How much do you want to bet that the ex-wife/partner of JASON NICHOLS was terrorized for years with similar abuse tactics?
And how much do you want to bet that there is fathers rights movement involvement in this somewhere? These guys are often egging each other on to pull off these stunts.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3618812/Man-frees-Kansas-judge-hourslong-hostage-standoff.html
Bitter father 'took Kansas judge and his wife hostage in their home over child custody case'
Authorities say armed suspect Jason Nichols forced his way into 61-year-old Wendel Wurst's Garden City home and confronted the couple
Garden City Police Chief Michael Utz says Nichols ordered Wurst to the ground and bound the judge's hands
Utz says Wurst's 62-year-old wife Rhonda Wurst was allowed to use the bathroom, where she called police on her cellphone. She was later released
The standoff ended more than five hours later, at which time Wurst was freed
By Associated Press and Zoe Szathmary For Dailymail.com
Published: 18:51 EST, 31 May 2016 | Updated: 03:23 EST, 1 June 2016
Police in western Kansas say a gunman who held Finney County's chief judge and his wife hostage over a child custody matter eventually surrendered and the two were released unharmed.
Authorities say the standoff began shortly before 7am Tuesday, when the armed suspect Jason Nichols forced his way into 61-year-old Wendel Wurst's Garden City home and confronted the couple.
Garden City Police Chief Michael Utz says Nichols ordered Wurst to the ground and bound the judge's hands.
Utz says Wurst's 62-year-old wife Rhonda Wurst was allowed to use the bathroom, where she called police on her cellphone. She was later released.
The standoff ended more than five hours later, at which time Wurst was freed.
Police say the suspect was upset over a custody case Wurst handled.
Garden City police wrote on Facebook Tuesday: 'The hostage situation has been resolved without incident.
'There are still a lot of moving parts in the investigation, please stay away from the area.
'The suspect and hostage are okay.'
Utz was filmed by KWCH saying: 'After several hours of negotiation, the suspect surrendered at 12.34pm this afternoon and was taken into custody without incident.
'Chief Judge Wurst was located and is in good health.'
Nichols may be charged for aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, kidnapping, terrorism, and criminal threat, the TV station reported.
Showing posts with label Kansas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kansas. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Custodial dad, step charged with 1st-degree felony murder in death of 7-year-old boy; what happened to Mom? (Kansas City, Kansas)
STILL the media has not one word of explanation as to how violent father MICHAEL A. JONES gained and retained custody of TWO children "from a previous relationship."
What happened to the mother? With a violent father, the question must be asked.
And what about this civil paternity case?
See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Kansas.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article49652145.html
KCK woman appears in court in child abuse murder case
By Tony Rizzo
A Kansas City, Kan., woman accused in the child-abuse death of her 7-year-old stepson made her first court appearance Monday morning.
Heather Jones and her husband, Michael A. Jones, are charged in Wyandotte County District Court with first-degree felony murder and child abuse in the death of the boy, whom authorities are calling A.J.
Family members have identified him as Adrian Jones. A civil paternity case filed by state officials last year in Wyandotte County lists Adrian Jones as a son of Michael Jones.
Kansas City, Kan., police said he has been missing for several months, and they believe that human remains found at the Jones residence last month are his. They are continuing to work to identify the remains.
Heather Jones, 29, was charged Friday and is being held in the Wyandotte County Jail with bond set at $5 million. She appeared Monday via closed-circuit camera. District Judge Robert Serra read the charges to her and set her next court appearance for Dec. 22.
She was not required to enter a plea.
Michael Jones, 44, was arrested last month after a domestic disturbance and was charged with child abuse, aggravated assault and aggravated battery. Prosecutors added a first-degree felony murder charge against him on Friday. His bond is set at $10 million. His next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
The investigation began the day before Thanksgiving when police were called to the area of the Jones residence in the 5200 block of North 99th Street on an armed disturbance.
After learning that Adrian had been missing for “some time,” they obtained a search warrant and the next day discovered the human remains in a barn on the 99th Street property.
Heather Jones’ father later told The Star that his daughter called him on Thanksgiving and allegedly told him that her husband had killed the boy and fed his body to pigs on the property.
Authorities have not verified the allegation involving pigs, but Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerry Gorman described the case as “one of the worst things” that police investigators say they had ever seen. Gorman said the $10 million bond was the highest he had ever requested in his 34 years as a prosecutor.
The Joneses operated a bail bonding business. Six other children who had been living with them are in protective custody. Four are the biological children of Heather and Michael Jones, her father said. The other two are Michael Jones’ children from a previous relationship.
Michael Jones is the listed agent for the bail bonding business, and the Kansas insurance commissioner has filed an order suspending his license because of the criminal allegations filed in the case, according to Insurance Commission records.
What happened to the mother? With a violent father, the question must be asked.
And what about this civil paternity case?
See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Kansas.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article49652145.html
KCK woman appears in court in child abuse murder case
By Tony Rizzo
A Kansas City, Kan., woman accused in the child-abuse death of her 7-year-old stepson made her first court appearance Monday morning.
Heather Jones and her husband, Michael A. Jones, are charged in Wyandotte County District Court with first-degree felony murder and child abuse in the death of the boy, whom authorities are calling A.J.
Family members have identified him as Adrian Jones. A civil paternity case filed by state officials last year in Wyandotte County lists Adrian Jones as a son of Michael Jones.
Kansas City, Kan., police said he has been missing for several months, and they believe that human remains found at the Jones residence last month are his. They are continuing to work to identify the remains.
Heather Jones, 29, was charged Friday and is being held in the Wyandotte County Jail with bond set at $5 million. She appeared Monday via closed-circuit camera. District Judge Robert Serra read the charges to her and set her next court appearance for Dec. 22.
She was not required to enter a plea.
Michael Jones, 44, was arrested last month after a domestic disturbance and was charged with child abuse, aggravated assault and aggravated battery. Prosecutors added a first-degree felony murder charge against him on Friday. His bond is set at $10 million. His next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
The investigation began the day before Thanksgiving when police were called to the area of the Jones residence in the 5200 block of North 99th Street on an armed disturbance.
After learning that Adrian had been missing for “some time,” they obtained a search warrant and the next day discovered the human remains in a barn on the 99th Street property.
Heather Jones’ father later told The Star that his daughter called him on Thanksgiving and allegedly told him that her husband had killed the boy and fed his body to pigs on the property.
Authorities have not verified the allegation involving pigs, but Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerry Gorman described the case as “one of the worst things” that police investigators say they had ever seen. Gorman said the $10 million bond was the highest he had ever requested in his 34 years as a prosecutor.
The Joneses operated a bail bonding business. Six other children who had been living with them are in protective custody. Four are the biological children of Heather and Michael Jones, her father said. The other two are Michael Jones’ children from a previous relationship.
Michael Jones is the listed agent for the bail bonding business, and the Kansas insurance commissioner has filed an order suspending his license because of the criminal allegations filed in the case, according to Insurance Commission records.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Abusive dad "suspected" in fatal beating of 7-year-old son, feeding boy's body to pigs; was he custodial? (Piper, Kansas)
Notice the interesting little fact buried well into this story. The wife who was allegedly assaulted with a firearm is NOT the mother of the missing little boy, the son of her husband.
Sounds like dad MICHAEL A. JONES was one of these fathers who ran his household through terror and an iron fist for years. Never held accountable. Nothing new there.
But there is a lot here that is not explained. What happened to the mother of the little boy who was presumably beaten to death by father MICHAEL A. JONES and fed to the pigs? If he's been missing for months, there is no sign that mother had sounded the alarm. So I tend to think this was not a joint custody situation. Somehow she is out of the picture, but that the news report leaves that in silence.
Knowing how these guys operate, you can assume he doled out the same violence and abuse to her as he doled out to the current wife. So is she deceased? If so, do we know for a fact that it was from natural causes? Or is she alive, but was somehow stripped of custody and driven out of the picture through threats, perhaps threats backed up by a family court?
At any rate, this scumbag somehow secured access to this boy with no objections from the authorities, which is scary enough. Who allowed this to happen?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3338100/Father-charged-torturing-cruelly-beating-missing-7-year-old-son-cops-human-remains-property.html
Father suspected of 'murdering seven-year-old son and feeding his remains to pigs'
Michael A. Jones of Piper, Kansas has been charged with firing a gun at his wife and child abuse
A police source reportedly fears that his missing son's remains may have been fed to pigs
Jones was charged with shooting at his wife in their Kansas City home Jones and his wife reportedly lived in deplorable conditions with eight children aged one to 11
Police got a tip that they should look for their missing son's remains on the Piper, Kansas property Cops found human remains in a barn, but they have not yet been identified
By Kiri Blakeley For Dailymail.com
Published: 02:05 EST, 29 November 2015 | Updated: 13:51 EST, 29 November 2015
Police fear that a man may have beaten his seven-year-old son to death and fed his remains to pigs.
Michael A. Jones, 44, of Piper, outside of Kansas City, has been arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated battery and child abuse after cops responded to a domestic violence call on Wednesday, according to News2.
Jones had allegedly shot at his 29-year-old wife, Heather. As the investigation progressed, authorities got a tip to check the property for the remains of Jones' seven-year-old son, who had been missing for several months.
The next day, authorities found human remains near a barn on the rural property in Piper, where
Jones lived with his wife and eight children ranging in ages from one to 11. Jones' charges were upgraded to 'torturing or cruelly beating' his missing son. Heather Jones is not the mother of the boy, who may be dead.
The other eight children reportedly lived in deplorable conditions. They were also home schooled, according to Kansas City Star.
'Their house was horrible,' one woman who asked for anonymity told WSFA. 'Their house was just filthy. The kids lived in filth. Trash everywhere. Dried food all over the house.'
Heather Jones bought the pigs in September, around the same time authorities think the child may have been killed.
A police source reportedly told the outlet that authorities feared that the boy's remains may have been fed to the swine, according to KPTV.
Former babysitters said that several people had complained to child services about alleged ill-treatment of the children. It's unclear if anything was done.
'For all those girls to have to witness what their brother went through and to carry the burden that something happened to their brother is horrible,' said one unnamed former babysitter.
Michael Williams, the brother of Jones' wife, told the NBC affiliate KSHB about abuse he says his sister and the children allegedly had to endure over the years at the hands of Jones.
'There are bullet holes in the walls of that house. So I'm sure you can understand what terror may have been going through that household daily.'
Jones, the owner of a bail bonding business, is being held at the Wyandotte County Jail on a bond of $10million.
Sounds like dad MICHAEL A. JONES was one of these fathers who ran his household through terror and an iron fist for years. Never held accountable. Nothing new there.
But there is a lot here that is not explained. What happened to the mother of the little boy who was presumably beaten to death by father MICHAEL A. JONES and fed to the pigs? If he's been missing for months, there is no sign that mother had sounded the alarm. So I tend to think this was not a joint custody situation. Somehow she is out of the picture, but that the news report leaves that in silence.
Knowing how these guys operate, you can assume he doled out the same violence and abuse to her as he doled out to the current wife. So is she deceased? If so, do we know for a fact that it was from natural causes? Or is she alive, but was somehow stripped of custody and driven out of the picture through threats, perhaps threats backed up by a family court?
At any rate, this scumbag somehow secured access to this boy with no objections from the authorities, which is scary enough. Who allowed this to happen?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3338100/Father-charged-torturing-cruelly-beating-missing-7-year-old-son-cops-human-remains-property.html
Father suspected of 'murdering seven-year-old son and feeding his remains to pigs'
Michael A. Jones of Piper, Kansas has been charged with firing a gun at his wife and child abuse
A police source reportedly fears that his missing son's remains may have been fed to pigs
Jones was charged with shooting at his wife in their Kansas City home Jones and his wife reportedly lived in deplorable conditions with eight children aged one to 11
Police got a tip that they should look for their missing son's remains on the Piper, Kansas property Cops found human remains in a barn, but they have not yet been identified
By Kiri Blakeley For Dailymail.com
Published: 02:05 EST, 29 November 2015 | Updated: 13:51 EST, 29 November 2015
Police fear that a man may have beaten his seven-year-old son to death and fed his remains to pigs.
Michael A. Jones, 44, of Piper, outside of Kansas City, has been arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated battery and child abuse after cops responded to a domestic violence call on Wednesday, according to News2.
Jones had allegedly shot at his 29-year-old wife, Heather. As the investigation progressed, authorities got a tip to check the property for the remains of Jones' seven-year-old son, who had been missing for several months.
The next day, authorities found human remains near a barn on the rural property in Piper, where
Jones lived with his wife and eight children ranging in ages from one to 11. Jones' charges were upgraded to 'torturing or cruelly beating' his missing son. Heather Jones is not the mother of the boy, who may be dead.
The other eight children reportedly lived in deplorable conditions. They were also home schooled, according to Kansas City Star.
'Their house was horrible,' one woman who asked for anonymity told WSFA. 'Their house was just filthy. The kids lived in filth. Trash everywhere. Dried food all over the house.'
Heather Jones bought the pigs in September, around the same time authorities think the child may have been killed.
A police source reportedly told the outlet that authorities feared that the boy's remains may have been fed to the swine, according to KPTV.
Former babysitters said that several people had complained to child services about alleged ill-treatment of the children. It's unclear if anything was done.
'For all those girls to have to witness what their brother went through and to carry the burden that something happened to their brother is horrible,' said one unnamed former babysitter.
Michael Williams, the brother of Jones' wife, told the NBC affiliate KSHB about abuse he says his sister and the children allegedly had to endure over the years at the hands of Jones.
'There are bullet holes in the walls of that house. So I'm sure you can understand what terror may have been going through that household daily.'
Jones, the owner of a bail bonding business, is being held at the Wyandotte County Jail on a bond of $10million.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Dad arrested in death of 1-year-old daughter; was "watching her" while Mom worked (Wichita, Kansas)
Sounds like yet another case where a deadbeat daddy was assigned to be the caretaker while Mom worked to support his lazy @$$ and keep food on the table. But the @$$ couldn't even manage to keep the baby alive.
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.hutchnews.com/ap/state/father-arrested-in-the-death-of-a--year-old/article_abcf4313-4ee1-5f24-8c89-139e25110fd3.html
Father arrested in the death of a 1-year-old Wichita girl
The Associated Press Sep 10, 2015
WICHITA - Wichita police have arrested a father in the death of his 1-year-old daughter.
Wichita police Lt. Todd Ojile says the man called police at about 7:20 p.m. Wednesday night to say the girl was unresponsive. KWCH-TV reported that emergency crews were unable to revive the girl, who had numerous bruises and scratches to her face. She was pronounced dead at 8 p.m. Ojile says the man had been watching his daughter while the girl's mother was at work.
Ojile said the child's mother said her daughter did not have any bruising when she left for work that morning.
The father is jailed on suspicion of felony murder and child abuse.
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.hutchnews.com/ap/state/father-arrested-in-the-death-of-a--year-old/article_abcf4313-4ee1-5f24-8c89-139e25110fd3.html
Father arrested in the death of a 1-year-old Wichita girl
The Associated Press Sep 10, 2015
WICHITA - Wichita police have arrested a father in the death of his 1-year-old daughter.
Wichita police Lt. Todd Ojile says the man called police at about 7:20 p.m. Wednesday night to say the girl was unresponsive. KWCH-TV reported that emergency crews were unable to revive the girl, who had numerous bruises and scratches to her face. She was pronounced dead at 8 p.m. Ojile says the man had been watching his daughter while the girl's mother was at work.
Ojile said the child's mother said her daughter did not have any bruising when she left for work that morning.
The father is jailed on suspicion of felony murder and child abuse.
Monday, August 3, 2015
"Child Protection" once again gets free pass for allowing abusive custodial dad to kill child (Topeka, Kansas)
We've posted on custodial dad LEE DAVIS before. Once again we have a father with an extensive history of domestic violence--who got custody anyway.
http://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article29821564.html
Order to release report on boy’s death on hold
TOPEKA — A Kansas agency doesn’t yet have to release results of its internal investigation into the death of a 4-year-old northeast Kansas boy.
A federal judge’s order for the Department for Children and Families to release an investigative report and other documents regarding the 2013 death is on hold. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Gale stayed his earlier order following objections by the agency.
Naomi Boone had sued the department after the death of her son, Mekhi Boone. The child died in 2013 at the hands of his father, Lee Davis, who’s serving nearly 20 years for second-degree murder. Boone contends the child shouldn’t have been placed with his father.
The agency says the order to require the documents’ release wasn’t supported by case law.
http://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article29821564.html
Order to release report on boy’s death on hold
TOPEKA — A Kansas agency doesn’t yet have to release results of its internal investigation into the death of a 4-year-old northeast Kansas boy.
A federal judge’s order for the Department for Children and Families to release an investigative report and other documents regarding the 2013 death is on hold. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Gale stayed his earlier order following objections by the agency.
Naomi Boone had sued the department after the death of her son, Mekhi Boone. The child died in 2013 at the hands of his father, Lee Davis, who’s serving nearly 20 years for second-degree murder. Boone contends the child shouldn’t have been placed with his father.
The agency says the order to require the documents’ release wasn’t supported by case law.
Monday, July 13, 2015
Dad's battery conviction against 2-month-old daughter upheld by state supreme court; child left with serious disabilities (Cherokee County, Kansas)
Yet another deadbeat dad drafted into infant caretaking because he's too special to work for a living.
This one is identified as WILLIAM BARBER JR.
http://cjonline.com/news/2015-07-10/conviction-upheld-kansas-supreme-court-cherokee-county-shaken-baby-case
Conviction upheld by Kansas Supreme Court in Cherokee County shaken baby case
Testimony of man's previous rough handling of infant upheld by Kansas Supreme Court
Posted: July 10, 2015 - 12:02pm By Rick Dean
The conviction of a Baxter Springs man for aggravated battery and child abuse in a shaken baby case has been upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court.
In a unanimous decision announced Friday, the court rejected the arguments of William Barber Jr., who said the Cherokee District Court erred in admitting testimony of witnesses who said they had seen Barber previously shake his daughter before 2-month-old Autumn Barber was hospitalized with life-threatening seizures and respiratory distress in February 2008.
The child survived the brain injuries, but was left disabled and unable to stand. She remained in child protective services years after the incident.
Attending physicians at both a local hospital and at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City testified the child showed classic symptoms of shaken baby syndrome.
Barber admitted to investigating officers that he had been frustrated on Feb. 7, 2008, when he quit his job after being asked to shovel manure. He said Autumn, who was left alone in her father's care upon his return home, woke up screaming, then went stiff and stopped breathing. He denied handling the child.
But other witnesses at trial reported seeing Barber become agitated with the crying infant in previous incidents in which they said he handled the child in a rough manner.
Barber was found guilty of aggravated battery with excessive brutality and was sentenced to 128 months of imprisonment. He also was sentenced to an additional 34 months for child abuse, with his sentences to be served consecutively.
This one is identified as WILLIAM BARBER JR.
http://cjonline.com/news/2015-07-10/conviction-upheld-kansas-supreme-court-cherokee-county-shaken-baby-case
Conviction upheld by Kansas Supreme Court in Cherokee County shaken baby case
Testimony of man's previous rough handling of infant upheld by Kansas Supreme Court
Posted: July 10, 2015 - 12:02pm By Rick Dean
The conviction of a Baxter Springs man for aggravated battery and child abuse in a shaken baby case has been upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court.
In a unanimous decision announced Friday, the court rejected the arguments of William Barber Jr., who said the Cherokee District Court erred in admitting testimony of witnesses who said they had seen Barber previously shake his daughter before 2-month-old Autumn Barber was hospitalized with life-threatening seizures and respiratory distress in February 2008.
The child survived the brain injuries, but was left disabled and unable to stand. She remained in child protective services years after the incident.
Attending physicians at both a local hospital and at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City testified the child showed classic symptoms of shaken baby syndrome.
Barber admitted to investigating officers that he had been frustrated on Feb. 7, 2008, when he quit his job after being asked to shovel manure. He said Autumn, who was left alone in her father's care upon his return home, woke up screaming, then went stiff and stopped breathing. He denied handling the child.
But other witnesses at trial reported seeing Barber become agitated with the crying infant in previous incidents in which they said he handled the child in a rough manner.
Barber was found guilty of aggravated battery with excessive brutality and was sentenced to 128 months of imprisonment. He also was sentenced to an additional 34 months for child abuse, with his sentences to be served consecutively.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Dad accused of severely injuring 2-month-old son (Olathe, Kansas)
Dad is identified as RYAN CHARPENTIER.
http://fox4kc.com/2015/03/17/olathe-dad-accused-of-severely-injuring-two-month-old-son/
Olathe dad accused of severely injuring two-month-old son
Posted 11:38 pm, March 17, 2015, by FOX 4 Newsroom
JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. — An Olathe man is charged with severely injuring his two-month-old son.
His lawyer says 27-year-old Ryan Charpentier turned himself in to police on Tuesday morning. Johnson County prosecutors have charged Charpentier with child abuse.
Investigators say on February 8, officers went to the suspect’s home and discovered his infant son had trouble breathing. Doctors examined the baby at the hospital and determined that he suffered severe head trauma, an injury police suspect Charpentier caused.
Charpentier is also charged with aggravated battery for allegedly causing bodily harm to a second person. Police say the baby is now out of the hospital and back with his mother.
Court records show Charpentier posted bond on Tuesday, he’s due back in court on March 26.
http://fox4kc.com/2015/03/17/olathe-dad-accused-of-severely-injuring-two-month-old-son/
Olathe dad accused of severely injuring two-month-old son
Posted 11:38 pm, March 17, 2015, by FOX 4 Newsroom
JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. — An Olathe man is charged with severely injuring his two-month-old son.
His lawyer says 27-year-old Ryan Charpentier turned himself in to police on Tuesday morning. Johnson County prosecutors have charged Charpentier with child abuse.
Investigators say on February 8, officers went to the suspect’s home and discovered his infant son had trouble breathing. Doctors examined the baby at the hospital and determined that he suffered severe head trauma, an injury police suspect Charpentier caused.
Charpentier is also charged with aggravated battery for allegedly causing bodily harm to a second person. Police say the baby is now out of the hospital and back with his mother.
Court records show Charpentier posted bond on Tuesday, he’s due back in court on March 26.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Child protection taken to task: Why did they give father with history of domestic violence custody of little boy who was beaten to death? (Hiawatha, Kansas)
I can't even begin to summarize this case. It is too disgusting. Once again, we see how governmental authority works with abusive fathers to help them gain and retain custody. And once again, a murdered child is the result.
Dad is identified as LEE DAVIS.
http://m.cjonline.com/news/2015-02-17/court-documents-show-dcf-contractor-missed-signs-abuse-beating-death-boy#gsc.tab=0
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015
Documents: Hospital personnel describe abuse to 4-year-old Mekhi Boone as 'the worst ever seen'
By Jonathan Shorman
Mekhi Patrick Dean Boone, 4, of Hiawatha, died March 5, 2013 after suffering from child abuse.
Mekhi Patrick Dean Boone suffered the “worst case of child abuse they have seen.”
The 4-year-old Hiawatha boy lay on a Children’s Mercy Hospital bed in Kansas City, Mo., hooked up to a ventilator. A visiting social worker scrawled an observation on a case activity log, noting the child was brain dead.
“There is not a 2 inch part of his body that doesn’t have bruises. He was beat to death,” the log reads.
The entry was dated March 4, 2013. Mekhi was pronounced dead the next day — apparently without family by his side.
While the boy’s father and his father’s girlfriend were prosecuted for murder, the boy’s mother alleges the “outrageous conduct” of the state of Kansas and one of its contractors caused the death.
More than a hundred pages of court documents allege Kansas-based TFI Family Services, which at the time was one of the companies tasked with running the state’s foster care system, placed Mekhi with his father, Lee Davis, despite knowing he had a history of domestic violence and without telling the Department of Children and Families — the agency ultimately responsible for Mekhi’s well-being.
The court filings — part of a federal lawsuit against TFI and DCF brought by Mekhi’s mother — purport to document mistakes and missed clues prior to the boy’s death. Dozens of pages of emails and official reports paint a picture of an agency and a company where required visits weren’t made and action wasn’t taken, even after evidence of abuse began to mount.
Changes in custody
Mekhi was born Sept. 4, 2008, in Horton. Although he lived only four years, he was described as a smiling boy with energy.
“I had the opportunity to meet little Mekhi last year while he was in preschool. There was something special about this little guy that intrigued me; to sum it up, he touched my heart,” one person wrote on the funeral home’s condolence page.
Months before Mekhi’s death, an educator at the preschool reported he showed signs of abuse, but the boy’s situation didn’t change.
Mekhi had spent the first part of his life with his mother, Naomi Boone. According to a July 10, 2012, case activity log written by Michelle Petry, a DCF worker named in the lawsuit, the agency had concerns with Mekhi staying with his mother and ultimately sought to remove him.
The report recounts a conversation between Petry and TFI at the Brown County Courthouse ahead of a temporary custody hearing.
According to Petry’s report, Mekhi had been found on two occasions at a grocery store in Horton without supervision. The lawsuit also says Mekhi had attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Davis, his father, would later cite the boy’s behavior issues in attempting to explain injuries.
“We discussed that (redacted)’s father has not had much to do with him since birth according to Naomi and that Naomi reported she has concerns that he is an alcoholic and also reported that (redacted) had returned home from a visit with his father a year or so ago with a bruise on his face and she was concerned that dad had caused the bruise,” Petry wrote.
The report concludes by noting that Boone had said she told Horton police about the bruise incident and that law enforcement had investigated. Petry then writes “that is why we are not looking at dad for placement option at this time.”
Petry’s warning to TFI would go unheeded, according to the lawsuit.
At the hearing, the court placed Mekhi into the state’s custody. TFI then placed the boy with his paternal grandmother, Carol Negretti, who was also a licensed foster parent.
More than a year earlier in March 2011, the Kansas Department for Health and Human Services had designated Mekhi’s father as having a “prohibited offense.” The label meant that Davis was prohibited from working at a licensed foster home or living in a foster home under Kansas law.
Davis, who was 27 at the time of Mekhi’s death, had been twice convicted of misdemeanor battery. In one September 2009 incident recorded in a police report, a woman told Horton police that Davis had grabbed her by the throat and had pushed her against a wall. Davis told police the woman had slapped him and that he had hit her back.
In an April 2013 email sent in response to questions raised by DCF following Mekhi’s death, Gaven Ludlow, TFI’s director of Resource Family Services, said TFI was informed in March 2011 that Lee had a prohibited offense.
Mekhi lived with Negretti for about four months. But despite Davis having a prohibited offense, on Nov. 3, 2012, TFI took Mekhi from Negretti, his paternal grandmother, and placed him with his father.
According to the lawsuit, Davis had never before had custody of Mekhi. The lawsuit alleges TFI didn’t notify DCF in advance that it had decided to move Mekhi. In a March 20, 2013, email, Melinda Handley, a DCF social work supervisor, wrote that DCF staff didn’t know Mekhi was being placed with Lee before TFI moved him.
Less than a week after Mekhi was taken from his mother and placed with Negretti, Davis began to visit Mekhi at Negretti’s home. A document written by TFI in response to DCF questions following Mekhi’s death outlines how Davis began having more and more contact with Mekhi.
Davis had three supervised visits with Mekhi during July that took place at Negretti’s home. Davis then began unsupervised visits in August, with day visits taking place on Saturdays. He started to pick up Mekhi from preschool and take him to daycare. Once-a-week visits started in September, and Davis looked after the child on some evenings as well.
TFI described what case managers observed on their home visits with Davis beginning in July 2012 through January 2013. Generally, the case managers noted a clean home.
But the regularity of visits didn’t meet standards, the lawsuit alleges. When Mekhi was transferred from Negretti’s custody to Davis’ custody, the transfer wasn’t facilitated by either DCF or TFI. Instead, according to the TFI document, Davis picked up Mekhi from Negretti’s home on the date he was placed with his father.
In addition, TFI said the first visit to see Mekhi following reintegration came on Nov. 28, more than two weeks after the transfer of custody. State regulations, however, require the supervising worker to visit the child biweekly during the first three months of placement and then monthly afterward.
On a Dec. 27 visit, a worker noticed Mekhi had two black eyes and a big bump on his head. Davis had contacted TFI before the visit, saying the child had fallen into the arm of a futon while playing at his grandmother’s home and that he had taken Mekhi to the doctor.
TFI said in the document that Negretti confirmed to them through informal conversation that Mekhi fell on the futon, but the conversation was never formally documented. During a Jan. 18 visit, the worker noted Mekhi’s bruises had disappeared, with no other bruising noted on his body.
But while the TFI employees saw an apparently benign injury, Mekhi’s preschool teacher had noticed signs of physical abuse — not accidental injury — a month earlier.
In a note dated Nov. 26, 2012, an educator at Brown County Special Education Interlocal 615 wrote that several bruises and red marks could be seen on Mekhi’s stomach. The educator asked Mekhi what had happened, but he didn’t say anything.
When the school nurse examined him, Mekhi said he had fallen at home in the grass in the backyard. When asked how he fell, he said he was on the roof and jumped off.
Later that day, though, Mekhi opened up — saying that he hated living with his father and that Davis had slapped him.
“He then showed them his stomach. When asked why he said it’s when he gets in trouble and has to stand by the wall and then he said he gets slapped all over,” the teacher wrote.
Documents from the school also note about two weeks prior to Mekhi’s comments, he had bruises on both of his temples.
Mekhi’s bruises and his comments were reported to the Kansas Intake/Investigation Protection System — a DCF hotline, documents show. According to the lawsuit, DCF employee Debra Adcock conducted an investigation into the hotline call.
The lawsuit alleges Adcock’s investigation didn’t find the same risks associated with Davis that Petry noted in July 2012. DCF concluded that there was a “low risk” of abuse or neglect and that the risk was “controlled.”
“The second risk assessment contained no explanation for the conclusion that the risk to M.B.’s safety was deemed ‘low’ for abuse after M.B. had been placed with Mr. Davis, who DCF had previously determined was not a placement option for M.B. because of Mr. Davis’ background of domestic violence against M.B. and others,” the lawsuit reads.
According to the lawsuit, Adcock’s investigation lasted from Nov. 26, 2012, to Jan. 10, 2013. During that time, Adcock visited Mekhi once face-to-face. The lawsuit alleged Adcock didn’t interview the individual who made the hotline call, nor did she interview anyone who was at Mekhi’s school that day.
The lawsuit says Adcock determined the allegations were unsubstantiated and closed the investigation.
Further, the lawsuit says Adcock told TFI about the hotline call on Nov. 26. TFI indicated it would pay special attention to Mekhi, but that it had no concern about Mekhi being in the Davis home.
The lawsuit also alleges DCF didn’t meet with Mekhi while he was living with Davis, despite an obligation to make contact with the family at least once every 30 calendar days to evaluate risk and safety factors, according to DCF regulations.
No one, either from TFI or DCF, visited Mekhi after Jan. 13, 2013, the lawsuit says.
The worst ever seen
After a little less than two months without any contact from the state or TFI, Mekhi’s situation changed suddenly.
Davis brought Mekhi to the Hiawatha hospital on March 3, 2013. Mekhi was unresponsive. Davis said the child had fallen down 30 stairs.
According to the lawsuit, Davis spoke of behavior problems with the boy. Hospital staff who removed Mekhi’s clothing saw bruising and abrasions all over his body in various stages of healing.
Mekhi had multiple injuries, including internal bleeding and bleeding on the brain. He was taken by helicopter to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.
At Children’s Mercy, doctors diagnosed Mekhi with severe traumatic brain injury secondary to child abuse, a skull fracture, mid-line shift of the brain and multiple bruises. The diagnosis didn’t match the explanation Davis had provided.
“Children’s Mercy personnel including a medical doctor who had observed approximately 15,000 victims of child abuse, described (Mekhi’s) injuries as the worst ever seen for a child that age, and that there was not two inches of (Mekhi’s) body that did not have bruising on it,” the lawsuit reads.
On March 4, Petry — the DCF worker who had told TFI in July 2012 that Davis wasn’t a placement option — visited Mekhi in the hospital. She wrote in her case activity log that Mekhi had been “beat to death.” She noted Mekhi showed signs of sexual abuse as well.
“After midnight test brain activity and they will pronounce him dead if nothing has changed,” Petry wrote.
The test came and went. At 2:35 p.m. on March 5, Mekhi was pronounced dead.
Davis and his girlfriend, Janice Summerford, were charged with murder. Davis was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison in July 2013. In August 2014, Summerford entered an Alford Plea — acknowledging enough evidence exists to convict her but not admitting guilt, the Sabetha Herald reported at the time.
Though a DCF employee was present at the time of Mekhi's death, and multiple DCF employees visited Mekhi in the hospital, the lawsuit alleges no one from TFI visited Mekhi in the hospital.
Further, the lawsuit alleges Mekhi died without his family. “Naomi Boone was not allowed to visit her son, (Mekhi), before his death while he was hospitalized at Children’s Mercy Hospital. (Mekhi’s) family were not allowed to see or visit (Mekhi) while he was being treated at Children’s Mercy,” the lawsuit reads.
“(Mekhi) died without his mother or family present.”
Ongoing litigation
Naomi Boone filed her lawsuit against TFI and DCF on Oct. 27, 2014. The lawsuit, which totals more than 100 pages with attached emails and reports, appears to have drawn little outside attention since.
The lawsuit was listed, however, in a budget document given to lawmakers Monday. The document indicates DCF was served with the lawsuit in December and filed an answer in January. However, federal court records show DCF was served on Oct. 31 and that TFI was served on Nov. 6.
Boone’s attorney, Michaela Shelton, of Overland Park, said she would potentially be willing to speak to The Topeka Capital-Journal, but as of Tuesday afternoon hadn’t agreed to an interview.
Approached for comment, DCF spokeswoman Theresa Freed sent a short statement that indicated one employee was fired.
“The loss of any child is a tragedy. We are deeply saddened that this little boy suffered an unthinkable death. It is always our top priority to ensure the safety of children. DCF has carefully reviewed this case and taken appropriate action, including the termination of an employee,” Freed said.
Questions directed at TFI spokeswoman Sara Hadaway were forwarded to the Kansas City, Mo., law firm Franke, Schultz & Mullen.
“Our firm is counsel of record for TFI. We would request that any further inquiries be directed to our office. It is TFI’s policy not to comment on pending litigation. Thank you for reaching out for comment before going to print,” attorney Derek Johannsen said in an email.
TFI has drawn scrutiny for past incidents. In the 2011 death of a Topeka baby, the child's grandmother said she had filed a report with TFI prior to the death raising concerns about injuries.
This past summer, TFI also attracted attention after a 10-month-old girl who had been placed into a foster home by TFI died in a hot car in Wichita. DCF temporarily suspended further foster placements by TFI but later lifted the restriction after a review of its foster homes found no serious safety concerns.
Although TFI lost its state contract in 2013, it still works as a subcontractor.
DCF and TFI both answered the lawsuit in Dec. 9 court filings, a month prior to what DCF indicated to lawmakers. In its answer, DCF seeks to distance itself from the incident and says it had no connection to Mekhi’s death.
“These answering Defendants would affirmatively assert there is no causal connection between these answering Defendants’ conduct and the death of (Mekhi), the constitutional deprivations claims by Plaintiffs, and the other injuries and damages claimed by Plaintiffs,” DCF’s legal answer reads.
Boone’s lawsuit argues her son’s due process rights were violated, a claim that also drew a response from DCF.
“These answering Defendants affirmatively assert that the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution does not require these answering Defendants to protect its citizens from private violence,” the answer reads.
TFI in its answer denies the plaintiff sustained any damage. The company suggests that if any fault is found, it should be shared with DCF as well.
According to an online court docket, the next step in the lawsuit is a scheduling conference set for Monday.
Dad is identified as LEE DAVIS.
http://m.cjonline.com/news/2015-02-17/court-documents-show-dcf-contractor-missed-signs-abuse-beating-death-boy#gsc.tab=0
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015
Documents: Hospital personnel describe abuse to 4-year-old Mekhi Boone as 'the worst ever seen'
By Jonathan Shorman
Mekhi Patrick Dean Boone, 4, of Hiawatha, died March 5, 2013 after suffering from child abuse.
Mekhi Patrick Dean Boone suffered the “worst case of child abuse they have seen.”
The 4-year-old Hiawatha boy lay on a Children’s Mercy Hospital bed in Kansas City, Mo., hooked up to a ventilator. A visiting social worker scrawled an observation on a case activity log, noting the child was brain dead.
“There is not a 2 inch part of his body that doesn’t have bruises. He was beat to death,” the log reads.
The entry was dated March 4, 2013. Mekhi was pronounced dead the next day — apparently without family by his side.
While the boy’s father and his father’s girlfriend were prosecuted for murder, the boy’s mother alleges the “outrageous conduct” of the state of Kansas and one of its contractors caused the death.
More than a hundred pages of court documents allege Kansas-based TFI Family Services, which at the time was one of the companies tasked with running the state’s foster care system, placed Mekhi with his father, Lee Davis, despite knowing he had a history of domestic violence and without telling the Department of Children and Families — the agency ultimately responsible for Mekhi’s well-being.
The court filings — part of a federal lawsuit against TFI and DCF brought by Mekhi’s mother — purport to document mistakes and missed clues prior to the boy’s death. Dozens of pages of emails and official reports paint a picture of an agency and a company where required visits weren’t made and action wasn’t taken, even after evidence of abuse began to mount.
Changes in custody
Mekhi was born Sept. 4, 2008, in Horton. Although he lived only four years, he was described as a smiling boy with energy.
“I had the opportunity to meet little Mekhi last year while he was in preschool. There was something special about this little guy that intrigued me; to sum it up, he touched my heart,” one person wrote on the funeral home’s condolence page.
Months before Mekhi’s death, an educator at the preschool reported he showed signs of abuse, but the boy’s situation didn’t change.
Mekhi had spent the first part of his life with his mother, Naomi Boone. According to a July 10, 2012, case activity log written by Michelle Petry, a DCF worker named in the lawsuit, the agency had concerns with Mekhi staying with his mother and ultimately sought to remove him.
The report recounts a conversation between Petry and TFI at the Brown County Courthouse ahead of a temporary custody hearing.
According to Petry’s report, Mekhi had been found on two occasions at a grocery store in Horton without supervision. The lawsuit also says Mekhi had attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Davis, his father, would later cite the boy’s behavior issues in attempting to explain injuries.
“We discussed that (redacted)’s father has not had much to do with him since birth according to Naomi and that Naomi reported she has concerns that he is an alcoholic and also reported that (redacted) had returned home from a visit with his father a year or so ago with a bruise on his face and she was concerned that dad had caused the bruise,” Petry wrote.
The report concludes by noting that Boone had said she told Horton police about the bruise incident and that law enforcement had investigated. Petry then writes “that is why we are not looking at dad for placement option at this time.”
Petry’s warning to TFI would go unheeded, according to the lawsuit.
At the hearing, the court placed Mekhi into the state’s custody. TFI then placed the boy with his paternal grandmother, Carol Negretti, who was also a licensed foster parent.
More than a year earlier in March 2011, the Kansas Department for Health and Human Services had designated Mekhi’s father as having a “prohibited offense.” The label meant that Davis was prohibited from working at a licensed foster home or living in a foster home under Kansas law.
Davis, who was 27 at the time of Mekhi’s death, had been twice convicted of misdemeanor battery. In one September 2009 incident recorded in a police report, a woman told Horton police that Davis had grabbed her by the throat and had pushed her against a wall. Davis told police the woman had slapped him and that he had hit her back.
In an April 2013 email sent in response to questions raised by DCF following Mekhi’s death, Gaven Ludlow, TFI’s director of Resource Family Services, said TFI was informed in March 2011 that Lee had a prohibited offense.
Mekhi lived with Negretti for about four months. But despite Davis having a prohibited offense, on Nov. 3, 2012, TFI took Mekhi from Negretti, his paternal grandmother, and placed him with his father.
According to the lawsuit, Davis had never before had custody of Mekhi. The lawsuit alleges TFI didn’t notify DCF in advance that it had decided to move Mekhi. In a March 20, 2013, email, Melinda Handley, a DCF social work supervisor, wrote that DCF staff didn’t know Mekhi was being placed with Lee before TFI moved him.
Less than a week after Mekhi was taken from his mother and placed with Negretti, Davis began to visit Mekhi at Negretti’s home. A document written by TFI in response to DCF questions following Mekhi’s death outlines how Davis began having more and more contact with Mekhi.
Davis had three supervised visits with Mekhi during July that took place at Negretti’s home. Davis then began unsupervised visits in August, with day visits taking place on Saturdays. He started to pick up Mekhi from preschool and take him to daycare. Once-a-week visits started in September, and Davis looked after the child on some evenings as well.
TFI described what case managers observed on their home visits with Davis beginning in July 2012 through January 2013. Generally, the case managers noted a clean home.
But the regularity of visits didn’t meet standards, the lawsuit alleges. When Mekhi was transferred from Negretti’s custody to Davis’ custody, the transfer wasn’t facilitated by either DCF or TFI. Instead, according to the TFI document, Davis picked up Mekhi from Negretti’s home on the date he was placed with his father.
In addition, TFI said the first visit to see Mekhi following reintegration came on Nov. 28, more than two weeks after the transfer of custody. State regulations, however, require the supervising worker to visit the child biweekly during the first three months of placement and then monthly afterward.
On a Dec. 27 visit, a worker noticed Mekhi had two black eyes and a big bump on his head. Davis had contacted TFI before the visit, saying the child had fallen into the arm of a futon while playing at his grandmother’s home and that he had taken Mekhi to the doctor.
TFI said in the document that Negretti confirmed to them through informal conversation that Mekhi fell on the futon, but the conversation was never formally documented. During a Jan. 18 visit, the worker noted Mekhi’s bruises had disappeared, with no other bruising noted on his body.
But while the TFI employees saw an apparently benign injury, Mekhi’s preschool teacher had noticed signs of physical abuse — not accidental injury — a month earlier.
In a note dated Nov. 26, 2012, an educator at Brown County Special Education Interlocal 615 wrote that several bruises and red marks could be seen on Mekhi’s stomach. The educator asked Mekhi what had happened, but he didn’t say anything.
When the school nurse examined him, Mekhi said he had fallen at home in the grass in the backyard. When asked how he fell, he said he was on the roof and jumped off.
Later that day, though, Mekhi opened up — saying that he hated living with his father and that Davis had slapped him.
“He then showed them his stomach. When asked why he said it’s when he gets in trouble and has to stand by the wall and then he said he gets slapped all over,” the teacher wrote.
Documents from the school also note about two weeks prior to Mekhi’s comments, he had bruises on both of his temples.
Mekhi’s bruises and his comments were reported to the Kansas Intake/Investigation Protection System — a DCF hotline, documents show. According to the lawsuit, DCF employee Debra Adcock conducted an investigation into the hotline call.
The lawsuit alleges Adcock’s investigation didn’t find the same risks associated with Davis that Petry noted in July 2012. DCF concluded that there was a “low risk” of abuse or neglect and that the risk was “controlled.”
“The second risk assessment contained no explanation for the conclusion that the risk to M.B.’s safety was deemed ‘low’ for abuse after M.B. had been placed with Mr. Davis, who DCF had previously determined was not a placement option for M.B. because of Mr. Davis’ background of domestic violence against M.B. and others,” the lawsuit reads.
According to the lawsuit, Adcock’s investigation lasted from Nov. 26, 2012, to Jan. 10, 2013. During that time, Adcock visited Mekhi once face-to-face. The lawsuit alleged Adcock didn’t interview the individual who made the hotline call, nor did she interview anyone who was at Mekhi’s school that day.
The lawsuit says Adcock determined the allegations were unsubstantiated and closed the investigation.
Further, the lawsuit says Adcock told TFI about the hotline call on Nov. 26. TFI indicated it would pay special attention to Mekhi, but that it had no concern about Mekhi being in the Davis home.
The lawsuit also alleges DCF didn’t meet with Mekhi while he was living with Davis, despite an obligation to make contact with the family at least once every 30 calendar days to evaluate risk and safety factors, according to DCF regulations.
No one, either from TFI or DCF, visited Mekhi after Jan. 13, 2013, the lawsuit says.
The worst ever seen
After a little less than two months without any contact from the state or TFI, Mekhi’s situation changed suddenly.
Davis brought Mekhi to the Hiawatha hospital on March 3, 2013. Mekhi was unresponsive. Davis said the child had fallen down 30 stairs.
According to the lawsuit, Davis spoke of behavior problems with the boy. Hospital staff who removed Mekhi’s clothing saw bruising and abrasions all over his body in various stages of healing.
Mekhi had multiple injuries, including internal bleeding and bleeding on the brain. He was taken by helicopter to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.
At Children’s Mercy, doctors diagnosed Mekhi with severe traumatic brain injury secondary to child abuse, a skull fracture, mid-line shift of the brain and multiple bruises. The diagnosis didn’t match the explanation Davis had provided.
“Children’s Mercy personnel including a medical doctor who had observed approximately 15,000 victims of child abuse, described (Mekhi’s) injuries as the worst ever seen for a child that age, and that there was not two inches of (Mekhi’s) body that did not have bruising on it,” the lawsuit reads.
On March 4, Petry — the DCF worker who had told TFI in July 2012 that Davis wasn’t a placement option — visited Mekhi in the hospital. She wrote in her case activity log that Mekhi had been “beat to death.” She noted Mekhi showed signs of sexual abuse as well.
“After midnight test brain activity and they will pronounce him dead if nothing has changed,” Petry wrote.
The test came and went. At 2:35 p.m. on March 5, Mekhi was pronounced dead.
Davis and his girlfriend, Janice Summerford, were charged with murder. Davis was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison in July 2013. In August 2014, Summerford entered an Alford Plea — acknowledging enough evidence exists to convict her but not admitting guilt, the Sabetha Herald reported at the time.
Though a DCF employee was present at the time of Mekhi's death, and multiple DCF employees visited Mekhi in the hospital, the lawsuit alleges no one from TFI visited Mekhi in the hospital.
Further, the lawsuit alleges Mekhi died without his family. “Naomi Boone was not allowed to visit her son, (Mekhi), before his death while he was hospitalized at Children’s Mercy Hospital. (Mekhi’s) family were not allowed to see or visit (Mekhi) while he was being treated at Children’s Mercy,” the lawsuit reads.
“(Mekhi) died without his mother or family present.”
Ongoing litigation
Naomi Boone filed her lawsuit against TFI and DCF on Oct. 27, 2014. The lawsuit, which totals more than 100 pages with attached emails and reports, appears to have drawn little outside attention since.
The lawsuit was listed, however, in a budget document given to lawmakers Monday. The document indicates DCF was served with the lawsuit in December and filed an answer in January. However, federal court records show DCF was served on Oct. 31 and that TFI was served on Nov. 6.
Boone’s attorney, Michaela Shelton, of Overland Park, said she would potentially be willing to speak to The Topeka Capital-Journal, but as of Tuesday afternoon hadn’t agreed to an interview.
Approached for comment, DCF spokeswoman Theresa Freed sent a short statement that indicated one employee was fired.
“The loss of any child is a tragedy. We are deeply saddened that this little boy suffered an unthinkable death. It is always our top priority to ensure the safety of children. DCF has carefully reviewed this case and taken appropriate action, including the termination of an employee,” Freed said.
Questions directed at TFI spokeswoman Sara Hadaway were forwarded to the Kansas City, Mo., law firm Franke, Schultz & Mullen.
“Our firm is counsel of record for TFI. We would request that any further inquiries be directed to our office. It is TFI’s policy not to comment on pending litigation. Thank you for reaching out for comment before going to print,” attorney Derek Johannsen said in an email.
TFI has drawn scrutiny for past incidents. In the 2011 death of a Topeka baby, the child's grandmother said she had filed a report with TFI prior to the death raising concerns about injuries.
This past summer, TFI also attracted attention after a 10-month-old girl who had been placed into a foster home by TFI died in a hot car in Wichita. DCF temporarily suspended further foster placements by TFI but later lifted the restriction after a review of its foster homes found no serious safety concerns.
Although TFI lost its state contract in 2013, it still works as a subcontractor.
DCF and TFI both answered the lawsuit in Dec. 9 court filings, a month prior to what DCF indicated to lawmakers. In its answer, DCF seeks to distance itself from the incident and says it had no connection to Mekhi’s death.
“These answering Defendants would affirmatively assert there is no causal connection between these answering Defendants’ conduct and the death of (Mekhi), the constitutional deprivations claims by Plaintiffs, and the other injuries and damages claimed by Plaintiffs,” DCF’s legal answer reads.
Boone’s lawsuit argues her son’s due process rights were violated, a claim that also drew a response from DCF.
“These answering Defendants affirmatively assert that the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution does not require these answering Defendants to protect its citizens from private violence,” the answer reads.
TFI in its answer denies the plaintiff sustained any damage. The company suggests that if any fault is found, it should be shared with DCF as well.
According to an online court docket, the next step in the lawsuit is a scheduling conference set for Monday.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Dad pleads guilty to aggravated battery of 3-month-old son; sentenced to 3 1/2 years of prison (Sedgwick County, Kansas)
So Mom lost custody of both kids--even though she is not facing any criminal charges. Basically, her only "crime" is that she had to work for a living and couldn't do full-time caretaking herself.
I wonder if UNNAMED DAD even had a job.
http://www.kansas.com/news/special-reports/in-need-of-care/article5741667.html
Father sentenced in aggravated battery of baby boy
By Deb Gruver - The Wichita Eagle 01/09/2015 6:31 PM | Updated: 01/09/2015 6:31 PM
A Sedgwick County District Court judge sentenced a father who pleaded guilty to aggravated battery of his infant son to 3 1/2 years of prison or probation Friday.
Judge Doug Roth sentenced the 30-year-old man. Where he will spend the 42-month sentence has not yet been determined. The father was accused of causing traumatic head injuries to the baby, who was then 3 months old.
The father waived his rights to a hearing in a separate case that will determine if the baby and an older child should remain in the home.
The Eagle has been covering the case as part of its “In Need of Care” series. It is not naming the children or the parents because doing so could identify the children.
A petition filed on behalf of children said doctors admitted the baby, now almost 5 months old, to Wesley Medical Center on Oct. 2 with “abusive head trauma.” The baby suffered subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhages, the petition said. The latter is bleeding between the brain and the thin tissues that cover the brain.
A Wichita Police Department detective from the Exploited and Missing Child Unit and a social work specialist from the Kansas Department for Children and Families interviewed the father Oct. 3. Three days later, they put the baby and a 3-year-old boy in protective custody.
The father said that when the baby was born, there was fluid on his brain and his head was bigger than normal, according to the petition.
The father said that he fed the baby about 3 or 4 a.m. Oct. 1 and the baby vomited. The baby’s mother tried to feed him again between 7 and 8 a.m., and the boy again threw up. The father said they called a doctor who advised taking the baby to Wesley for a CT scan.
Wesley’s “CARE” – Child at Risk Evaluation – team met to discuss the baby’s care. They said there was evidence of old and new traumatic head injuries.
The mother reported that she went to work the day before the baby became sick and left him with her mother. She said the baby’s father picked him up and cared for him until she came home about 10 p.m.
The mother also said that the baby had been on the couch with a blanket under him when the 3-year-old pulled the blanket, causing the baby to fall onto the carpeted floor. That happened in late September, she said, according to the petition.
The mother will next be in court Jan. 30 in the child-in-need-of-care case. She does not face any criminal charges.
I wonder if UNNAMED DAD even had a job.
http://www.kansas.com/news/special-reports/in-need-of-care/article5741667.html
Father sentenced in aggravated battery of baby boy
By Deb Gruver - The Wichita Eagle 01/09/2015 6:31 PM | Updated: 01/09/2015 6:31 PM
A Sedgwick County District Court judge sentenced a father who pleaded guilty to aggravated battery of his infant son to 3 1/2 years of prison or probation Friday.
Judge Doug Roth sentenced the 30-year-old man. Where he will spend the 42-month sentence has not yet been determined. The father was accused of causing traumatic head injuries to the baby, who was then 3 months old.
The father waived his rights to a hearing in a separate case that will determine if the baby and an older child should remain in the home.
The Eagle has been covering the case as part of its “In Need of Care” series. It is not naming the children or the parents because doing so could identify the children.
A petition filed on behalf of children said doctors admitted the baby, now almost 5 months old, to Wesley Medical Center on Oct. 2 with “abusive head trauma.” The baby suffered subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhages, the petition said. The latter is bleeding between the brain and the thin tissues that cover the brain.
A Wichita Police Department detective from the Exploited and Missing Child Unit and a social work specialist from the Kansas Department for Children and Families interviewed the father Oct. 3. Three days later, they put the baby and a 3-year-old boy in protective custody.
The father said that when the baby was born, there was fluid on his brain and his head was bigger than normal, according to the petition.
The father said that he fed the baby about 3 or 4 a.m. Oct. 1 and the baby vomited. The baby’s mother tried to feed him again between 7 and 8 a.m., and the boy again threw up. The father said they called a doctor who advised taking the baby to Wesley for a CT scan.
Wesley’s “CARE” – Child at Risk Evaluation – team met to discuss the baby’s care. They said there was evidence of old and new traumatic head injuries.
The mother reported that she went to work the day before the baby became sick and left him with her mother. She said the baby’s father picked him up and cared for him until she came home about 10 p.m.
The mother also said that the baby had been on the couch with a blanket under him when the 3-year-old pulled the blanket, causing the baby to fall onto the carpeted floor. That happened in late September, she said, according to the petition.
The mother will next be in court Jan. 30 in the child-in-need-of-care case. She does not face any criminal charges.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Dad to be sentenced for inflicting traumatic head injuries on 3-month-old son (Wichita, Kansas)
Notice how the mother is being subjected to a child-in-need-of-care hearing, and has lost custody of her 3-year-old son, even though it appears she is guilty of nothing but trying to work and keep a roof over everybody's heads. This is typical of the way mothers are punished for the crimes of fathers.
Once again, why we need paid maternity leave....
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.kansas.com/news/special-reports/in-need-of-care/article4279567.html
Father scheduled to be sentenced after baby suffered traumatic head injuries
By Deb Gruver - The Wichita Eagle 12/04/2014 4:06 PM | Updated: 12/04/2014 5:43 PM
A father accused of causing traumatic head injuries to his 3-month-old son is scheduled to be sentenced by a Sedgwick County District Court judge next month.
The father pleaded guilty to aggravated battery on Nov. 7, court records show. A judge is scheduled to sentence him Jan. 9.
The father appeared in court Thursday in a separate child-in-need-of-care case prosecutors filed in October to protect the infant and an older child; he waived his right to a hearing.
The mother of the boy asked for a 30-day continuance in her adjudication hearing in the child-in-need-of-care case. An adjudication hearing is similar to a trial. Judge Faith Maughan scheduled that hearing for Jan. 30.
A child-in-need-of-care petition said doctors admitted the baby, now almost 5 months old, to Wesley Medical Center on Oct. 2 with “abusive head trauma.” The baby suffered subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhages, the petition said. The latter is bleeding between the brain and the thin tissues that cover the brain.
A Wichita Police Department detective from the Exploited and Missing Child Unit and a social work specialist from the Kansas Department for Children and Families interviewed the father Oct. 3. Three days later, they put the baby and a 3-year-old boy in protective custody.
The father said when the baby was born, there was fluid on his brain and his head was bigger than normal, according to the petition.
The father said that he fed the baby about 3 or 4 a.m. Oct. 1 and the baby vomited. The baby’s mother tried to feed him again between 7 and 8 a.m., and the boy again threw up. The father said they called a doctor who advised bringing the baby to Wesley for a CT scan.
Wesley’s “CARE” — Child at Risk Evaluation — team met to discuss the baby’s care. It determined there was evidence of old and new traumatic head injuries.
The mother reported that she went to work the day before the baby became sick and left him with her mother. She said the baby’s father picked him up and cared for him until she came home about 10 p.m.
The mother said the baby had been on the couch with a blanket under him when the 3-year-old pulled the blanket, causing the baby to fall onto the carpeted floor. That happened in late September, she said, according to the petition. The mother of the 3-month-old also reported that her mother drank alcohol regularly.
Once again, why we need paid maternity leave....
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.kansas.com/news/special-reports/in-need-of-care/article4279567.html
Father scheduled to be sentenced after baby suffered traumatic head injuries
By Deb Gruver - The Wichita Eagle 12/04/2014 4:06 PM | Updated: 12/04/2014 5:43 PM
A father accused of causing traumatic head injuries to his 3-month-old son is scheduled to be sentenced by a Sedgwick County District Court judge next month.
The father pleaded guilty to aggravated battery on Nov. 7, court records show. A judge is scheduled to sentence him Jan. 9.
The father appeared in court Thursday in a separate child-in-need-of-care case prosecutors filed in October to protect the infant and an older child; he waived his right to a hearing.
The mother of the boy asked for a 30-day continuance in her adjudication hearing in the child-in-need-of-care case. An adjudication hearing is similar to a trial. Judge Faith Maughan scheduled that hearing for Jan. 30.
A child-in-need-of-care petition said doctors admitted the baby, now almost 5 months old, to Wesley Medical Center on Oct. 2 with “abusive head trauma.” The baby suffered subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhages, the petition said. The latter is bleeding between the brain and the thin tissues that cover the brain.
A Wichita Police Department detective from the Exploited and Missing Child Unit and a social work specialist from the Kansas Department for Children and Families interviewed the father Oct. 3. Three days later, they put the baby and a 3-year-old boy in protective custody.
The father said when the baby was born, there was fluid on his brain and his head was bigger than normal, according to the petition.
The father said that he fed the baby about 3 or 4 a.m. Oct. 1 and the baby vomited. The baby’s mother tried to feed him again between 7 and 8 a.m., and the boy again threw up. The father said they called a doctor who advised bringing the baby to Wesley for a CT scan.
Wesley’s “CARE” — Child at Risk Evaluation — team met to discuss the baby’s care. It determined there was evidence of old and new traumatic head injuries.
The mother reported that she went to work the day before the baby became sick and left him with her mother. She said the baby’s father picked him up and cared for him until she came home about 10 p.m.
The mother said the baby had been on the couch with a blanket under him when the 3-year-old pulled the blanket, causing the baby to fall onto the carpeted floor. That happened in late September, she said, according to the petition. The mother of the 3-month-old also reported that her mother drank alcohol regularly.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Dad charged with involutary manslaughter in death of infant daughter; apparently smothered her to death while "co-sleeping" with her (Kansas City, Missouri)
What the hell is going on here? Notice that there is ZERO MENTION of a mother in this story. None. In fact, it appears that the father was custodial, perhaps when the baby was just one month old.
If so, then why was this fool granted custody of an infant? Note the following:
1) He is apparently homeless, drifting between Grandma's house and the City Union Mission, which I believe is a homeless shelter for men. He kept an infant girl here?
2) This guy has a chronic severe drug problem. No red flag there?
3) When the baby was just one month of age, he apparently fell asleep on her and broke her leg. The authorities response: Make him sign a piece of paper promising to be a good boy in the future. Seriously? We don't know why Mom was apparently eliminated from the picture, but was she really worse than this? Why didn't Mom get this kid-glove treatment along with all the breaks?
4) Dad breaks his promise, apparently gets high, and falls asleep on the baby AGAIN. This time he smothers her to death. He TELLS THE POLICE what he did. Yet they don't get around to arresting him for MONTHS.
Why the constant coddling? Who gave him custody? Who supported that decision? What happened to Mom?
Dad is identified as DEONOTE BARNETT.
http://fox4kc.com/2014/08/29/after-being-warned-not-to-co-sleep-with-infant-daughter-dad-charged-with-her-death/
After being warned not to co-sleep with infant daughter, dad charged with her death
Posted 10:06 pm, August 29, 2014, by Shannon O'Brien
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A little Kansas City, Mo. girl never made it to her first birthday. Friday, her father was accused of smothering the girl to death months ago while the two slept. Deonte Barnett, 22, has been charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter.
Police picked up Barnett Friday in KCK. He told police everything about his daughter Aubrie’s death, so it is a mystery why it took so long to charge him. Court documents revealed what he said happened the night his daughter died.
Family members of Barnett were stunned to learn of his arrest.
“Hey, I’ll tell you man, I’m a little shocked right now,” said a relative who only wished to be identified as Calvin.
He said Barnett’s grandmother’s house was home base for the dad and his baby girl.
“He was staying here with the child for a while,” Calvin explained.
He says Barnett was in and out with the child, at times even staying at the City Union Mission on Wabash, which is where police were called the night of February 26 earlier this year regarding a deceased infant. Barnett admitted to police that he fell asleep on the child.
“If he was a good dad, that wouldn’t have happened, that’s obvious, you know?”
Calvin said. Calvin said Barnett has a severe drug problem, marijuana being his drug of choice. According to police, Barnett told them he had smoked marijuana the night his baby died. He told them during the night he woke up on top of Aubrie. She felt limp, but was slightly breathing. He put her in a stroller and went back to sleep. When he woke the next day, she was dead.
“You’ve got to let the kid go, right, if he get like that, wouldn’t you?” Calvin asked.
Family members are upset because that was the second time Barnett injured the child while sleeping. When Aubrie was just one-month-old, police say he fell asleep on the infant and fractured her femur in two places. The Children’s Division made Barnett sign a contract stating he wouldn’t sleep with the child again, but that contract appears to have only been as good as the paper it was written on.
“Should have let him go, because it’s better somebody else have her than what end up happening, because that’s as bad as it gets, I’m telling you,” Calvin said.
A representative from the City Union Mission says they do have a no drug policy, but don’t do drug tests upon entry unless someone is clearly high. They also give random drug tests, but it’s not known at this time if Barnett was ever tested.
Barnett is currently in the custody of the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office and will be transferred to Jackson County to face his charge. His bond has been set at $1 million.
If so, then why was this fool granted custody of an infant? Note the following:
1) He is apparently homeless, drifting between Grandma's house and the City Union Mission, which I believe is a homeless shelter for men. He kept an infant girl here?
2) This guy has a chronic severe drug problem. No red flag there?
3) When the baby was just one month of age, he apparently fell asleep on her and broke her leg. The authorities response: Make him sign a piece of paper promising to be a good boy in the future. Seriously? We don't know why Mom was apparently eliminated from the picture, but was she really worse than this? Why didn't Mom get this kid-glove treatment along with all the breaks?
4) Dad breaks his promise, apparently gets high, and falls asleep on the baby AGAIN. This time he smothers her to death. He TELLS THE POLICE what he did. Yet they don't get around to arresting him for MONTHS.
Why the constant coddling? Who gave him custody? Who supported that decision? What happened to Mom?
Dad is identified as DEONOTE BARNETT.
http://fox4kc.com/2014/08/29/after-being-warned-not-to-co-sleep-with-infant-daughter-dad-charged-with-her-death/
After being warned not to co-sleep with infant daughter, dad charged with her death
Posted 10:06 pm, August 29, 2014, by Shannon O'Brien
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A little Kansas City, Mo. girl never made it to her first birthday. Friday, her father was accused of smothering the girl to death months ago while the two slept. Deonte Barnett, 22, has been charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter.
Police picked up Barnett Friday in KCK. He told police everything about his daughter Aubrie’s death, so it is a mystery why it took so long to charge him. Court documents revealed what he said happened the night his daughter died.
Family members of Barnett were stunned to learn of his arrest.
“Hey, I’ll tell you man, I’m a little shocked right now,” said a relative who only wished to be identified as Calvin.
He said Barnett’s grandmother’s house was home base for the dad and his baby girl.
“He was staying here with the child for a while,” Calvin explained.
He says Barnett was in and out with the child, at times even staying at the City Union Mission on Wabash, which is where police were called the night of February 26 earlier this year regarding a deceased infant. Barnett admitted to police that he fell asleep on the child.
“If he was a good dad, that wouldn’t have happened, that’s obvious, you know?”
Calvin said. Calvin said Barnett has a severe drug problem, marijuana being his drug of choice. According to police, Barnett told them he had smoked marijuana the night his baby died. He told them during the night he woke up on top of Aubrie. She felt limp, but was slightly breathing. He put her in a stroller and went back to sleep. When he woke the next day, she was dead.
“You’ve got to let the kid go, right, if he get like that, wouldn’t you?” Calvin asked.
Family members are upset because that was the second time Barnett injured the child while sleeping. When Aubrie was just one-month-old, police say he fell asleep on the infant and fractured her femur in two places. The Children’s Division made Barnett sign a contract stating he wouldn’t sleep with the child again, but that contract appears to have only been as good as the paper it was written on.
“Should have let him go, because it’s better somebody else have her than what end up happening, because that’s as bad as it gets, I’m telling you,” Calvin said.
A representative from the City Union Mission says they do have a no drug policy, but don’t do drug tests upon entry unless someone is clearly high. They also give random drug tests, but it’s not known at this time if Barnett was ever tested.
Barnett is currently in the custody of the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office and will be transferred to Jackson County to face his charge. His bond has been set at $1 million.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Update on 2-year-old abducted by dad during police standoff; toddler recovered, but why did dad with history of felony arrests have joint custody? (Topeka, Kansas)
We've posted before on this case, and it just gets more bizarre.
Once again, we see why Shawnee County, Kansas is one of the worst places in the country for protecting/coddling abusive fathers and stomping on the rights of women and children.
Some salient points here:
1) Earlier articles reported the facts about the mother being locked out of her house, with Dad and the little girl inside. The mother and the father were no longer a couple and lived in separate homes. Dad apparently slipped out the back with the girl during the 4-hour police standoff. Even the usually clueless neighbors reported that Dad was verbally abusive and controlling. Yet the Topeka Police REFUSED to issue an Amber Alert.
2) Now we find out that it was worse that that. Dad has a CRIMINAL RECORD.
--He was arrested in May in connection with one felony count of criminal threat and one misdemeanor charge of criminal carrying a weapon. -
--And in November 2013, he pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of attempted criminal damage to property. His 30-day sentence in jail was suspended for probation.
In other words, this a potentially dangerous man, and yet it was okay for him to take off with a two-year-old child??? While the fathers-rights controlled police department silently cheered him on?
3) And yet DESPITE this criminal record, Dad had apparently been previously awarded joint custody--presumably thoroughly the thoroughly corrupted Shawnee County Family Court, which has yet to see a dangerous violent father who can't be awarded "his rights."
4) Notice that Daddy doesn't even have any interest in regular visitation or meaningful time with the child, and has never demonstrated any interest through his actions. He just wants to bully his way into Mom's house uninvited and take off with the baby when he feels like it. This is obviously all about coercive control and punishing the mother for leaving him. And yet the authorities don't care about this either.
5) Because of police inaction/craven indifference, Mom had to do her own detective work and hunt down her daughter HERSELF. All while she is being crapped on by the local media, including the fathers rights people who dominate and control the comment sections.
6) Notice that Daddy had disguised the gender of the little girl. And that doesn't speak of suspicious intentions? Just a little visit with his kid? Bull crap.
Dad is identified as TREVOR HUGHES.
http://m.cjonline.com/news/2014-07-21/topeka-mother-recounts-terror-time-spent-without-daughter?v=%3Cem%3E6%20min%2025%20sec%3C%2Fem%3E%20ago
Monday, July 21, 2014
Topeka mother recounts terror of time spent without daughter
By Aly Van Dyke
MEGAN HART/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
Topeka police officers Saturday surround a home in the 2600 block of S.W. Valley Brook Lane, where a man was believed to be armed and holding his young daughter hostage.
Topekan Alisha Marie Quigley spent most of Saturday and all of Sunday fighting back fear and anger: Her daughter’s father had taken their little girl from her home and was threatening not to give her back.
“I was very worried,” Quigley said Monday. “I had no idea what to do. Part of me wondered if I’d ever get her back, and I feel like he doesn’t care, like he’s more concerned with getting away than he is about Ambree.”
After they were reunited late Sunday, she said, Ambree, who turns 2 on Thursday, wouldn’t let her out of her sight.
“We’re really good,” Quigley said. “(Ambree) was just very exhausted yesterday.”
After a four-hour standoff with an empty house and nearly 24 hours of no action, Quigley took matters into her own hands. Late Sunday evening, she traveled to Lawrence, where she knew the father, Trevor Hughes, was keeping Ambree. She was asked to leave the property, which she said is located in the 2300 block of 24th Street, but caught a glimpse of Hughes and Ambree from a neighbor’s yard.
“That’s the point where I kind of went crazy,” Quigley admitted.
Eventually, Hughes’ family brought Ambree to her. The first thing she noticed was that her little girl was dressed like a little boy. Quigley last saw her wearing blue shorts with white flowers and a navy blue shirt, according to a Facebook post.
Topeka police at 10:50 p.m. Sunday confirmed the girl had been located.
This series of events has played out since about noon Saturday, when Topeka police officers engaged in a four-hour standoff with what ultimately was an empty house in the 2600 block of S.W. Valley Brook Lane.
Hughes on Monday continued to defend himself on his Facebook page, claiming he returned his child when his “time was up like was planned” and accused people of blowing things out of proportion and spreading “crazy lies” because he wouldn’t give up his time with his daughter.
“Lol most definitely didn’t kidnap my daughter,” he posted after 11 a.m. Monday. “It’s not kidnapping when I have custody of her also.”
Quigley argued the couple hasn’t had scheduled visitation rights since they split up last September. He will randomly call or drop by her house to see Ambree, she said, but he doesn’t have any means to take care of her.
“He doesn’t have any weekend with her,” Quigley said. “There’s no scheduling. Every time there’s something bad that happens.”
Hughes and Quigley had Ambree on July 24, 2012, but the couple split up this past September, she said.
Shawnee County District Court records show Hughes was arrested in May in connection with one felony count of criminal threat and one misdemeanor charge of criminal carrying a weapon.
The case hasn’t been updated since April 29, a month after he was scheduled to have a pretrial conference. “This case is not closed or resolved,” said Cathy Leonhart, the Third Judicial District’s court administrator. “There just isn’t a future setting at this point.”
On Nov. 12, 2013, he pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of attempted criminal damage to property. His 30-day sentence in jail was suspended for probation.
Quigley was subpoenaed in both cases.
Tired of Hughes’ unannounced visits, Quigley was moving from her home Saturday, when he came by once again.
Quigley claims Hughes eventually locked her out of her home using furniture to barricade the door. She called the police.
Topeka police were called about noon Saturday to the 2600 block of S.W. Valley Brook Lane, after a Quigley reportedly said Hughes was inside her house with the toddler, Lt. Shane Lind said Saturday.
Police surrounded the house and attempted negotiations for four hours, eventually finding it to be empty. At the time, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Lind said there were no signs of foul play, but authorities were determining whether the criteria for issuing an Amber Alert had been met.
That was at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Quigley waited more than one day before she went to Lawrence herself. She said she believes Hughes used the chaos of the police cars arriving to escape both Saturday in Topeka and Sunday in Lawrence.
Quigley is set to go to the police department Tuesday to file a protection from abuse order, she said. As far as she knows, no charges have been filed against her, and they are still pending for Hughes.
“(The officers said) there’s always two sides to a story,” she said. “They want to talk to him before issuing anything.”
Topeka police have remained mostly silent on the issue since Sunday. They released a brief, two sentence news release sent at 10:50 p.m. Sunday confirming the child had been located. Cpt. Scott Conklin on Monday afternoon explained no Amber Alert was issued because it didn’t fit the Kansas Bureau of Investigation requirements for one.
Multiple attempts to ascertain more details from the police department went unanswered Monday. They have yet to confirm any names, which have been reported in news media since late Saturday, and they haven’t said whether they still are searching for Hughes.
Friends and family continue to reassure Quigley that Ambree is too young to remember what happened, but Quigley isn’t so sure.
“I don’t see how she wouldn’t see it as not being scary,” she said.
As for the Ambree’s birthday plans Thursday, Quigley said, they probably will have a family party to celebrate.
Once again, we see why Shawnee County, Kansas is one of the worst places in the country for protecting/coddling abusive fathers and stomping on the rights of women and children.
Some salient points here:
1) Earlier articles reported the facts about the mother being locked out of her house, with Dad and the little girl inside. The mother and the father were no longer a couple and lived in separate homes. Dad apparently slipped out the back with the girl during the 4-hour police standoff. Even the usually clueless neighbors reported that Dad was verbally abusive and controlling. Yet the Topeka Police REFUSED to issue an Amber Alert.
2) Now we find out that it was worse that that. Dad has a CRIMINAL RECORD.
--He was arrested in May in connection with one felony count of criminal threat and one misdemeanor charge of criminal carrying a weapon. -
--And in November 2013, he pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of attempted criminal damage to property. His 30-day sentence in jail was suspended for probation.
In other words, this a potentially dangerous man, and yet it was okay for him to take off with a two-year-old child??? While the fathers-rights controlled police department silently cheered him on?
3) And yet DESPITE this criminal record, Dad had apparently been previously awarded joint custody--presumably thoroughly the thoroughly corrupted Shawnee County Family Court, which has yet to see a dangerous violent father who can't be awarded "his rights."
4) Notice that Daddy doesn't even have any interest in regular visitation or meaningful time with the child, and has never demonstrated any interest through his actions. He just wants to bully his way into Mom's house uninvited and take off with the baby when he feels like it. This is obviously all about coercive control and punishing the mother for leaving him. And yet the authorities don't care about this either.
5) Because of police inaction/craven indifference, Mom had to do her own detective work and hunt down her daughter HERSELF. All while she is being crapped on by the local media, including the fathers rights people who dominate and control the comment sections.
6) Notice that Daddy had disguised the gender of the little girl. And that doesn't speak of suspicious intentions? Just a little visit with his kid? Bull crap.
Dad is identified as TREVOR HUGHES.
http://m.cjonline.com/news/2014-07-21/topeka-mother-recounts-terror-time-spent-without-daughter?v=%3Cem%3E6%20min%2025%20sec%3C%2Fem%3E%20ago
Monday, July 21, 2014
Topeka mother recounts terror of time spent without daughter
By Aly Van Dyke
MEGAN HART/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
Topeka police officers Saturday surround a home in the 2600 block of S.W. Valley Brook Lane, where a man was believed to be armed and holding his young daughter hostage.
Topekan Alisha Marie Quigley spent most of Saturday and all of Sunday fighting back fear and anger: Her daughter’s father had taken their little girl from her home and was threatening not to give her back.
“I was very worried,” Quigley said Monday. “I had no idea what to do. Part of me wondered if I’d ever get her back, and I feel like he doesn’t care, like he’s more concerned with getting away than he is about Ambree.”
After they were reunited late Sunday, she said, Ambree, who turns 2 on Thursday, wouldn’t let her out of her sight.
“We’re really good,” Quigley said. “(Ambree) was just very exhausted yesterday.”
After a four-hour standoff with an empty house and nearly 24 hours of no action, Quigley took matters into her own hands. Late Sunday evening, she traveled to Lawrence, where she knew the father, Trevor Hughes, was keeping Ambree. She was asked to leave the property, which she said is located in the 2300 block of 24th Street, but caught a glimpse of Hughes and Ambree from a neighbor’s yard.
“That’s the point where I kind of went crazy,” Quigley admitted.
Eventually, Hughes’ family brought Ambree to her. The first thing she noticed was that her little girl was dressed like a little boy. Quigley last saw her wearing blue shorts with white flowers and a navy blue shirt, according to a Facebook post.
Topeka police at 10:50 p.m. Sunday confirmed the girl had been located.
This series of events has played out since about noon Saturday, when Topeka police officers engaged in a four-hour standoff with what ultimately was an empty house in the 2600 block of S.W. Valley Brook Lane.
Hughes on Monday continued to defend himself on his Facebook page, claiming he returned his child when his “time was up like was planned” and accused people of blowing things out of proportion and spreading “crazy lies” because he wouldn’t give up his time with his daughter.
“Lol most definitely didn’t kidnap my daughter,” he posted after 11 a.m. Monday. “It’s not kidnapping when I have custody of her also.”
Quigley argued the couple hasn’t had scheduled visitation rights since they split up last September. He will randomly call or drop by her house to see Ambree, she said, but he doesn’t have any means to take care of her.
“He doesn’t have any weekend with her,” Quigley said. “There’s no scheduling. Every time there’s something bad that happens.”
Hughes and Quigley had Ambree on July 24, 2012, but the couple split up this past September, she said.
Shawnee County District Court records show Hughes was arrested in May in connection with one felony count of criminal threat and one misdemeanor charge of criminal carrying a weapon.
The case hasn’t been updated since April 29, a month after he was scheduled to have a pretrial conference. “This case is not closed or resolved,” said Cathy Leonhart, the Third Judicial District’s court administrator. “There just isn’t a future setting at this point.”
On Nov. 12, 2013, he pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of attempted criminal damage to property. His 30-day sentence in jail was suspended for probation.
Quigley was subpoenaed in both cases.
Tired of Hughes’ unannounced visits, Quigley was moving from her home Saturday, when he came by once again.
Quigley claims Hughes eventually locked her out of her home using furniture to barricade the door. She called the police.
Topeka police were called about noon Saturday to the 2600 block of S.W. Valley Brook Lane, after a Quigley reportedly said Hughes was inside her house with the toddler, Lt. Shane Lind said Saturday.
Police surrounded the house and attempted negotiations for four hours, eventually finding it to be empty. At the time, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Lind said there were no signs of foul play, but authorities were determining whether the criteria for issuing an Amber Alert had been met.
That was at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Quigley waited more than one day before she went to Lawrence herself. She said she believes Hughes used the chaos of the police cars arriving to escape both Saturday in Topeka and Sunday in Lawrence.
Quigley is set to go to the police department Tuesday to file a protection from abuse order, she said. As far as she knows, no charges have been filed against her, and they are still pending for Hughes.
“(The officers said) there’s always two sides to a story,” she said. “They want to talk to him before issuing anything.”
Topeka police have remained mostly silent on the issue since Sunday. They released a brief, two sentence news release sent at 10:50 p.m. Sunday confirming the child had been located. Cpt. Scott Conklin on Monday afternoon explained no Amber Alert was issued because it didn’t fit the Kansas Bureau of Investigation requirements for one.
Multiple attempts to ascertain more details from the police department went unanswered Monday. They have yet to confirm any names, which have been reported in news media since late Saturday, and they haven’t said whether they still are searching for Hughes.
Friends and family continue to reassure Quigley that Ambree is too young to remember what happened, but Quigley isn’t so sure.
“I don’t see how she wouldn’t see it as not being scary,” she said.
As for the Ambree’s birthday plans Thursday, Quigley said, they probably will have a family party to celebrate.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Dad holds 2-year-old daughter hostage in police standoff then abducts her; police indifferent (Topeka, Kansas)
Shawnee County, Kansas is a horror for mothers and children. Notice that this couple did not live together. I see no evidence they were ever even married, and whether they are still a couple is not clear despite reports that this is her "boyfriend."
Nevertheless, as is typical these days, the mother DID NOT have full custody even though her daughter is practically a baby. Nevertheless, she is "involving" dad TREVOR HUGHES, just as mothers are REQUIRED to do these days unless they want to lose custody and have their parental rights severed.
So Daddy locks Mom out of HER HOME (not his, not theirs) with the baby inside. The police arrive, but Dad has managed to take off with the daughter. Notice the police attitudes here. They don't take this abduction seriously at all - even after more than 12 hours have passed with no sign of the baby. No Amber Alert, no nothing At minimum, we know he's verbally abusive and controlling. Even the usually clueless neighbors managed to detect that.
Typical of the police indifference to the safety of women and children. Especially the Topeka Police.
http://cjonline.com/news/2014-07-19/topeka-police-still-searching-man-child-involved-saturday-standoff
Topeka Police still searching for man, child involved in Saturday standoff
Standoff involving man, child ends when police find home empty
Posted: July 19, 2014 - 4:08pm
By Samantha Foster and Megan Hart
Topeka police continued to search early Sunday for a man involved in a domestic disturbance Saturday afternoon that led to an hourslong standoff outside what turned out to be an empty house.
As of 8:15 a.m. Sunday, Topeka Police had yet to find the man or the child he allegedly took from the home, said Lt. Scott Gilchrist. Police also weren’t ready to release their names, he said.
“We’re still trying to locate him and the child,” he said.
Police initially were called to a home in the 2600 block of S.W. Valley Brook Lane, just north of the Crestview Community Center, about 12:30 p.m. after a woman reported her boyfriend was inside her home with their nearly 2-year-old daughter, said Lt. Shane Lind.
When a response team entered the home about 4 p.m., they didn’t find the suspect or child.
“It turns out there was no one in the house,” Lind said.
Lind said there were no signs of foul play, but authorities at that time were determining whether the criteria for issuing an Amber Alert had been met.
“We will take a look at that as a serious possibility,” he said.
But as of 9 p.m., Sgt. Jay Junghans said police weren’t considering the incident an abduction and didn’t believe the girl was in any danger. However, he said, the man and child hadn’t been located, and police continued to search.
Police wouldn’t confirm the names of the man and child. However, Kansas First News identified the missing man as Trevor Hughes and his daughter as Ambree Jo.
Earlier, Lind said the child’s mother lives at the address, and her boyfriend doesn’t currently live there but frequently comes over. The child’s mother doesn’t have sole custody of the child, and she told police the child’s father is involved in the girl’s life.
Tonya Guedry and Brian Hoss, who live in a nearby home, said they heard the couple begin arguing about 9 a.m., and the woman had left about 10 a.m. They said police began arriving after noon.
Hoss said he and Guedry weren’t well acquainted with the couple but had heard them arguing before. “He likes to yell threats a lot,” he said.
Lind said the girl’s mother reported her boyfriend had locked her out of her home and wouldn’t let her back in. She claimed he was in the house with their daughter.
Negotiators tried to make contact with the man who was believed to be inside the home, even attempting to get a phone into the house to communicate with the man, who Lind said doesn’t have a cellphone.
Police also initially had information that the man may have barricaded the door of the residence.
However, police now don’t believe the doors were barricaded, and Lind said the man could easily have slipped outside the home while the woman was calling police from the front yard.
Because the man doesn’t own a cellphone or vehicle, Lind said, detectives were trying to determine where he may have gone. He said the man has family in Topeka.
Lind said detectives also were talking to neighbors to determine whether the couple’s daughter was with the man.
Nevertheless, as is typical these days, the mother DID NOT have full custody even though her daughter is practically a baby. Nevertheless, she is "involving" dad TREVOR HUGHES, just as mothers are REQUIRED to do these days unless they want to lose custody and have their parental rights severed.
So Daddy locks Mom out of HER HOME (not his, not theirs) with the baby inside. The police arrive, but Dad has managed to take off with the daughter. Notice the police attitudes here. They don't take this abduction seriously at all - even after more than 12 hours have passed with no sign of the baby. No Amber Alert, no nothing At minimum, we know he's verbally abusive and controlling. Even the usually clueless neighbors managed to detect that.
Typical of the police indifference to the safety of women and children. Especially the Topeka Police.
http://cjonline.com/news/2014-07-19/topeka-police-still-searching-man-child-involved-saturday-standoff
Topeka Police still searching for man, child involved in Saturday standoff
Standoff involving man, child ends when police find home empty
Posted: July 19, 2014 - 4:08pm
By Samantha Foster and Megan Hart
Topeka police continued to search early Sunday for a man involved in a domestic disturbance Saturday afternoon that led to an hourslong standoff outside what turned out to be an empty house.
As of 8:15 a.m. Sunday, Topeka Police had yet to find the man or the child he allegedly took from the home, said Lt. Scott Gilchrist. Police also weren’t ready to release their names, he said.
“We’re still trying to locate him and the child,” he said.
Police initially were called to a home in the 2600 block of S.W. Valley Brook Lane, just north of the Crestview Community Center, about 12:30 p.m. after a woman reported her boyfriend was inside her home with their nearly 2-year-old daughter, said Lt. Shane Lind.
When a response team entered the home about 4 p.m., they didn’t find the suspect or child.
“It turns out there was no one in the house,” Lind said.
Lind said there were no signs of foul play, but authorities at that time were determining whether the criteria for issuing an Amber Alert had been met.
“We will take a look at that as a serious possibility,” he said.
But as of 9 p.m., Sgt. Jay Junghans said police weren’t considering the incident an abduction and didn’t believe the girl was in any danger. However, he said, the man and child hadn’t been located, and police continued to search.
Police wouldn’t confirm the names of the man and child. However, Kansas First News identified the missing man as Trevor Hughes and his daughter as Ambree Jo.
Earlier, Lind said the child’s mother lives at the address, and her boyfriend doesn’t currently live there but frequently comes over. The child’s mother doesn’t have sole custody of the child, and she told police the child’s father is involved in the girl’s life.
Tonya Guedry and Brian Hoss, who live in a nearby home, said they heard the couple begin arguing about 9 a.m., and the woman had left about 10 a.m. They said police began arriving after noon.
Hoss said he and Guedry weren’t well acquainted with the couple but had heard them arguing before. “He likes to yell threats a lot,” he said.
Lind said the girl’s mother reported her boyfriend had locked her out of her home and wouldn’t let her back in. She claimed he was in the house with their daughter.
Negotiators tried to make contact with the man who was believed to be inside the home, even attempting to get a phone into the house to communicate with the man, who Lind said doesn’t have a cellphone.
Police also initially had information that the man may have barricaded the door of the residence.
However, police now don’t believe the doors were barricaded, and Lind said the man could easily have slipped outside the home while the woman was calling police from the front yard.
Because the man doesn’t own a cellphone or vehicle, Lind said, detectives were trying to determine where he may have gone. He said the man has family in Topeka.
Lind said detectives also were talking to neighbors to determine whether the couple’s daughter was with the man.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Custodial dad charged with child abuse bound over for trial; 11-year-old daughter suffered 21 injuries (Lawrence, Kansas)
With a careful reading, it is apparent that UNNAMED DAD is custodial, but of course that fact is well hidden. Notice that there is no mention of the girl's mother, just a "girlfriend" who refused to call the police. Plus, the evidence of ongoing abuse suggests father custody as well?
So what happened to this girl's mother? How did this father get custody? Who gave it to him?
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2014/jun/10/lawrence-man-charged-child-abuse-bound-over-trial-/
Lawrence man charged with child abuse bound over for trial; daughter suffered 21 injuries, witnesses say
By Stephen Montemayor
June 10, 2014
An 11-year-old girl suffered 21 injuries by the time her father finished disciplining her with a belt one late April evening in their Lawrence home, according to testimony in court on Tuesday.
Douglas County District Judge Sally Pokorny ordered the 32-year-old man, arrested last month and charged with abuse of a child, to stand trial in October. Free on a $25,000 bond, the man sat slouched forward, rarely making eye contact with witnesses during Tuesday’s preliminary hearing.
Lawrence police officer David Garcia testified that when he and a social worker met the girl at her elementary school two days after the alleged April 28 offense, she told them her father hit her repeatedly with a belt after he discovered her using an iPod she was not permitted to use.
At first, Garcia said, the girl told them she stopped counting at seven strikes with the belt but added that she later counted four more after she told her father she couldn’t breathe. During the incident, Garcia said, the girl also fell to the floor and struck her head on the wall. She also bore marks of previous abuse, he said.
Garcia said the man told law enforcement in a subsequent interview that he disciplined his daughter because she wasn’t allowed to use her iPod and that he also discovered inappropriate conversations with older males on the iPod. When told that his daughter had 21 injuries as a result of the discipline, Garcia said, the man replied that he didn’t think he went too far. “You’d have to know her,” Garcia recalled the man saying.
Amanda Sprague-Brunk, a social worker, testified that in a tearful interview, the girl’s 10-year-old brother said he overheard the beating and heard his father say, “I could do this all night.” Sprague-Brunk said the boy told her his sister asked for help but their father’s girlfriend did not intervene or call police. The girl also has a 2-year-old sister and the man’s girlfriend is pregnant with another child, but Sprague-Brunk testified that the only excessive discipline reported seemed focused on the 11-year-old, who is now in protective custody.
On Tuesday, Pokorny also granted a prosecutor’s request to add an additional charge of aggravated battery, to which the man’s attorney, Napoleon Crews, objected on the grounds that it was duplicative. Pokorny told Crews he could file a motion to dismiss the additional charge before trial, which is scheduled for Oct. 15.
So what happened to this girl's mother? How did this father get custody? Who gave it to him?
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2014/jun/10/lawrence-man-charged-child-abuse-bound-over-trial-/
Lawrence man charged with child abuse bound over for trial; daughter suffered 21 injuries, witnesses say
By Stephen Montemayor
June 10, 2014
An 11-year-old girl suffered 21 injuries by the time her father finished disciplining her with a belt one late April evening in their Lawrence home, according to testimony in court on Tuesday.
Douglas County District Judge Sally Pokorny ordered the 32-year-old man, arrested last month and charged with abuse of a child, to stand trial in October. Free on a $25,000 bond, the man sat slouched forward, rarely making eye contact with witnesses during Tuesday’s preliminary hearing.
Lawrence police officer David Garcia testified that when he and a social worker met the girl at her elementary school two days after the alleged April 28 offense, she told them her father hit her repeatedly with a belt after he discovered her using an iPod she was not permitted to use.
At first, Garcia said, the girl told them she stopped counting at seven strikes with the belt but added that she later counted four more after she told her father she couldn’t breathe. During the incident, Garcia said, the girl also fell to the floor and struck her head on the wall. She also bore marks of previous abuse, he said.
Garcia said the man told law enforcement in a subsequent interview that he disciplined his daughter because she wasn’t allowed to use her iPod and that he also discovered inappropriate conversations with older males on the iPod. When told that his daughter had 21 injuries as a result of the discipline, Garcia said, the man replied that he didn’t think he went too far. “You’d have to know her,” Garcia recalled the man saying.
Amanda Sprague-Brunk, a social worker, testified that in a tearful interview, the girl’s 10-year-old brother said he overheard the beating and heard his father say, “I could do this all night.” Sprague-Brunk said the boy told her his sister asked for help but their father’s girlfriend did not intervene or call police. The girl also has a 2-year-old sister and the man’s girlfriend is pregnant with another child, but Sprague-Brunk testified that the only excessive discipline reported seemed focused on the 11-year-old, who is now in protective custody.
On Tuesday, Pokorny also granted a prosecutor’s request to add an additional charge of aggravated battery, to which the man’s attorney, Napoleon Crews, objected on the grounds that it was duplicative. Pokorny told Crews he could file a motion to dismiss the additional charge before trial, which is scheduled for Oct. 15.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Dad pleads guilty to aggravated battery in assault on 3-month-old son (Wichita, Kansas)
Dad is identified as AARON S. PILAND. Notice that Mom has been charged with endangering, meaning she "failed" to stop a violent criminal. As if that were necessarily an easy thing to do....
http://www.kansas.com/2014/05/13/3454870/father-pleads-guilty-to-abuse.html
Father pleads guilty to abuse of infant son
By Amy Renee Leiker
The Wichita Eagle
Published Tuesday, May 13, 2014, at 6:13 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, May 13, 2014, at 6:16 p.m.
A Wichita father has pleaded guilty to abusing and battering his infant son in January.
Aaron S. Piland, 26, admitted Monday to two counts of aggravated battery and one count of child abuse of his then-3-month-old son, who suffered critical internal injuries sometime between Jan. 1 and Jan. 27 while in his parents’ care.
Two other charges – a count of aggravated endangering of a child and an additional count of aggravated battery – were dismissed as part of Monday’s plea deal with prosecutors, Sedgwick County District Court records show. He is set for sentencing June 23.
The charges arose after the baby’s mother, Christina M. Schulte, took the boy to Wesley Medical Center on Jan. 28, claiming he had become unresponsive during a bath. Hospital staff alerted police, who described the boy’s injuries as “very serious and severe” and inconsistent with Schulte’s explanations.
Both parents were arrested the next day. The infant and two other children were placed in police protective custody care at the time.
Schulte, 28, is awaiting trial in the case on one count of child abuse and one count of aggravated endangering a child. She is due back in court June 9.
http://www.kansas.com/2014/05/13/3454870/father-pleads-guilty-to-abuse.html
Father pleads guilty to abuse of infant son
By Amy Renee Leiker
The Wichita Eagle
Published Tuesday, May 13, 2014, at 6:13 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, May 13, 2014, at 6:16 p.m.
A Wichita father has pleaded guilty to abusing and battering his infant son in January.
Aaron S. Piland, 26, admitted Monday to two counts of aggravated battery and one count of child abuse of his then-3-month-old son, who suffered critical internal injuries sometime between Jan. 1 and Jan. 27 while in his parents’ care.
Two other charges – a count of aggravated endangering of a child and an additional count of aggravated battery – were dismissed as part of Monday’s plea deal with prosecutors, Sedgwick County District Court records show. He is set for sentencing June 23.
The charges arose after the baby’s mother, Christina M. Schulte, took the boy to Wesley Medical Center on Jan. 28, claiming he had become unresponsive during a bath. Hospital staff alerted police, who described the boy’s injuries as “very serious and severe” and inconsistent with Schulte’s explanations.
Both parents were arrested the next day. The infant and two other children were placed in police protective custody care at the time.
Schulte, 28, is awaiting trial in the case on one count of child abuse and one count of aggravated endangering a child. She is due back in court June 9.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Dad punches 1-year-old son in face while shaking baby's mom (Wichita, Kansas)
Contrary to what the fathers rights folks tell you, men who beat their wives beat their kids and vice versa. Violent men are violent men.
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.kansas.com/2014/04/14/3404198/police-father-in-jail-after-baby.html
Police: Father in jail after baby punched in face
By Stan Finger
The Wichita Eagle
Published Monday, April 14, 2014, at 12:01 p.m.
A 36-year-old man is in jail after he reportedly punched his 1-year-old son in the face during a fight with his wife, police said Monday.
The incident occurred late Saturday night in the 1300 block of South Victoria, Lt. Joe Schroeder said. That’s just west of Hydraulic and south of Pawnee in south Wichita.
The man was arguing with his wife, Schroeder said, when he shook her and then hit his son in the face. The baby was transported by ambulance to Via Christi Hospital St. Joseph and later transferred to Via Christi St. Francis.
The husband was arrested a short distance away on 31st Street South shortly before 11 p.m. on Saturday, police arrest records show. He had a green substance suspected of being marijuana in his possession and fought with officers when they took him into custody.
All four children who live at the house on Victoria – including the infant and three girls ages 11, 10 and 9 – were placed in protective custody by police due to unsafe living conditions at the house, Schroeder said.
The Exploited and Missing Child Unit is investigating the case.
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.kansas.com/2014/04/14/3404198/police-father-in-jail-after-baby.html
Police: Father in jail after baby punched in face
By Stan Finger
The Wichita Eagle
Published Monday, April 14, 2014, at 12:01 p.m.
A 36-year-old man is in jail after he reportedly punched his 1-year-old son in the face during a fight with his wife, police said Monday.
The incident occurred late Saturday night in the 1300 block of South Victoria, Lt. Joe Schroeder said. That’s just west of Hydraulic and south of Pawnee in south Wichita.
The man was arguing with his wife, Schroeder said, when he shook her and then hit his son in the face. The baby was transported by ambulance to Via Christi Hospital St. Joseph and later transferred to Via Christi St. Francis.
The husband was arrested a short distance away on 31st Street South shortly before 11 p.m. on Saturday, police arrest records show. He had a green substance suspected of being marijuana in his possession and fought with officers when they took him into custody.
All four children who live at the house on Victoria – including the infant and three girls ages 11, 10 and 9 – were placed in protective custody by police due to unsafe living conditions at the house, Schroeder said.
The Exploited and Missing Child Unit is investigating the case.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Dad charged with felony abuse against 4-month-old daughter; baby has permanent brain damage (Atchinson, Kansas)
Notice that there is no mention of the mother in the story, and that the abuse took place in what was identified as the father's (not the parents') home. Could this have been a custody/visitation situation? It often is with parents this young.
Dad is identified as BRETT WADE BETTS.
http://www.newspressnow.com/news/local_news/article_8073e798-428f-5c21-b3cd-d43f8eaf8ccd.html
Atchison father arrested for shaking infant
Posted: Thursday, February 20, 2014 2:57 pm | Updated: 10:04 pm, Thu Feb 20, 2014.
By Mary Meyers Atchison Globe
ATCHISON, Kan. — A shaken baby girl remains hospitalized in Kansas City with permanent brain injury police say was inflicted by her 20-year-old father.
Brett Wade Betts, of Atchison, was arrested Thursday morning and faces two felony counts for abuse of a child and aggravated battery.
Atchison County Attorney Jerry Kuckelman filed the complaint soon after Mr. Betts’ arrest. The complaint alleges on or about Feb. 10, Mr. Betts shook his 4-month-old daughter in a way that caused great bodily harm, permanent brain damage and disfigurement.
Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson said that the shaking occurred Feb. 12 at Mr. Betts’ residence in Atchison. Investigative findings indicated the baby girl — referred to only as M.B. — was transported from her residence by ambulance on Feb. 13 to Atchison Hospital. She was subsequently transported to Children’s Mercy Hospital in wake of her brain injury.
The abuse was reported to Atchison police on Feb. 14 by officials from the Kansas Department of Children and Family Services, as well as representatives from Children’s Mercy Hospital. The report immediately initiated an investigation, Wilson said.
Mr. Betts was booked at Atchison County Jail, where he remains in lieu of $50,000 bond.
Mr. Kuckelman said he was scheduled for the 9 a.m. criminal docket today in Atchison County District Court. Mr. Kuckelman said he anticipated an attorney would be appointed to represent Mr. Betts during the court action.
According to the person felony scale in Kansas, a level one ranks as the most severe and level 10 is considered to be the least severe. The count of abuse of a child filed against Mr. Betts is categorized as a level 5 person felony and the aggravated battery charge is a level 4 person felony.
Dad is identified as BRETT WADE BETTS.
http://www.newspressnow.com/news/local_news/article_8073e798-428f-5c21-b3cd-d43f8eaf8ccd.html
Atchison father arrested for shaking infant
Posted: Thursday, February 20, 2014 2:57 pm | Updated: 10:04 pm, Thu Feb 20, 2014.
By Mary Meyers Atchison Globe
ATCHISON, Kan. — A shaken baby girl remains hospitalized in Kansas City with permanent brain injury police say was inflicted by her 20-year-old father.
Brett Wade Betts, of Atchison, was arrested Thursday morning and faces two felony counts for abuse of a child and aggravated battery.
Atchison County Attorney Jerry Kuckelman filed the complaint soon after Mr. Betts’ arrest. The complaint alleges on or about Feb. 10, Mr. Betts shook his 4-month-old daughter in a way that caused great bodily harm, permanent brain damage and disfigurement.
Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson said that the shaking occurred Feb. 12 at Mr. Betts’ residence in Atchison. Investigative findings indicated the baby girl — referred to only as M.B. — was transported from her residence by ambulance on Feb. 13 to Atchison Hospital. She was subsequently transported to Children’s Mercy Hospital in wake of her brain injury.
The abuse was reported to Atchison police on Feb. 14 by officials from the Kansas Department of Children and Family Services, as well as representatives from Children’s Mercy Hospital. The report immediately initiated an investigation, Wilson said.
Mr. Betts was booked at Atchison County Jail, where he remains in lieu of $50,000 bond.
Mr. Kuckelman said he was scheduled for the 9 a.m. criminal docket today in Atchison County District Court. Mr. Kuckelman said he anticipated an attorney would be appointed to represent Mr. Betts during the court action.
According to the person felony scale in Kansas, a level one ranks as the most severe and level 10 is considered to be the least severe. The count of abuse of a child filed against Mr. Betts is categorized as a level 5 person felony and the aggravated battery charge is a level 4 person felony.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Dad arrested for breaking leg of 8-day-old baby (Wichita, Kansas)
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/Dad-Arrested-For-Breaking-8-Day-Old-Babys-Leg-224263811.html
8-Day-Old Baby's Leg Broken; Dad Arrested For Abuse
By: KAKE News
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
An 8-day-old baby is being treated for a broken leg, and Wichita Police say the injury was the result of abuse.
Just after 7 p.m. Tuesday, a woman brought her baby to Via Christi Hospital St. Francis, and told doctor's his leg was accidentally broken when she was changing his diaper.
Her story didn't add up and hospital staff called Police. Officers from the Exploited and Missing Child unit arrived and questioned the 24-year-old mother, who then admitted that the child's father had abused the baby, breaking his leg.
Police later arrested a 27-year-old man for child abuse. Formal charges have not yet been filed.
http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/Dad-Arrested-For-Breaking-8-Day-Old-Babys-Leg-224263811.html
8-Day-Old Baby's Leg Broken; Dad Arrested For Abuse
By: KAKE News
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
An 8-day-old baby is being treated for a broken leg, and Wichita Police say the injury was the result of abuse.
Just after 7 p.m. Tuesday, a woman brought her baby to Via Christi Hospital St. Francis, and told doctor's his leg was accidentally broken when she was changing his diaper.
Her story didn't add up and hospital staff called Police. Officers from the Exploited and Missing Child unit arrived and questioned the 24-year-old mother, who then admitted that the child's father had abused the baby, breaking his leg.
Police later arrested a 27-year-old man for child abuse. Formal charges have not yet been filed.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Babysitting dad arrested for abusing 3-year-old daughter (Ark City, Kansas)
Yet another case where Daddy was providing child care while Mom had to work.
Dad is identified as DAKOTA GRAHAM.
http://www.newscow.net/story.php?StoryID=9216
AC man, 19, is jailed on child abuse charges
By Shane Farley
September 10, 2013 - 4:59:28 pm
Ark City police arrested a man Saturday after he is said to have admitted abusing his three-year-old child while she was under his care.
Authorities were contacted by the child’s grandmother who was at the hospital after learning of the abuse. The family eventually took the child to the police station to speak with investigators.
It was learned the child and father were home alone. The young girl provided details of the events leading up to her injury and those details were consistent with abuse.
Police found the father, 19-year-old Dakota Graham, at his residence. He showed officers where the injury occurred and said his daughter had tripped and fallen coming out of the bathroom.
Graham was taken to the police department for an interview in which he is said to have confessed to abuse. He was then placed under arrest for abuse of a child and aggravated battery. He remained in jail Tuesday morning and had a bond set at $10,000.
The child remains in the care of her mother who was at work during the incident.
Dad is identified as DAKOTA GRAHAM.
http://www.newscow.net/story.php?StoryID=9216
AC man, 19, is jailed on child abuse charges
By Shane Farley
September 10, 2013 - 4:59:28 pm
Ark City police arrested a man Saturday after he is said to have admitted abusing his three-year-old child while she was under his care.
Authorities were contacted by the child’s grandmother who was at the hospital after learning of the abuse. The family eventually took the child to the police station to speak with investigators.
It was learned the child and father were home alone. The young girl provided details of the events leading up to her injury and those details were consistent with abuse.
Police found the father, 19-year-old Dakota Graham, at his residence. He showed officers where the injury occurred and said his daughter had tripped and fallen coming out of the bathroom.
Graham was taken to the police department for an interview in which he is said to have confessed to abuse. He was then placed under arrest for abuse of a child and aggravated battery. He remained in jail Tuesday morning and had a bond set at $10,000.
The child remains in the care of her mother who was at work during the incident.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
While dad was passed out at bar, 3-year-old son was wandering the streets; what happened to this boy's mother? (Wichita, Kansas)
Weird. For the second time today we have an UNNAMED DAD living in a motel with a toddler--and no mother around. And once again, the media isn't concerned or alert enough to ask why, or what happened to the mother.
This time Daddy left the kid while he went out drinking. Then Daddy passed out, and somebody found the kid wandering around a parking lot. The child is now in protective custody. Not with Mom.
So what happened to Mom? While did this boozing nitwit have possession/access to this child? Who gave him possession/access?
http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/Man-Arrested-After-Child-Found-Wandering-In-South-Wichita-223150141.html
WPD: Child Found Wandering While Dad Is Passed Out Behind Bar
By: KAKE News Email Updated: Tue 12:07 PM, Sep 10, 2013 September 10, 2013
A man has been arrested after Wichita Police found his young son in a parking lot early this morning. Police officers were called to the 2100 block of South Broadway at 2:00 a.m. A three-year-old was found in a convenience store parking lot. A clerk at a nearby motel told officers the child was staying there.
Officers later found the child's father asleep behind a bar at 2032 S. Broadway. The child has been placed in protective custody.
This time Daddy left the kid while he went out drinking. Then Daddy passed out, and somebody found the kid wandering around a parking lot. The child is now in protective custody. Not with Mom.
So what happened to Mom? While did this boozing nitwit have possession/access to this child? Who gave him possession/access?
http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/Man-Arrested-After-Child-Found-Wandering-In-South-Wichita-223150141.html
WPD: Child Found Wandering While Dad Is Passed Out Behind Bar
By: KAKE News Email Updated: Tue 12:07 PM, Sep 10, 2013 September 10, 2013
A man has been arrested after Wichita Police found his young son in a parking lot early this morning. Police officers were called to the 2100 block of South Broadway at 2:00 a.m. A three-year-old was found in a convenience store parking lot. A clerk at a nearby motel told officers the child was staying there.
Officers later found the child's father asleep behind a bar at 2032 S. Broadway. The child has been placed in protective custody.
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