Death of 2-year-old boy "suspicious"; father in custody on "unrelated" child endangerment charge (Jamestown, New York)

Ah, my old stomping ground--Jamestown, New York. Dad AGUSTIN MORALES has been arrested on an "unrelated charge" of child endangerment from a "previous incident." Meanwhile, the "suspicious death" of the two-year-old son is being investigated by the police. County Social Services is also "investigating." Oh, that makes me feel better. The swell folks who never returned my phone calls when my daughter's custodial father was being investigated for abuse and neglect--until a certain New York assemblyman's aide called their office to complain. (Yes, Dad was finally "indicated," in case you were wondering.) Yup. Gotcha.

http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/542970.html

Suspicious Death
Police Looking Into Case; Father In Custody On Unrelated Charges

By Robert Rizzuto, rrizzuto@post-journal.com
POSTED: October 21, 2009

The investigation into the death of 2-year-old Auston Morales is ongoing, but The Post-Journal learned Tuesday that his father was taken into custody by police on unrelated charges.

Although no official statement has been issued, a Freedom of Information request confirmed that the boy's father, Agustin Morales, 31, of Jamestown is in the Chautauqua County Jail after being taken into custody on an active warrant charging him with endangering the welfare of a child which is unrelated and stems from a previous incident.

The Jamestown Police Department made no official announcement about the Auston Morales' death until Tuesday around noon, and officials from the department as well as other agencies are being tight-lipped about the situation.

According to the news release, on Friday around 1:10 p.m., a 911 call reported that a young boy, Morales, was not breathing and unresponsive. EMTs arrived at 24 W. Eighth St. and took the child to WCA Hospital. The boy was later taken by Starflight to Children's Hospital in Buffalo, where he was pronounced dead Saturday evening.

Jamestown Police Department officials declined to comment beyond the news release and referred all requests for comment to District Attorney David Foley's office.

Foley said his office became involved with the investigation Friday afternoon and has been working closely with the police department since then.

"This child passed away Saturday night and an autopsy was performed Monday morning," he said. "We have some preliminary results back but all I can say is that the death is suspicious. We are very concerned with what led to this child's death but there have been no charges filed in connection with it - none whatsoever."

Steve Wickmark, county Social Services commissioner, confirmed Tuesday that his department is also investigating the incident.

"Our practice is that we don't talk specifics about a case until an investigation is complete," Wickmark said. "In a case where there are possible allegations of abuse, we work closely with law enforcement, but we have a completely different set of requirements. Our standard is based on a preponderance of evidence that a child has indeed been abused."

Although Wickmark couldn't discuss this specific case, he did say that Social Services only gets involved in death investigations when a situation involves parents or other adults responsible for a child and the youth. He also said that the investigations are usually wrapped up within 45 days and when it is complete, the information is submitted to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.

Pat Cantiello, a public information officer for OCFS, reported that in 2009, there have been three child fatalities in Chautauqua County.

She explained that the child fatalities reported to OCFS only include the deaths reported to the statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment that allegedly occur as a result of abuse or maltreatment, deaths that occur while a child is in foster care or the deaths that occur while the child is receiving protective or preventive services.

In 2008 there were five such deaths reported and three in 2007, Ms. Cantiello said.

She further explained that the majority of child fatalities in New York are not deemed suspicious and do not require review by the Office of Children and Family Services, but rather are tracked by the state Department of Health.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the Detective's Bureau at 483-7537 or the department's tip line at 483-TIPS. Information can also be submitted online on Facebook, MySpace or via e-mail at jpdfio@yahoo.com.