How Could You? Hall of Shame-Aubrey Littlejohn case UPDATED-Child Death

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Swain County, North Carolina, “[t]he Swain County Department of Social Services falsified records relating to the abuse and neglect of a 15-month-old baby who later died, according to an investigation by the Swain County Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation.”

Craig Smith is the social worker who is being investigated for “obstruction of justice being infamous, done in secrecy and malice, and/or with deceit and intent to defraud.”

“Fifteen-month-old Aubrey Littlejohn was in the care of her great-aunt Ladybird Powell when she died on Jan. 10. Abuse and neglect are considered contributing factors, according to law enforcement records, but the investigation is still pending and no charges have been filed yet. The autopsy report is not yet final.”

Swain DSS Investigated for Cover-Up in Child’s Death
[Smoky Mountain News 2/23/11 by Becky Johnson]

Update: Probable Cause Affidavit is available here. It explains how Craig Smith falsified papers indicating a hospital visit and doctor interview. It also discusses interviews with “numerous persons” who witnessed physical abuse, neglect and that the home environment had inadequate food, heat and other inadequacies.

Update 2: “A supervisor and social worker at the Swain County Department of Social Services were charged with felonies Tuesday in connection with the agency’s oversight of a 15-month-old girl whose death came amid evidence of abuse.

A grand jury indicted supervisor Candice Lassiter on three felony counts of forgery and three felony counts of obstruction of justice after a State Bureau of Investigation inquiry.

She is on administrative leave, said agency attorney Justin Greene, and could not immediately be reached for comment.

The same grand jury indicted social worker Craig Smith on three counts of obstruction of justice, according to court records.

Smith no longer works for the agency. He also could not immediately be reached.

SBI agents a year ago searched the county’s DSS office as part of an investigation into the events surrounding the death of Aubrey Littlejohn.

The toddler died Jan. 10, 2011, at the Cherokee Indian Hospital about 15 minutes after being brought in by her great-aunt, Lady Bird Powell.

Powell was charged last week with the child’s second-degree murder, felony child abuse, first-degree kidnapping, extortion and possession of methamphetamine.

The child was left in a car seat for 12 hours the day before and given only few bites of a hot dog and sips of soda, according to court papers.

She was wrapped in a blanket and wearing only a diaper soaked in urine and feces and a T-shirt when she arrived at the hospital, according to an investigator’s statement in a search warrant.

Officials said the child’s body temperature was 84 degrees when she was brought in.

Powell had been caring for the child while the girl’s mother was in jail. An autopsy report said the cause of death was undetermined.

Smith visited her home five months before she died but found no evidence of abuse despite a complaint the girl had fallen from an unbuckled car seat down a set of stairs, according to an SBI search warrant.

Smith later falsified his records after Aubrey Littlejohn died to show he had called the hospital to make sure she was examined for injuries from the fall, investigators said in the search warrant.
Lassiter was his supervisor.”

Swain DSS officials arrested
[Asheville Citizen Times 2/7/12 by Jon Ostendorff]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

This is an interesting case as the social workers are being held accountable for inadequate postplacement monitoring. We only have a few cases in our archive like this. It remains to be seen if this will have far-reaching effects on how NC system conducts itself.

Update 3:

“”The abuse and neglect which Aubrey suffered before her death would have been apparent to any department of social services which was properly discharging its legal duties and obligations,” reads the complaint, filed by attorneys Frederick Barbour and David Wijewickrama, on behalf of Aubrey’s estate.

Calls to the Swain County Department of Social Services were not immediately returned Thursday. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Human Services said the agency had no comment on the wrongful death claim, which seeks unspecified damages.

According to the complaint, there were three separate reports that Aubrey was being abused by her great aunt, LadyBird Powell, between September and November 2010. The girl died the following January after being taken to a nearby hospital.

Powell was arrested last month and is being held on a second-degree murder charge in the Swain County jail.

An Associated Press investigation found that police and social workers had been aware of reports Aubrey was being mistreated while she was staying with Powell. Two months before Aubrey died, authorities removed a different child from Powell’s home but left Aubrey behind.

Two Swain County social service workers have been charged with falsifying records and indicted on obstruction of justice charges in Aubrey’s death.

Candice Lassiter and Craig Smith are scheduled to appear in court Feb. 27. Lassiter is also facing forgery charges stemming from the case.

Smith was a social worker for the Swain County Department of Social Services and Lassiter was his supervisor. Police say that after Aubrey’s death, Lassiter ordered Smith to falsify records to make it appear as though the department had done a thorough investigation into allegations that Aubrey was being abused by Powell.

Wijewickrama said he wants the state to make changes to prevent other deaths. The state Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for the administration, enforcement and funding of programs for the placement, care and protection of children within North Carolina. He said the agency had a duty to monitor social service departments in the state — but failed to do its job.”
Lawyers file claim with state over NC girl’s death
[Wisconsin Rapids Tribune 2/16/12 by Tom Breen/Associated Press]

Update 4:“The family of a 15-month-old girl who died while under the care of the Swain County Department of Social Services filed a civil lawsuit against the agency and staffers involved in the case.

The legal action is the second from the family of Aubrey Littlejohn. The family has also filed a case with the state Industrial Commission.

Aubrey died Jan. 10, 2011, at the Cherokee Indian Hospital about 15 minutes after being brought in by her great-aunt, Lady Bird Powell.

She was left in a car seat for 12 hours the day before and given only a few bites of a hot dog and sips of soda, according to court papers.

She was wrapped in a blanket and wearing only a diaper soaked in urine and feces and a T-shirt when she arrived at the hospital, according to an investigator’s statement in a search warrant.

Officials said the child’s body temperature was 84 degrees when she was brought in.

Powell faces second-degree murder charges.

Attorneys David Wijewickrama and Frederick Barbour said in the legal complaint that DSS officials knew the child was being abused but failed to take action to protect her. The complaint also alleges that illegal drugs were being used in the home.

The complaint does not specify the exact amount of damages the family is seeking.

The complaint asks for a jury trial. “It is very important to the family that the facts and evidence be reviewed and brought to light and, if it can support it, the Department of Social Services and social workers be held accountable,” said Wijewickrama.

He said the family’s long-term goal is to change DSS so no other child is harmed in the future.

Two DSS staffers also face criminal charges in connection with Aubrey’s death.”

Aubrey Littlejohn family files second lawsuit in child’s death

[Citizen-Times 6/6/12 by Jon Ostendorff]

Update 5: ” In a case that stunned this North Carolina community, trials are set to begin Monday for two social service workers accused of trying to cover up the agency’s role after a child’s death.

Candice Lassiter, 30, is charged with three counts each of obstruction of justice and forgery related to the police investigation of 15-month-old Aubrey Kina-Marie Littlejohn’s 2011 death. Craig Smith, 28, is charged with three counts of obstruction of justice in the death of the girl, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Lassiter and Smith worked for the Department of Social Services in Swain County — where part of the Cherokees’ sprawling reservation lies.

Prosecutors say that after Aubrey’s death, Lassiter ordered Smith, a subordinate, to falsify records to make it appear that the department had done a thorough job investigating allegations that the girl had been abused.

The case is unusual. Social workers are rarely charged in connection with the death of a child under their supervision, said Doriane Coleman, an expert on children’s law at Duke University Law School.

Even then, she said, “the usual facts are the little kid died, the social workers knew something about it and didn’t take care of it.”

“This is a case where social workers are accused of falsifying documents and obstructing justice after the fact. They’re not being prosecuted for failure to take care of the little girl while she was alive. They’re being prosecuted for … what they did after she died to protect themselves,” Coleman said.

The death of Aubrey polarized western North Carolina and sparked anger in the Native American community. She died after she was rushed to the hospital by great-aunt Ladybird Powell, who began taking care of Aubrey in 2010, shortly before the toddler’s mother reported to jail in a marijuana-trafficking case. Powell told doctors she had put the girl to bed and, when she checked on her a few hours later, she wasn’t breathing.

A state medical examiner said Aubrey died of undetermined causes, but noted bruises and broken bones.

Some in the tribe say the Department of Social Services didn’t do enough to protect her. Led by Aubrey’s great-aunt, Ruth McCoy, family members and friends pushed police to investigate.

An Associated Press investigation found that police and social workers had been aware of reports that Aubrey was being mistreated while she was staying with the woman. Powell, 39, of Bryson City, has since pleaded guilty in the child’s death and was sentenced two months ago to 12 years in prison.

Lassiter and three other DSS workers were suspended with pay. Tammy Cagle, the agency’s director at the time, was fired for what county officials said were unrelated reasons.

Lassiter’s attorney, Zeyland McKinney, did not return telephone calls this week.

Smith resigned from the department shortly after Aubrey’s death and has started a landscaping business. His attorney, Rodney Hasty, said Thursday that he couldn’t discuss the case. But he said Smith is “working hard. He’s put his head down and trying to get through this the best he can.”

David Wijewickrama, a lawyer representing Aubrey’s estate, has filed two lawsuits in connection with her death, at least one of which names the county DSS as a defendant, along with Lassiter, Smith and five other current and former social workers.

The lawsuit asks for more than $10,000 in damages, and accuses Swain County of not doing enough to protect Native American children.”

Trials set for social workers in N.C. child’s death

[USA Today 4/13/13 by Associated Press]

“A county social service worker in North Carolina admitted Monday to ordering that records be faked during the probe of a child’s death, and she’s agreed to cooperate with authorities who are continuing to investigate her co-workers.

 

Social worker pleads guilty in NC child’s death

[Boston.com 4/15/13 by Mitch Weiss/Associated Press]

Update 6: “Angry over the way Swain County social services workers handled a child abuse case in which a 15-month old girl died, a Native American tribe is planning to form its own agency to protect children on a North Carolina reservation.

A special committee of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will appoint a board for the proposed social services agency, said Ruth McCoy, a committee member, told The Associated Press. Once the board is appointed, it will hire a director, she said.

Other details will have to be worked out, including funding and hiring social services workers, but McCoy said appointing a board is a critical first step.

“We’re doing this to protect our children,” said McCoy, who works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. “The goal is to have it going in the next year. After everything that’s happened, this is something the chief has been working on, and we want to do.”

McCoy is the great-aunt of Aubrey Kina-Marie Littlejohn, whose 2011 death sparked outrage in the Native American community. McCoy and tribal leaders say the Swain County Department of Social Services didn’t do enough to protect Aubrey. The girl was a member of the tribe whose sprawling reservation lies in parts of four counties in the picturesque Smoky Mountains in the western part of the state.

A Swain County social services worker recently pleaded guilty to ordering that records be faked during the probe of Aubrey’s death and has agreed to cooperate with authorities who are continuing to investigate her co-workers. Another Swain County social services worker has been charged in connection with the cover-up.

Tribal sovereignty gives federally recognized tribes the authority to govern themselves. The Eastern Band of Cherokees has a tribal council with a chief that sets policy on the reservation, a tribal court system, and public safety and other departments.

It’s not unusual for tribes to provide social services, said Terry Cross, executive director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association in Portland, Ore.

About 40 to 50 percent of the tribes in the lower 48 states handle their own child protection cases, he said. And every tribe has some form of child welfare program, he added. It could be something as simple as monitoring state or county programs.

“Frequently the decision whether or not to do your own child protection cases is mostly a resource issue,” Cross said. “The tribes that feel like they have the resources to do it – and the philosophical underpinnings, they want to protect their own and express their sovereignty – have those child protection systems.  Where tribes don’t feel like they have adequate resources and have to prioritize, they don’t have them.”

With the Eastern Band of Cherokees, “it may be more unusual for a tribe of their size and capacity to have not done it sooner,” he said.

For years, agencies in Swain, Jackson, Graham and Cherokee counties have had a contract to provide social services to the reservation. That includes investigating child abuse complaints.

Swain and Jackson counties handle the bulk of child abuse complaints on the reservation. About 26 percent of Swain County’s nearly 14,000 residents are Native American, according to U.S. census figures. In neighboring Jackson County, nearly 10 percent of the more than 40,000 residents are Native American.

Officials in Swain and Jackson counties say tribal leaders have shared few details with them about the proposed agency – but they say they know enough to predict layoffs for their departments.

Swain County Administrator Kevin King said 58 percent of the county’s 626 substantiated child abuse complaints last year involved families on the reservation.

He said Swain County has four full-time employees devoted to handling reservation cases. “They would lose their jobs,” he said.

Others could find themselves unemployed, too, if the tribe takes over other social services, such as the food stamps program, which is administered by the county agency. King estimated that 12 of the county’s 45 DSS workers could be at risk.

“At this point, we don’t know the exact ramifications of a total move of DSS,” he said.

But King said he’s supportive of the tribe’s move.

So is Jackson County DSS director Robert Cochran, though he said he’s concerned about staffing complications. He said he also expects his agency to continue to play a role in helping the Native American community.

“This is not going to be a stand-alone island agency. They’re going to continue to have very much daily interactions and reliance upon Swain and Jackson counties,” he said.

McCoy said there will be a period of adjustment, but tribal leaders believed this was the right move in the wake of Aubrey’s death.

The toddler died after she was rushed to the hospital by great-aunt Ladybird Powell, who began taking care of Aubrey in 2010, shortly before the toddler’s mother reported to jail in a marijuana-trafficking case.

A state medical examiner said Aubrey died of undetermined causes but noted bruises and broken bones.

Powell, 39, of Bryson City has since pleaded guilty in the child’s death and was sentenced two months ago to 12 years in prison.

An Associated Press investigation found that police and social workers were aware of reports that Aubrey was mistreated while she was staying with Powell.

Former Swain County social worker Candice Lassiter, 30, pleaded guilty Monday to three counts of forgery related to the police investigation and faces up to 45 months in prison. Another Swain County social worker, Craig Smith is charged with three counts of obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors say that after Aubrey’s death, Lassiter ordered Smith, a subordinate, to falsify records to make it appear that Swain County DSS had done a thorough job investigating allegations that the girl had been abused.

David Wijewickrama, a lawyer representing Aubrey’s estate, has filed two lawsuits in connection with her death, at least one of which names the county DSS as a defendant, along with Lassiter, Smith and five other current and former social workers. The lawsuit asks for more than $10,000 in damages, and accuses Swain County of not doing enough to protect Native American children.”

Cherokees plan to create their own DSS agency

[Miami Herald 4/20/13 by Associated Press/Mitch Weiss]