"Sole guardian" dad charged with strangling to death 6-month-old daughter (Baltimore, Maryland)

Call me old-fashioned, I don't care. I don't see any evidence here that "sole guardian" dad TIMOTHY LEWIS was ever married to this baby's mother, or even had any meaningful relationship with her. So as far as I'm concerned, why was he even considered for custody? In fact, IF we are to assume that the information here is correct--that the mother is somehow legally incompetent and/or incapable of providing infant care on her own (given that she is living in a group home), then I have to ask this question out loud: Why was daddy having sex with her, especially (apparently) unprotected sex? Pardon me for wondering, but IF it was really necessary to "refuse" her custody of her newborn child (and no evidence is presented here as to why this "refusal" was deemed necessary), then was she also too incompetent to consent to sexual relations? But I don't see any evidence of statutory rape charges. Hmm.

Seems the mother's family had serious doubts about Daddy from the get go. What had the baby's aunt "heard" about Daddy that made her concerned about him getting custody? The reporter either doesn't know or bother to tell us. Not that this mattered in Maryland, which is very fathers rights friendly and traditionally vicious to rape and/or domestic violence victims. Daddy got custody of the baby anyway--and then managed to abuse her pretty much from birth, given the evidence of earlier injuries. And now the baby is dead.

Until I see evidence telling me otherwise, it sure looks to me like a woman was sexually abused in a group home, and CPS rewarded her rapist with custody. Disgusting.

http://wjz.com/local/infant.death.murder.2.1965155.html

Oct 15, 2010 11:15 pm US/Eastern
Father Charged For Strangling Infant Daughter Reporting
Kelly McPherson BALTIMORE (WJZ)

Six-month-old baby Chloe Lewis is dead, and her father is charged with her murder.

A six-month-old baby is dead, and her father is charged with murder.

Kelly McPherson has more on the shocking confession, and the outrage from the mother's family.
Chloe Lewis was a week away from turning six months old when police say she was strangled to death by her father.

"It's kind of like the thing you feared the most has actually happened," said Stephanie Cross, the victim's great grandmother. "The Department of Social Services needs to really go over this again to see what they can do to help another family, so they don't have to go through this."

Her father and sole guardian, Timothy Lewis, brought the baby to the hospital after she had stopped breathing, telling doctors it was Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Police say eventually Lewis admitted that it wasn't SIDS. He had murdered his daughter.

"We knew from the beginning that Timothy was not a responsible person to take care of her," said Calvin Cross, the victim's great grandfather. "And those that were in authority also knew that."

The baby's mother lives in an adult home and was refused custody when Chloe was born. Her side of the family says the father shouldn't have been taking care of the baby.

"I sat down with one of the social workers, and I told her specifically that my gut feeling is telling me that Chloe does not need to go with him because of all of the things that I've heard," said Tiffany Cross, the victim's aunt.

Darrius Fields lived with Chloe and her dad.

"I was there with him when Chloe was born," said Fields, the suspect's god brother. "We would always tell him what he should do, and he would do it. We'd say make sure you change her diaper, he would change her diaper. Make sure you feed her, he would feed her."

But the autopsy revealed old wounds on the baby, including several broken ribs on the baby's body.

"One of the loose ends that we have to tie up to see what the baby might have been through before her death," said police spokesman Donny Moses.

"God took that baby from him because he mishandled the treasure," said Michelle Williams, Chloe's aunt. "And God said 'no more, that's it.' And now we're one dead baby later."

Lewis did not have a previous criminal record. He is now charged with first degree murder, assault and child abuse.

Contact M&T Bank for the Khloe Nicole Lewis Memorial Fund.