We posted on this case yesterday, and from what I have read, this headline is completely MISLEADING. And if for one am getting very tired of the media obscuring the basic issues.
There was no mutual "custody battle" between these parents.
What was there? A father who played no part in this child's life till last January. A mother who if anything went out of her way to accomodate this father with weekend visitation, despite the dad being an absentee dad up to this point (doesn't sound like a "battling mom" to me).
And then how does Daddy react? With paternal gratitude? No. HE's the one who pulls the power grab, falsely accusing the mother of abuse and denying the mother any contact and visitation.
And as to who was "really" the child abuser here? Come on, people. Under whose watch did this child die from abuse? Daddy's. This is pretty much an open-and-shut case. One parent is an abusive, manipulative liar and probable killer. Who obviously lied about his son's cause of death. The other was a protective parent who tried to save this child by appealing to the police, to protective services, to the courts for help. They all utterly failed her and this little boy.
And for all that, we have the newspapers playing to the mythic middle. Ridiculous.
http://www.abc27.com/Global/story.asp?S=13207950
Child homicide victim was at center of custody battle
Posted: Sep 23, 2010 4:30 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 24, 2010 10:38 AM CDT
Like most youngsters, three-year-old Jayahn Cox-Phoenix loved SpongeBob SquarePants and trips to Chuck E. Cheese.
But his parents were involved in a custody dispute. There was no formal agreement, and each accused the other of child abuse. Jayahn's mother, Jasmin Cox, denies the allegations and believes Jayahn's father was responsible for his death.
"I used to always ask Jayahn, 'is Daddy being mean to you? Is Daddy hitting you?' Every time I asked him he would always get quiet," Cox said. "I didn't think he was abusing him to the point he would end up dead."
Police said Jayahn's father called 911 on May 21 to report the boy had drowned in the bathtub. The child died four days later, on his third birthday, at Penn State Hershey Medical Center.
After reviewing autopsy results, Dauphin County Coroner Graham Hetrick said Jayahn also suffered traumatic brain injuries and ruled his death a homicide.
Police have announced no charges and have named no suspects. They said their investigation is ongoing.
Cox said she knew Jayahn's death was no accident as she watched over him at the hospital while he was on life support.
"The way Jayahn's eyes set out, they were black and blue. It looked like he was in a boxing match with somebody," she said.
Nearly three weeks before Jayahn's death, Cox said she filed an emergency custody petition because she suspected abuse. She said her request was denied.
"Every time I told Children and Youth, they said they went out there and there weren't any marks on Jayahn," Cox said.
"The system failed me. No one wanted to listen to what we had to say," said Tammy Beltz, Jayahn's grandmother.
Investigators remain tight-lipped about their homicide investigation. abc27 News reached out to Dauphin County Children and Youth Services, but our calls were not returned. We have not been able to reach Jayahn's father for comment.