How Could You? Hall of Shame-Tristan Dosdall case-Child Death

From Peyton, Colorado , Michelle Dosdall  has been sentenced to 6 years in prison after pleading guilty to fatal child abuse (blow to the head) of her 3-year old adopted son, Tristan.

Colo. woman sentenced in death of adopted son, 3
[9news.com January 15, 2011 by Associated Press]

“Michelle Dosdall of Peyton was charged in the March 29 [2010] death of her son Tristan. She was sentenced on Friday in El Paso County District Court.

The Gazette of Colorado Springs reports that Dosdall told deputies Tristan fell when he got out of the bathtub. He was unconscious and having difficulty breathing when paramedics arrived at her home. He died after he was taken to a hospital.

An autopsy found Tristan died from a blow to the head that was inconsistent with a household fall.”

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“According to the sheriff’s arrest affidavit, Dosdall told a detective the following:

Tristan and his 5-year-old brother had been playing together and had been more rambunctious than usual. Around 8 p.m., she took Tristan upstairs for a bath, Afterward, she placed Tristan on a bath rug in front of the tub. Wrapping the boy in a towel, she went to an adjoining bedroom to get his pajamas.
While in the bedroom, she heard a “thud.” When she went back to see what had happened, she found Tristan lying on the floor crying. It appeared that he’d fallen on the wet floor, but seemed to be fine after she calmed him down.

Tristan’s birth mother had been addicted to methamphetamine, and before Dosdall adopted him when he was 1, Tristan had been severely neglected in foster care. He required physical therapy, which involved doing exercises on a carpeted floor.

After the bath, Tristan didn’t want to do his exercises and she was forced to be verbally “gruff” with him. Sometimes, when Tristan didn’t want to do his exercises he would go limp and fall backward, allowing his head to hit the carpet. After exercising for about 20 minutes, Tristan suddenly went limp and his eyes rolled back.

She picked him up and tried to revive him by shaking, slapping and placing him under a cold shower, but he did not respond.

On March 25, Dosdall’s older son was questioned by a caseworker. He told her his mother had given Tristan a bath, “then sit-ups and then boom.” He clapped his hands to simulate the sound. “Then got some cold water and then he went to the hospital.”

Dosdall’s 5-year-old son has been removed from the home and is in the custody of county social services. Her husband was not home when Tristan was injured, Sevene said.

Dosdall volunteered with the local chapter of the National Puppy Mill Rescue, which rescues dogs kept in cages for breeding in puppy mills.”

Mother facing murder charge in adopted 3-year-old’s death
[The Gazette 4/2/10 by Joel Millman]

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