A lot is omitted from the article below. Very often I find that potentially embarrassing scandals regarding custody/visitation and/or public corruption/incompetence have a way of "disappearing" from the media over time. And this case is a prime example.
What's missing here? The fact that dad STEPHEN S. DIXON had refused to return the boy to his mother after visitation. And that the boy was in the "exclusive custody" of his father at the time of his murder. For MONTHS this had been so. And that the authorities refused to do anything about it, despite serious allegations of abuse. See our previous post here:
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2011/03/dad-charged-with-homicide-in-death-of-3.html
This is what we said about this case originally:
This is what happens when an unmarried sperm donor's "rights" are respected more than the rights of a child or a mother. This is what happens when the testimony of mothers and grandmothers is ignored by judges and others in authority.
Dad STEPHEN S. DIXON apparently took no interest in his 3-year-old son till January 2010. Given all the pressure these days on moms ("Children NEEEED a father, and you are failing them if you don't provide one!"), Mom was "nice" and allowed weekend visitation. Then Daddy decided he didn't feel like returning the child. Guess daddies are under no social obligation to be "nice" in return. Mom contacted the police and they said "there was nothing they could do." Dad then filed a bogus child abuse charge against Mom, that was ultimately unfounded. Dad blocked all phone calls from Mom and Grandma. Other family members reported abuse allegations to CYS regarding DAD, and it seems that all the charges were pretty much ignored (which is typical in my experience). Eventually CYS told the grandmother to stop bothering them with "unfounded allegations." Finally, Mom filed a petition for emergency custody. JUDGE ANDREW DOWLING TURNED HER DOWN. Eleven days later, the little boy was hospitalized. And then he was dead.
When are the child protection people, the judges, and the police going to be held accountable for their role in these crimes?
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/04/stephen_dixon_bound_over_for_t.html
Swatara Township dad bound over for trial in the death of his 3-year-old son
Published: Thursday, April 07, 2011, 3:58 PM
By LARA BRENCKLE, The Patriot-News The Patriot-News
Stephen S. Dixon was bound over on homicide, aggravated assault and child endangerment charges following a preliminary hearing this afternoon in the death of his three-year-old son.
Jayahn Cox-Phoenix died May 25, 2010, at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. After a six-month investigation, Jayahn's death was ruled homicide due to freshwater drowning and traumatic brain injury.
The autopsy report, read into the court record, indicated 13 separate instances of injury, accounting for more than 20 bruises, scrapes and hemorrhages.
Dixon will be formally arraigned at a later date.