Dad who is "only suspect" in death of 19-month-old daughter gets visitation rights affirmed with surviving son; despite history of DV, dad had been granted joint custody of kids (Kalamazoo, Michigan)

Unbelievably sickening. So bad I suspect fathers rights infiltration of the police and children's services departments. Let's summarize:

1) Mother leaves father after prolonged domestic violence shortly after daughter born.

2) Dad denies paternity, than suddenly decides to go for joint custody. And gets it! (Of course, nobody considers the possibility that Daddy only wants joint custody as a way to punish/frighten Mom--either that, or they don't care, which I consider more likely.)

3) One month after getting joint custody (January 2013), baby is showing up with suspicious bruising and a swollen face. CPS DOES NOTHING despite Mom's concerns.

4) Baby dies while in Dad's care (November 2013). Dad admits he injured the child but claims it was an accident. CPS WAFFLES. Not sure if it's neglect or whatever. POLICE WAFFLE, refuse to fully investigate.

5) Revealed that Dad lied about at least one thing--that the girl had been fed before the "accident." Autopsy reveals that this is not true.

6) Now an UNNAMED JUDGE gives this POS visitation rights with the surviving son.

WHY IS THIS FATHER BEING PROTECTED? WHY AREN'T THE JUDGES AND CPS OFFICIALS WHO AID AND ABET HIM BEING PUBLICLY NAMED?

http://www.wwmt.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wwmt_suspect-daughters-death-granted-visitation-son-21642.shtml#.U5IcaNfD9Yc

Suspect in daughter’s death granted visitation with son

Updated: Friday, June 6 2014, 12:04 AM EDT

KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – A West Michigan mother is horrified after a judge granted the only suspect in her daughter’s death visitation rights with her son.

19-month-old Ava Jones died on November 30th, 2013 while in the care of her father, Jarrod Elliott.

Elliott claims that Ava hit her head while he was swinging her around, but deputies ruled the death suspicious and seven months later the investigation remains open.  

DHS recommended that Elliott’s parental rights to his living son be terminated, but Newschannel 3 has learned that a judge granted him visitation.

Newschannel 3 spoke with the mother of both children on Thursday.  Elliott admitted that he is the one who injured his daughter, the only question is whether or not that was intentional.

With the autopsy results coming back inconclusive, there is no solid evidence to issue charges with, that gave family court little factual basis to deny Elliott the opportunity to prove he can be a father, something that terrifies the mother of his children.  

“I literally would be black and blue,” said Emily Jones.  Emily Jones is the mother of Elliott’s children. She says her entire relationship with him was violent.

“He always got in my head that, like, everything’s going to be okay,” said Jones.

Jones says she ended the relationship weeks after Ava was born. She says he denied Ava was his for eight months and then fought for, and won, joint custody.

“A month later was her incident about her face,” said Jones.

Jones showed Newschannel 3 a photo of Ava’s face that she says was after a visit with her father in January 2013.


 “Her whole right side of her face was just swollen,” said Jones.

Records show that other bruises were found on Ava after the visit. Elliott claimed Ava fell.

“The ball was dropped by CPS,” said Rachel Downs, Ava’s grandmother.  

Downs says if Elliott didn’t have custody of Ava last November, the young girl would never have, as Elliott claims, “been hit in the head while being swung around.”

“What parent knows that has happened and then puts the child in the crib and then doesn’t go in to check on her,” said Downs, “at the least why didn’t you take her to the doctor just to make sure she’s okay?”

Records show that Elliott claimed he fed Ava breakfast the day she died, then changed his story when an autopsy revealed her stomach was empty, another reason why Ava’s mother and grandmother don’t believe her death was an accident.  

“I believe she woke up that morning, she wasn’t fed breakfast, she was grumpy and 19 months old and was probably getting on his nerves,” said Downs.

Ava’s mother and grandmother say they will not rest until they know what killed the young girl.

They believe the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office owes it to them to prove whether or not Ava’s death was an accident.

The undersheriff says the case is still an open investigation, but to protect existing leads, that is all he will say.  

In the meantime Elliott will be allowed to begin supervised visits at Child Protective Services with his son.