Dad charged in carbon monoxide death of 6-year-old daughter had court-ordered visitation despite history of child neglect, drug abuse, prison record (Syracuse, New York)

Doing some follow up on recent cases. Remember the case of the Syracuse, New York father charged in the carbon monoxide death of his 6-year-old daughter? The one he left home alone while he was out at the casino? We figured this was a custody/visitation case...and sure enough, subsequent research has shown that it was. COURT-ORDERED visitation no less, in upstate New York, which has been dominated by fathers rights groups for years. We increasingly see the "fruit" of their labors, namely dead kids that were left with unfit fathers.

There was no rational reason for an idiot like GLENN COLLINS to have access. Why don't guys like this get supervised visitation instead of protective mothers? And this sh** has the nerve to intimidate/harass the surviving child into not testifying?

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/10/mother_of_6-year-old_girl_killed_in_carbon_monoxide_poisoning_had_fought_with_fa.html

Mother of 6-year-old killed in carbon monoxide poisoning feared for girl's safety

By Julie McMahon on October 09, 2014 at 8:13 PM, updated October 09, 2014 at 9:46 PM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- In the four years since Glenn Collins was released from prison, his daughter's mother feared hearing that her 6-year-old Gabriella was hurt in his care.

After the girl's stays with her father, she complained of being bored, unwashed and of his long absences, said Julianne Steinbrecher, the mother.

On Aug. 29, she received the dreaded phone call.

During that visit with his daughter, Collins arrived home to 106 Carlton Drive in Salina from a trip with a woman to Turning Stone casino. He found Gabriella and his 14-year-old son Jaidon Collins unresponsive, authorities said. Gabriella was pronounced dead at Upstate University Hospital from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a generator.

Steinbrecher was required by court order to allow her daughter to visit Glenn Collins.

"She would kick and scream and cry, 'Mommy, I don't want to go.' Being a mother it obviously broke my heart but I had to follow what a court order said."

The July court order included specific conditions, many of which were broken the day of Gabriella's death.

The court order requires a parent or adult over the age of 18 to watch the girl at all times. Specifically, the parents agreed that either the father or one of his parents would supervise. But police say Gabriella was left with her half-brother Jaidon, which is explicitly prohibited by the court order.

The court order also requires that Gabriella make regular phone calls to check in with her mother. Steinbrecher expected a call that night, but never received one, typical of visits with Collins, she said.

Under the court order, Collins was required to notify Steinbrecher of any event that would affect the child's health. Power had been cut to the house on Aug. 13. Collins had since placed a generator inside the house, authorities have said. Gabriella had told her mother about a power outage at the house when she returned from her last visit. She told Steinbrecher that she had stayed with Collins' parents. Steinbrecher had no knowledge of a generator being used at the house.

Finally, the court order required each parent to send each other copies of a driving record within a specified time period. When Steinbrecher did not receive Collins', she filed a petition with the court asking to take away Collins' visitation rights until he could prove he had a valid drivers' license. The petition was not processed by the court by the time Gabriella had died.

The court awarded Steinbrecher $8.04 a month, she said. Steinbrecher said she hasn't received a payment since November 2013. Collins has missed several hearings on child support, she said.

The relationship between Steinbrecher and Collins has been difficult since the night of Feb. 10, 2010, when police raided the couple's home for drugs, court papers show. Gabriella was two years old at the time. Police found 800 doses of drugs in a safe, according to the court papers issued by Onondaga County Family Court. Steinbrecher said she did not have access to the safe or know they were there.

A month later, out on bail, Collins was again charged with a drug offense when he was stopped with heroin in New York City, the court papers say. According to the records, Collins pleaded guilty to both charges.

He was admitted to prison in July 2010, and was released in April 2011 on parole.

Surrounded by their parents and other family members, Steinbrecher and her boyfriend Seamus Quinn spoke to Syracuse.com about the loss of the 6-year-old girl. They waited until Thursday, when charges were announced, to avoid interfering with an investigation into the incident.

Steinbrecher said she didn't blame the court, 14-year-old Jaidon or herself. She placed the blame solely on Glenn Collins.

His whereabouts in the hours before the girl's death infuriate her, she said.

"It disgusts me. You have money to go to the casino but you can't pay your NiMo bill, your child support? It doesn't surprise me. Nothing surprises me anymore with his actions."

Days after Gabriella died, the couple published an obituary which left Glenn Collins completely out. The girl's name was listed as Gabriella Antoinette Steinbrecher-Quinn. Collins, they said, didn't have a right to her name or condolences.

"I am her father," Quinn said. "If you asked him what her favorite color was, he wouldn't be able to tell you. If you asked him who her kindergarten teacher was, he wouldn't be able to tell you. I was there on the first day of school. I helped her tie her shoes for the first time. We did so much family stuff together, the three of us."

Quinn, Steinbrecher and the 6-year-old girl lived happily in their Syracuse home for four years, the couple said. They said the girl called Quinn "Dad" and Collins "Glenn."

Before the funeral, Collins texted Steinbrecher, the only communication the two have had since the girl's death. This text message is the only communication Julianne Steinbrecher has received from her 6-year-old daughter's father Glenn Collins since the girl died at his house.

Collins was not invited to the funeral or calling hours.

"I want that memory in his head of what he found that morning - you have to live with that memory," Steinbrecher said. "You're not going to see her at peace in that casket. You live with that memory of you finding her dead. I want that etched in his brain."

Steinbrecher said the charges against Collins (second-degree manslaughter, theft of services and criminal impersonation and harassment) give her some comfort.

"I feel some sort of comfort, I'm angry, and my grieving process starts now after all of this," she said. "This is what I've been waiting for, some kind of justice for her in all this."

Steinbrecher and Quinn said life hasn't been anywhere near the same since their daughter with the great big smile and even bigger personality died.

They described her as loving to sing and dance, as well as spending time outdoors at the family's camp. She learned to love school and had tons of friends who she loved to share her toys with. SpongeBob SquarePants was her favorite cartoon character.

Steinbrecher vowed to be at every one of Collins' court appearances until the day she would be given the opportunity to speak.

"It won't be nice," she said. "He took the best part of me. He took my whole life. It's changed. It's like the day before I was a mother."