Dad with custodial rights jailed in death of 3-year-old son (Martinsburg, West Virginia)

Here's another great example of how possible court crimes are swept under the rug.

How to Hide the Crimes of Dads who Kill in Situations Involving Custody/Visitation

1) Start with misleading headline, like "man" arrested in death of child. Don't say "dad" and certainly don't say "custodial dad" or "dad granted child visitation."

2) Refuse to clarify why the murdered child was in the "care" of the father (and/or gal pal, who is never specifically identified as being the mother despite vague insinuations that this was "their" child). Don't acknowledge any possible CPS and/or court decision that may have placed the child with said violent father. Don't explain or mention what the father's actual custodial status was. And certainly Never, Ever mention the judge by name who may have set up this crime.

3) Completely IGNORE the child victim's mother and write her out of the story. Pretend she never existed, and never question why this child wasn't in her care instead. Never look into whether the father had a history of domestic violence and/or child abuse, but got his father's rights anyway.

Dad JAMES MAULDIN, who has been taken into custody in the violent death of his 3-year-old son, obviously had some sort of custodial rights over the murder victim. But true to form, there is utter silence here as to how this poor child ended up in the hands of his abusive father, and under whose authority this father assumed "care" of this child instead of leaving him with his natural caretaker (e.g. his mother).

http://wvgazette.com/News/201201010083


January 1, 2012
Martinsburg man, woman jailed in death of 3-year-old boy

By Staff reports
The Charleston Gazette

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Martinsburg man and his girlfriend were taken into custody on child abuse charges this weekend after their 3-year-old boy died from injuries including a fractured skull, brain bleeding and body burns, according to the West Virginia State Police.

James Mauldin, the father of the child, was taken into custody on Saturday for two felony charges of child abuse and child neglect and a misdemeanor of presenting false information about child injuries. Mauldin's girlfriend, Jasmine Dawkins, also was taken into custody on charges of child neglect and presentation of false information regarding child injuries.

On Saturday, the State Police responded to a 911 call from Mauldin saying his child had collapsed in his bedroom and was not breathing. When first responders arrived at Apartment 616 on 214 Joshua Drive in Martinsburg, they found that the little boy was under cardiac arrest and had head trauma and scarring all over his body.

The child was transported to City Hospital, where hospital staff discovered burn marks on the boy's buttocks and both legs and head trauma including a fractured skull and brain bleeding. The child was later taken to Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. where he died from the injuries.

Dawkins told the State Police that Mauldin had abused the child several days before the incident and described how the boy had sustained the burns and head trauma.

The State Police are re-filing charges of child abuse resulting in death against Mauldin.