Cops, child services blow off complaints about custodial dad; 10-year-old son beaten to death (South Bend, Indiana)

Are we really surprised that none of the "authorities" in this town protected this child--or even seemed to have any demonstrable interest in his safety? Or in the safety of his brother or other siblings?

The question that is STILL never answered is how and why dad TERRY STURGIS got custody of these kids. The only explanation I've seen is from his own mother--who has been charged with child neglect herself for letting these beatings go on for so long. The killer's mom makes vague insinuations about the mother being not interested or gone. But these types are notorious for smearing protective mothers, blocking their access to the children, and doing anything to enable and help the criminals. It's despicable but happens. Everything Grandma says is limited to a lot of whining  for poor killer daddy. Not one word of grief about her dead grandson.

http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2011-11-20/news/30423875_1_dellia-castile-abuse-or-neglect-south-bend-police

A question of what went wrong with boy
Anonymous caller in May suspected abuse at home where boy later died.

November 20, 2011|MARY KATE MALONE | South Bend Tribune

SOUTH BEND -- Just after midnight on May 28, two South Bend police officers knocked on the front door at a two-story home on West Washington Street.

An anonymous caller had dialed 911 minutes earlier, and reported that children inside might be suffering abuse.

Whomever the police officers spoke with at the house that night, and whatever they observed, gave them no indication of abuse. They made no police report on their seven-minute visit, and never notified the Department of Child Services, records show.

Six months later, a 10-year-old boy who lived there was found dead in the house, allegedly beaten to death by his father. Terry Sturgis is now charged with murder and battery in the death of his son Tramelle. He faces additional accusations that he burned Tramelle and his other sons with a clothes iron and a heated screwdriver.

As local authorities uncover more evidence of widespread, long-term abuse inflicted on Tramelle and his siblings during the last three years, many are wondering how it went on for so long without someone stepping in to stop it.

Where was Child Services? Where were police? Did anyone notice and call authorities? Or did everyone think someone else would?

A lack of answers

On at least two other occasions South Bend police or Child Services looked into allegations of abuse inside the home, according to court documents, but the length and depth of those investigations is not known.

Regardless, when Tramelle was found dead Nov. 4, any intervention by police or child services had ended, according to police records and Ann Houseworth, spokeswoman for the Department of Child Services.

Houseworth declined to comment on the Sturgis case or explain the department's involvement.

She said Child Services investigates all allegations of abuse and neglect that meet certain statutory requirements. A licensed social worker will visit and examine the home, and interview family members and anyone who might have repeated contact with the family, such as school officials or neighbors.

If the abuse or neglect is not substantiated, the case is closed, Houseworth said.

If it is identified, then the department offers services to the family and, if safety is a concern, removes children from the home, Houseworth said.

"We cannot act on conjecture or supposition," she said. "We can only act on the facts in front of us."

The department must always work to avoid two competing, negative outcomes: leaving a child in a dangerous home or taking a child from a safe one, she said.

The department has 30 days under Indiana law to respond to a recent Tribune request for all public records related to the Sturgis case.

Tramelle's father, Terry Sturgis, has been charged by the St. Joseph County prosecutor's office with killing Tramelle and battering another son. Terry Sturgis' mother, Dellia Castile, was charged on Wednesday with child neglect for allegedly not acting to protect the children from Sturgis while sharing a home with them, according to court documents.

A duty to report

But Dellia Castile was not the only person obligated to report child abuse if she suspected it.

In Indiana, every resident is required by law to do so.

In the case of Tramelle, it's possible no one noticed. But it's also possible that some may have suspected it but never told authorities.

"I think in our society we do tend to have a trust that someone else made the call," Houseworth said. "And many would rather not make the call, or they don't want to get involved in a family's life, or they are scared that the family would learn that they made the call."

The anonymous 911call in May that led two officers to the Sturgis home was tragically incomplete, said Capt. Phil Trent, South Bend police spokesman.

The caller provided such little information -- "about 10 children there ... possibly being abused" -- that the officers did not have probable cause to enter the home without a search warrant, Trent said.

"It's a darn shame," he said.

Had the caller known precisely how many children were inside, stated that abuse was in progress, or that a child was severely injured, then police could have been able to enter, Trent said.

"People can only report what they know, but the amount of information you're able to provide can make a big difference in what happens when (police) knock on that door," said Jennifer Pickering, program director for Prevent Child Abuse of St. Joseph County.

'It's going to happen again'

Pickering said services for abused children have been affected by fiscal decisions at the state level. The department gave back approximately $104 million to the state general fund last year -- money it said it did not need.

But some child advocates believe that money is sorely needed in local communities.

Bruce Greenberg, president and CEO of Family and Children's Center Inc. in Mishawaka, said Tramelle's death could have been prevented had more family services been available locally. Many providers have been hindered, he said, by recent cuts in state reimbursement rates.

"I'm angry about (Tramelle's) death," Greenberg said. "It did not need to happen."

But the tragedy illuminated a major problem in the community, Greenberg said, and the limited resources available to solve it.

He recalled a colleague who approached him recently about frustrations with state funding and local agencies' ability to provide services for needy families.

"She asked me, 'What's it going to take to get people's attention about this?'" Greenberg recalled. "I told her unfortunately, it's going to take children dying. I think she thought I was being overly dramatic."

Not long after, Tramelle Sturgis was found dead, allegedly at the hands of his father.

"Until we take a stand as a community that we will not tolerate this ... it's going to happen again."