

…
Written by Linda Martin for Fight CPS.

Allison Newman’s mother wanted to recover from an addiction to crack cocaine, so she asked an acquaintance to watch her six month old baby temporarily. When Michigan social workers got into the act, the baby ended up in the home of Carol Poole, 42, a barren woman living in an expensive upscale home, who wanted children. She has now been convicted of murdering Allison when she was only two.

Allison’s grandfather, Kenneth Newman said:

• “She cracked that baby’s skull open, dressed her and put her to bed to die.”
• “People (child welfare workers) turned their heads because these people lived out in Canton and had a few dollars in the bank.”
• “There was evidence that Allison started being abused seven or eight weeks before her death. When Ann (the girl’s mother) went into rehab, the date to sever parental rights got postponed and Carol Poole realized she wasn’t going to get to adopt Allison. We think that’s when everything went bad.”

(Source: Doug Guthrie of The Detroit News - see link below.)

Carol Poole has now been convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 to 30 years in prison. She also got 10 to 15 years for child abuse.

Quoting from Guthrie’s article:

“During her trial, two workers at the Childtime Learning Center day care in Plymouth said they noticed scratches and bruises on Allison long before her death. They reported the findings to their supervisor, who was charged but not convicted of failing to comply with state law by reporting the injuries.”

During 2005 and 2006 three children died in Michigan foster and adoptive homes: Allison Newman, Issac Lethbridge, and Ricky Holland.

Source: Foster mother gets 20-35 years in prison for girl’s death - by Doug Guthrie, written for The Detroit News, published February 27, 2008.

Twenty years ago, articles like these were suppressed. But now the media lets us know when foster parents are accused of killing foster children. States can no longer cover up the murder of children they claim to protect.

I read about these tragedies often, but many times don’t write about them here. Not only is it a source of fear and depression for people who use this site, whose children are being held in the foster care system, but I honestly can’t keep up with telling you about all the on-topic articles that are published. For more about children killed in foster care, see In Memory of Children Protected to Death by CPS.

The latest news is that a two-year-old girl, Alize Vick, was killed in a foster home in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The foster parent, Jules Lynn Cuneo, 34, is accused of throwing Alize against a coffee table where she sustained a head injury. Instead of immediately rushing the child to a hospital or calling an ambulance, she put her in the shower and sprayed water on her, apparently in an attempt to revive her.

I don’t know if this foster parent is guilty of intentional abuse, or whether Alize was injured accidentally. Her first story was that she was bouncing Alize on her lap when the girl fell back and hit her head on the coffee table. Perhaps her decision to try to revive Alize in the shower was the most reasonable thing to do.

In any case, another “protected” foster child is dead, and the foster parent is being held without bail. The foster parent’s two natural children have been moved to another foster home, along with Alize Vick’s younger brother, Anthony.

Sources:
Foster parent arrested in death: 2-year-old allegedly thrown against coffee table and suffered severe head injuries by Erin Emery, for the Denver Post. Published October 12, 2007.
New Details on Foster Mother Accused of Murder by Nicole Vandeputte for KOAA News. Published October 12, 2007.

Carole Deleon is getting off easy after pleading guilty to criminal mistreatment of a little boy she adopted out of foster care, then starved to death. She also mistreated at least one other foster child.

Tyler was starved, bruised, had teeth knocked out, drugged with various medications, and denied water. He died on his seventh birthday.

Deleon was originally charged with murder, but a plea bargain has reduced her sentence to what will probably be only six years.

Florence Moyle’s nephew, Steven, also lived with Deleon. They believe Deleon should have been tried for murder, and Steven was willing to testify. Moyle is planning protests outside the Stevens County Courthouse and a Seattle law firm is preparing a lawsuit against the state of Washington.

Six months before Tyler’s death there was a CPS report stating that “the children in the Deleon home were at high risk for future abuse and neglect” yet the caseworkers left Tyler and four other children there, and placed a three-month-old baby in her home. This is another case of CPS choosing to ignore evidence of abuse in a foster home.

Source: DeLeon faces sentencing Friday, published July 20, 2007.

Two-year-old Isaac Lethbridge died on August 16, 2006 because child welfare caseworkers took him from his parents and placed him in an unsafe foster home environment. He was beaten and burned while in state custody foster “care”. His fosterer, Charlsie Adams-Rogers, 59, is on trial for manslaughter.

According to a Detroit Free Press article, Adams-Rogers “had a history of complaints alleging mistreatment of children in her home. Though Child Protective Services never substantiated any of the nine complaints, people familiar with the child welfare system say the allegations should have raised red flags about what was going on in the brick home on Greenlawn in northwest Detroit.” But Adams-Rogers may not have been the one who inflicted the fatal blows. Her twelve-year-old daughter, one of three children Adams-Rogers adopted from foster care, stands accused of inflicting the final injury. There were at least seven children in the home at the time of Isaac’s death.

According to news reports, before his death Isaac’s child welfare caseworker was aware of bruises on the child, inflicted while he was in custody, but did nothing to move the child from his dangerous foster home or protect him from further injury. His sister, who had been placed in the same home, also bore the signs of injuries at the time of her younger brother’s death.

I’d like to say this is a unique situation, but tragically, it is not. Hundreds of children have died violently in foster homes, many at the hands of the adults paid to take care of them. Caseworkers often don’t remove children from abusive foster homes because there’s no financial motivation for the agency to do so. They remove children from their natural family homes much more readily because as soon as they do, federal financial streams are available to enrich the counties that detain children.

In Isaac’s case, his parents are accused of neglect due to poverty. They are not accused of abuse. He could have been better served by allowing the parents to learn to take appropriate care of their child while keeping custody of him. But now it is too late; he’s dead due to our country’s child welfare laws that destroy and harm nearly every family they affect.

According to an article in the Isaac Lethbridge file, he is the third child to die violently in a Michigan foster home within the last 18 months. Ricky Holland, age 7, was adopted out of foster care then killed by his adopters in July 2005. Allison Newman, age 2, died from blunt-force trauma injuries of unknown origin in September 2006. Apparently someone suggested she was “accidentally flung over a 12-foot balcony onto a hardwood floor.” Who, I ask, “accidentally” throws a 2-year-old over a balcony? Allison’s licensed foster ‘mother’ is jailed, charged with felony murder and involuntary manslaughter.

These children are the tip of the iceberg. An online memorial, In Memory of Children Protected to Death by CPS, posts dozens of names and photos of children who died in state custody foster homes in nearly every state of this nation. And these are only the ones that site owner, Suncana Sesic Alvarado, can find names and photos for. Many more children have died in foster homes without coming to the public’s attention.

[Note: I incorrectly wrote that the owner of the site was Charlie Whitman. I corrected this information on June 13, 2007. - LJM]

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