How Could You? Hall of Shame-Canada-Kawliga Potts case-Child Death UPDATED

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 Edmonton, Canada, “Lily Choy is on trial for a second time in the death of a three-year-old boy. She is accused of second-degree murder after the young boy suffered severe cranial trauma.

Choy was convicted of manslaughter in 2008 but the decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal.”

“The defence contends the young boy was aggressive and displayed harmful behavior.

The Crown alleges Choy was neglectful and subjected the boy to extreme punishment, citing allegations he was forced to sleep in the garage in a soiled diaper.”

Foster mom back on trial in death of little boy
[CTV News Edmonton 4/5/11 by Laura Tupper]

Lily is 32 years old and “was a single mother with two children of her own, who, at the time of the boy’s death, had three foster children in total.

The Crown is alleging the foster mother subjected the boy to “neglect, malnourishment and extreme forms of discipline,” and that his death resulted from an escalating pattern of abuse and animosity toward the child.”

“Photos of the child unconscious in hospital show bruises on his legs, and cuts and scrapes inside his mouth and lower lip, and on his body.

The trial is slated to last one month, and then resume with a final witness called to testify in August.”

The 911 Call
“In a call to 9-1-1 placed before the boy’s death on Jan. 27, 2007, the foster mother told the 9-1-1 operator she had a “little foster boy” who had been harming himself recently. She said the boy had been “getting aggressive again” when he collapsed on the floor of the bathroom.

“We can’t rouse him,” she told the operator. “His eyes are open, and he’s … taking deep breathes occasionally, but we can’t get him to react to stimuli. I can feel he’s got a pulse, but I’m very worried.”

The woman described the boy as having “a vacant look in his eyes,” and said it doesn’t seem like the boy is having a seizure.

“I don’t know what this is, and I’m scared,” she said.

At one point, the foster mother holds the phone to the child and says the boy’s name, so the operator can hear him make a breathy, moaning sound.

The foster mother also tells the 9-1-1 operator that the boy has a bruise on his head, but she says it was caused a day earlier, when the boy was “throwing himself around on the floor” and against walls.

Evidence photos tendered in court on Monday show a clean and comfortable west Edmonton home, with toys and sports equipment and bunk beds in two bedrooms.”

How Child Died is Focus of Trial
[Edmonton Journal 4/5/11 by Jana G. Pruden]

Update:  The child’s nanny testified at Choy’s hearing. “Julia Gee broke down and cried on the witness stand in Edmonton court. She said she continues to suffer from guilt because she did nothing to protect the three-year-old boy.”

“Pictures of the foster child showing bruises on his neck, back, arms and legs were submitted in court earlier this month.” He died of a “severe brain injury”.
Nanny ignored ‘red flags’ in foster care death
[CBC News 4/14/11]

7/18/11 Updates
No media story has been published since mid-April. The last witness is slated to be heard from in August 2011. We have found some of the backstory, pediatrician testimony in the media from the current trial and the pdfs of some of the trial evidence from the Alberta Courts website (Court of Queen’s Bench), though. This second trial is being heard only by the judge.

Our commenter asks if Lily was a nurse. Yes, it appears that she was a nurse and nurse instructor at one point.

Backstory

Since Alberta does not identify names of child victims, this case was once dubbed  the Alberta Kafka case by local trackers, which led us to the following article about her release after the first conviction.
Fix CAS Blog [Fix CAS blog of Edmonton Sun 9/3/2009 story by Tony Blais]

“According to court documents obtained by Sun Media, the former nursing instructor was released on a $5,000 no-cash deposit recognizance with numerous conditions.

Those include that she keep the peace and be of good behaviour, attend court when required, report to her bail supervisor weekly and turn herself in for her appeal.

As well, she must live with her mother and maintain employment with her father, and she is not allowed to apply for or possess a passport or other travel documents.

She is also not allowed to be alone with children under 12, unless another adult is in the immediate presence, or have any child under her care.

She is allowed to have supervised access to her own biological children if a court determines it is in the best interest of the children.

FIVE-WEEK TRIAL

A jury acquitted the woman of second-degree murder, but found her guilty of manslaughter on Nov. 29, 2008, after three days of deliberations following a five-week trial.

Police were called to the woman’s west-end home on Jan. 26, 2007, after the boy was taken to Stollery Children’s Hospital suffering from serious head trauma. He died in hospital the next day as a result of a fatal brain injury, later determined to be caused by blunt force trauma.

At her trial, the foster mother tearfully testified that the victim was “throwing himself everywhere” as she was holding him in the bathroom, that she lost balance and the boy fell, hitting his head on the toilet, causing the fatal injury.

A Crown expert testified the boy’s injuries came from being struck repeatedly, shaken, or a combination of the two, and said that the injuries were not accidental.

A U.S. pathologist disputed the expert’s evidence and testified fatal brain injuries can be caused by short falls.

‘SUB-ZERO GARAGE’

The jury heard evidence that the young foster child was locked in a “sub-zero garage” clad in only a diaper, forced to stay on the toilet for long periods and made to exercise up and down stairs after midnight.

The foster mom has filed appeals of both her manslaughter conviction and her sentence while the Crown is appealing her acquittal on second-degree murder.

The couple of months the woman served on her penitentiary sentence were at the minimum-security Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge near Maple Creek, Sask. ”

Pediatrician Testimony Current Trial

” Dr. Kan Lee took the stand Tuesday and described his examination of the youngster. He told court he saw several bruises on the boy’s body, including on his forehead, legs, arms and lower back.

Dr. Lee told court that Lily Choy told him the marks on the boy’s body may have come from a visit to his biological father. The doctor also testified that Choy told him the boy would wake up screaming and he would have tantrums in which he would say, “Daddy hurt me, daddy pulling ears.”

Dr. Lee also testified he did not see aggressive behaviour in the child.

“He was very quiet, very little emotion shown,” said Dr. Lee. “At times he would raise his arms at Lily Choy. Lily Choy told me he wanted a hug, a cuddle.”

Dr. Lee also told court Choy was cooperative.”
Doctor Testifies at Foster Mom Trial
[CTV by Laura Tupper 4/5/11]

Court of the Queen’s Bench Rulings, Current Case

Child is referred to as A.B.

1. 18-page pdf released June 13 2011 from testimony April 4 -29, 2011

Judge rules on two points: Was Lily’ Choy’s verbal and written statements at the hospital voluntary? Yes (page 13). But he also rules that reasonable people would assume she was detained and she was not given her rights, so page 18 says that her written and oral statement at hospital are EXCLUDED.

• Pdf released May 26Judge rules on interview with Social Worker, who talked to Lily Choy.  Page 2, point 7: Lily Choy says that the child had been throwing tantrums after a visit with birthfamily the previous week .Ruling to determine whether what she said is part of evidence or not. I believe this conclusion is that the social worker statement can be used as evidence.
• Pdf released May 4Judge rules on bus driver’s observation and child A.B.’s statement to her that his huge forehead bruise was caused by “auntie”. Child’s hearsay is ruled inadmissible.
• Pdf released April 19Judge rules on neighbors’ observations of neglect. This is ruled inadmissible.

 

2008 and 2009 rulings in this case can be found here.

Update 3: “The second-degree murder trial of an Edmonton foster mother resumed Wednesday with the accused taking the stand in her own defence

“The second trial is being heard by judge alone in Edmonton Court of Queen’s Bench.”
Trial resumes for foster mother accused of murder
[CBC 8/31/11]

Update 4: Edmonton Journal reports, “An Edmonton foster mother was found guilty of manslaughter Wednesday after her second trial in connection with the 2007 death of a three-year-old boy in her care.

In a judgment that took three hours to read, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Donna Read outlined the voluminous evidence presented in the case of Lily Choy, who was facing a charge of second-degree murder for the boy’s death.

In January 2007, the Edmonton nurse was caring for three foster children and her own two children in a west-end home. The three-year-old foster child died following an incident in the home on Jan. 26 of that year.

Choy, now 36, testified in her own defence during her trial and claimed the boy had a history of “self-harming behaviour.” She told court she got up in the middle of the night to take the agitated boy to the bathroom. She said he was screaming and struggling when he pushed away from her and struck his head on a toilet. He soon lost consciousness.

“I do not find Choy’s version of events to be credible,” Read said in her decision, and called some of Choy’s evidence “improbable.”

Read pointed to numerous medical experts who testified the boy’s injuries, which included severe brain swelling, were consistent with shaking or being thrown around.

The judge said she was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt the boy’s injuries were not self-inflicted, were not accidental and that Choy assaulted him. However, she said she could not be certain of what Choy did to cause the boy’s death — whether she shook him or threw him, or even whether the child’s head struck the toilet. The judge said she could not be certain Choy had the necessary intent needed for a second-degree murder conviction.

“I have grave suspicions,” Read said about Choy’s actions, but added that suspicion is not enough for a murder conviction.”

“Several members of the boy’s family were in court Wednesday. They applauded briefly when Read said she did not find the boy’s death was an accident but appeared dismayed at the conviction on the lesser charge of manslaughter. The child’s identity is protected under a publication ban.

Homicide detective Bill Clarke, who worked on the case, said Choy has shown no remorse for the death.

“This was, in my opinion, a woman who has no remorse, she’s shown no remorse,” Clarke said outside court, noting the child’s injuries when he arrived at hospital were “atrocious.”

“It was vicious. It was a vicious attack on a three-year-old child.”

During the trial, court heard the boy’s body was covered in bruises — including severe bruises to his buttocks and lower back — when he arrived at hospital. Read found that Choy was the only person who could have caused such extensive bruising.

The judge also accepted the evidence of a live-in nanny, who had been working for Choy for a short period before the boy’s death. The nanny testified Choy had once disciplined the child by having him sleep on the concrete floor of the garage on a January night.

The nanny also testified she had seen virtually no self-abusive behaviour by the little boy.

Choy is scheduled to be sentenced for the crime on Oct. 17. She remains on bail until that date.”

The Toronto Sun reports, “Following the decision, the boy’s father and aunt angrily stormed out of the courtroom, and there were loud expressions of disbelief by people in the public gallery.”

“City homicide Det. Bill Clark, who interviewed Choy after the death, said he was “very surprised” by the ruling.”

Choy hugged her supporters after the decision and was expected to walk out of the courtroom after being granted bail pending her Oct. 17 sentencing hearing.

However, court sheriffs took her into the cells adjoining the courtroom to speak to her lawyer and then escorted her to an unknown area so she could leave the building.

Clark took exception to that and criticized one of the sheriffs for giving Choy “special treatment.””

Choy testified in her own defence the boy had been “frantic” and “screaming,” and she had carried him to a downstairs bathroom where she said he had hit his head on the toilet after she fell over as a result of him hitting her.

Read rejected Choy’s evidence, calling it “incredible” and saying she did not believe her.

The judge also rejected the defence expert witnesses while accepting the Crown’s medical evidence that the boy had suffered a deadly brain injury as a result of “abusive head trauma” involving “severe force.”

As well, Read ruled that she accepted that Choy had spanked the boy, causing bruising on his buttocks, she had forced him to walk up and down stairs late at night for exercise, and had placed him in a frigid garage in only his diaper as punishment for wetting the bed.

In 2008, a jury convicted Choy of manslaughter after a five-week trial and three days of deliberations. She was sentenced to three years in prison.

But she was granted bail two months into her sentence pending cross appeals by both the Crown and defence.

A new trial was ordered last year after a three-judge panel ruled the trial judge had erred in the way he urged the deadlocked jury in the case to reach a verdict.”
Foster mom guilty in death of boy
[Toronto Sun 9/15/11 by Tony Blais]

Second trial finds foster mom guilty of manslaughter
[Edmonton Journal 9/15/11 by Alexandra Zabjek]

Update 5: “An Edmonton court is once again hearing sentencing arguments in the Lily Choy case. Prosecutors are asking for a much stiffer sentence than Choy received the last time she was sentenced for her crime.

In 2007, a three-year-old foster boy died while in Choy’s care. He was alone in the bathroom with Choy when he suffered a fatal blow to the head.

In 2008, Choy was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to three years in prison. Choy successfully appealed her conviction but her new trial ended with the same verdict.

Now prosecutors say she should go to prison for 12 to 16 years. Choy’s lawyer will make her sentencing arguments on Friday.

Meanwhile, outside of the courthouse, a handful of protesters showed their support to the family of the young boy who died while in Choy’s care.

Jamie Sullivan says she knows how the family feels. Her daughter died on April 11th, just six days after being taken from Sullivan and put into a foster home. Sullivan blames the foster system and hopes the courts impose a stiff sentence on Choy.

“It makes me very angry that people are doing these things to our children,” Sullivan said. “I mean, they’re supposed to be protecting our kids.”

Sullivan says she still has not been told how her daughter died.”

Sullivan’s story is at another How Could You? post here.

Prosecutors, protesters push for stiffer sentence in death of foster child
[Global Edmonton 10/17/11]

“The brief submission was made Monday morning during the same court session where family members of the child read victim impact statements.”

“The Crown, meantime, contends Choy had an established pattern of abuse, citing allegations the child was at one point forced to sleep in the garage while wearing a soiled diaper.

The court heard a 911 call made by the former foster mom, where she tells the dispatcher there was no movement in the child’s eyes and the boy was wheezing deeply.

A sentence is expected Friday afternoon.”

Crown seeks lengthy sentence for Choy
[CTV Edmonton 10/17/11 by Jessica Earle]

“Crown prosecutor Allison Downey-Damato read victim impact statements from the child’s family members during Monday’s hearing.

“Sometimes it feels like I died that day,” the child’s father said.

“All those things that a father looks forward to have been ripped from my life.”

“I don’t hate this woman. I pity her instead,” the boy’s grandfather said in his statement. “I can’t understand the evilness of this act.”

“Choy earlier spent two months and two days behind bars in a minimum security jail before a judge set her free on bail pending the appeal.”

Crown wants 16-year sentence for foster mother
[CBC 10/17/11]

Update 6: Lily Choy is sentenced to 6 years in prison with 6 months off for time served.

“Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Donna Read described the victim as a “small innocent child” and “vulnerable” and said society had entrusted Choy to take care of him.

“Instead, she assaulted him so severely that he died,” said Read, adding that she found Choy had meted out a “pattern of escalating abuse” against the boy over a period of several days before his fatal Jan. 26, 2007, attack.

That “callous and cruel” abuse included Choy causing the child to have a large bruise on his forehead, fresh scrapes on his body and bruises on his buttocks from spanking.

As well, the judge found Choy had forced the foster child to walk up and down stairs late at night for exercise and had placed him in a frigid garage overnight wearing only his diaper as punishment for wetting the bed.

Read gave Choy six months credit for three months of pre-trial custody, leaving her five and a half years to serve.”

Lily Choy gets six years for killing her foster child
[Edmonton Sun 10/21/11]

Update 7: The child is revealed to be a Native child. No previous article mentions this. “This Friday, foster mother Lily Choy was sentenced to six years for the manslaughter of a native foster child who had been placed in her care. Choy was an experienced mother, a trained registered nurse, and she, too, snapped under the pressure of caring for more foster children than she was supposed to have. Of the four aboriginal foster kids killed in care in the last few years, two were in kinship care, two in regular foster homes. In the cases that have already gone to court, all three caregivers who killed their wards had been given too many neurologically damaged kids to care for, without enough supports.”

Little girl’s death highlights desperate need for foster-care reform
[Edmonton Journal 10/24/11 by Paula Simons]

Update 8 : Would a third trial mean justice?

“Lily Choy, a foster mother twice convicted and twice sentenced in the death of a three-year-old boy under her care, may be headed for a third trial.

At the end of her second trial, in October, Choy was sentenced to six years in prison for manslaughter.
The Crown prosecutor’s office has now filed a notice of appeal of that sentence, Alberta Justice spokesman Josh Stewart said Friday.

The day that sentence was handed down, Crown prosecutor Allison Downey-Damato was disappointed and raised the possibility of an appeal. She had asked for a sentence of 12 to 16 years.

Choy has also filed a notice of appeal, though she is opposing both the guilty verdict and sentence. At trial, defence lawyer Mona Duckett had asked for a sentence of three years, which is what the 37-year-old Choy received for her first manslaughter conviction.

That first sentence, in 2008, was also appealed by the Crown and the defence.

A date for the appeals to be heard has not been set.

In January 2007, the Edmonton nurse was caring for three foster children and her own two children in a west-end home, court has heard.

The three-year-old foster child died following an incident in the home on Jan. 26 of that year.
Choy testified in her own defence and claimed the boy had a history of “self-harming behaviour.”

She told court she awoke in the middle of the night to take the agitated boy to the washroom. She said he was screaming and struggling when he pushed away from her, and struck his head on a toilet. He soon lost consciousness. He died of a serious head injury, but also had multiple bruises over his body.

At the second trial, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Donna Read concluded that the boy’s injuries could not possibly have been self-inflicted and were not accidental.

“I find Mrs. Choy assaulted this child a number of times over a number of days leading up to the final assault,” Read said at the time. “I find these assaults increased in severity.”

Court also heard Choy would make the boy climb steps in the home late at night, severely limited his diet and repeatedly made him stay in an unheated garage as punishment, including on the night he died.

Also, Choy spanked the child hard enough to leave bruises in the days before he died. Defence lawyer Mona Duckett admitted that behaviour was “cruel and inappropriate.”

Edmonton foster mother could face third manslaughter trial
[Edmonton Journal 11/18/11 by Ryan Cormier]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update 9: Thankfully, Lily’s manslaughter conviction was upheld!

“The Court of Appeal of Alberta has upheld the manslaughter conviction of an Edmonton foster mother found guilty in the death of a three-year-old boy in her care.

Lily Choy was convicted of manslaughter during her second trial in 2011 and is serving a six-year sentence in British Columbia’s women’s prison.

Choy first went on trial in 2008. She was sentenced to three years after a jury found her guilty of the same charge but she was granted a new trial after the conviction was overturned on appeal.

Her lawyer argued last week before the Court of Appeal that the judge in the 2011 trial erred in assessing Choy’s credibility on the witness stand and how she evaluated the evidence from witnesses.

He wanted Choy to be granted a third trial. However, the appeal was dismissed in a unanimous decision released on Friday.

The child, who cannot be named under provincial child welfare legislation, died from a fatal brain injury.”

Foster mother’s manslaughter conviction upheld by appeal court

[CBC News 4/5/13]

 Update 10/September 24, 2013

“A foster mother twice convicted in the death of a three-year-old boy under her care should have her prison sentence doubled from six years to 12, a prosecutor told the Alberta Court of Appeal on Tuesday.

Lily Choy has twice been convicted of manslaughter because her first trial was overturned on appeal. Choy’s bid for a third trial was rejected by the appeal court in April. On Tuesday, the Crown brought its appeal of her sentence to court.

“This case, based on the facts, is a near-murder,” argued Crown prosecutor Joanne Dartana. “The degree of violence was extreme.”

Dartana argued the trial judge overemphasized Choy’s “good character” during sentencing. Because it’s a case of fatal child abuse, Dartana said Choy’s character should be given “very little weight.”

The prosecutor also said too much weight was given to the “stress, frustration and possible loss of control” that came with taking care of the boy.

He died of a severe head injury, but there was conflicting trial evidence as to the exact cause. Even so, Dartana said, Choy should have known that the force she used “would put the child at risk of life-threatening injuries,” especially because she was a nurse.

Dartana argued Choy’s sentence should be doubled to 12 years.

The 38-year-old Choy watched the appeal proceedings on closed-circuit television from the Fraser Valley Institution for Women in British Columbia.

In January 2007, she was caring for three foster children and her own two children in a west-end home. The three-year-old foster child died following an incident there on Jan. 26 of that year.

Choy had testified the boy had a history of “self-harming behaviour.”

She told court she awoke in the middle of the night to take the agitated boy to the washroom. She said he screamed and struggled as he pushed away from her and struck his head on the toilet. He soon lost consciousness. He died of a serious head injury, but also had multiple bruises on his body.

At the second trial, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Donna Read concluded the boy’s injuries could not possibly have been self-inflicted and were not accidental.

Court also heard Choy would make the boy climb steps in the home late at night, severely limited his diet and repeatedly made him stay in an unheated garage as punishment, including on the night he died.

Defence lawyer Mona Duckett argued that the previous abuse was not a contributing factor to the boy’s death and is entirely separate from the manslaughter conviction.

Duckett also argued that because the exact cause of the fatal head injury was unknown, the foreseeability of the child’s death could not be accurately judged.

“The trial judge made no error,” Duckett said.

The boy cannot be publicly named because he was in the foster-care system.

The three judges on the appeal court did not announce a date for their decision.”

Prosecutor seeks longer sentence for foster mother in boy’s death

[Edmonton Journal 9/17/13 by Ryan Cormier]

“Today Crown prosecutor Joanne Dartana argued Choy’s sentence is much too light and does not take into account the abuse leading up to the  fatal injury.

The court heard that Choy abused the child before his death, spanking him, making him march up and down the stairs at midnight, and leaving him wearing only a diaper in a unheated garage in the winter.

The sentence also doesn’t reflect that Choy is a registered nurse and must have known her actions could cause the boy’s death, Dartana said..

However Choy’s lawyer Mona Duckett said it was “nonsensical” to suggest the appeal court justices are in a better position to weigh the evidence than the trial judge who listened to all the witnesses.

Choy appeared by closed circuit television from a prison in British Columbia.

The appeal court has reserved its decision”

Killer foster mom Lily Choy could face longer sentence

[CBC 9/17/13]

Update 10: “The Alberta Court of Appeal has increased the sentence handed to an Edmonton woman convicted in the death of her three-year-old foster child.

Lily Choy was sentenced in 2011 to six years in prison after she was found guilty of manslaughter for a second time.

In a ruling Monday the appeal court increased that by two years for a total of eight years, minus time served.

The boy died on Jan. 27, 2007, after his head hit a toilet and doctors couldn’t control the swelling in his brain.

The Crown had argued that the boy’s death was a case of “near murder”, and that the trial judge made a mistake when determining the original sentence.

The appeal court did not agree the case was “near murder”, but ruled the original six-year sentence was not harsh enough.”

Lily Choy Sentence Appeal: Alberta Court Increases Penalty For Woman Who Killed Foster Child [Huffington post 10/7/13 By The Canadian Press]

Update 11:”Foster mom Lily Choy was never supposed to end up with a child under the age of five in her care, an Edmonton fatality inquiry heard Tuesday.

Yet her first charge was three-year-old Kawliga Potts, who died of a severe head trauma in January 2007, less than two months after he was placed in her home.

Potts’ paternal grandfather was a licensed foster carer, but despite him reaching out to the toddler’s case worker, his grandson was never placed in his care.

Instead, Potts ended up with Choy, who is serving eight years for manslaughter in connection with the little boy’s death.

On Tuesday, the fatality inquiry into the case got underway in Edmonton.

Provincial court Judge Ferne LeReverend is overseeing the inquiry, which heard from five witnesses during its first day.

Court heard that when Choy was approved as a foster mom in September 2006, the licensing recommendation report included multiple notes that she should only be given school-aged children.

Next to a checked box of approval on that document, intake worker Thomas Woodburn even used a star and exclamation mark to drive home his point.

Choy was a busy single mom to two kids, Woodburn noted, a nurse with a nanny at home who would be responsible for most of the children’s care.

The court heard Choy didn’t always respond well to foster care training in March 2006, sometimes rolling her eyes, calling it “boring” and appearing “a little closed off” to learning.

Licensing officer Melinda Lane told the inquiry Choy’s behaviour didn’t raise any red flags — it was more that Choy, a nurse, found it repetitive and “too easy.”

When Choy was approved, it was for a maximum of two foster children, and only those classed Level I; that is, kids without any special needs.

Little boy burst into tears

Potts first came to the attention of the child welfare system in June 2006 after complaints of domestic violence, addiction issues and neglect in his home.

On Dec. 4, 2006, his stepmother told case worker Ebele Kaffo she would relinquish the toddler into government care the next day.

An urgent request went out to find a home for the little boy and, on Dec. 5, Kawliga Potts was in a car on his way to Choy’s home.

He was excited, telling his case worker he was going to his daddy’s house.

She corrected him, telling him this was a different home, one belonging to Choy.

When they arrived, Potts burst into tears, crying, “That’s not daddy’s house.”

After being placed in Choy’s care, the toddler was reassessed and designated Level II. That was beyond Choy’s licence level, but the inquiry heard Tuesday it’s unclear if a foster care support plan for the boy was developed.

On Jan. 1, three more foster children were placed into Choy’s care.

Kaffo testified Tuesday that she didn’t have access to the report noting Choy should only have school-aged children, though she and her supervisor ultimately signed off on Potts’ placement.

Kaffo’s notes on Jan. 4 contain the first mention of Potts being bruised, attributed by Choy at the time to the child’s biological father (later disproven at the criminal trial).

During the 2011 trial, Choy testified she was taking the agitated boy to the washroom in the middle of the night and that he struck his head on the toilet when he struggled and pushed away from her.

In her judgment, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Donna Read rejected the defence’s expert witnesses and accepted the Crown’s medical evidence that the boy suffered a fatal brain injury as a result of “abusive head trauma” involving “severe force.”

Fatality inquiry counsel Kirk Lambrecht explained that the inquiry will review how Choy became a foster parent, and how the boy and his siblings came to be in her care. It will also explore how the provincial review board can prevent similar incidents.

Also scheduled for Wednesday is the third meeting for Alberta’s child intervention review panel, convened after public and political outcry in the death of four-year-old Serenity, who died while in kinship care.”

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/inquiry-into-2007-foster-care-death-gets-underway-amidst-provincial-review-of-children-in-care

[Edmonton Journal 2/21/17 by Emma Graney and Paige Parsons]

Update 12: “An Alberta judge says the death of a foster boy from abuse was a direct result of the failure of provincial child welfare to deal with his case properly.

Kawliga Potts was three-years-old when he died in 2007 of extensive head trauma in Edmonton. His foster parent, Lily Choy, was later sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter.

A fatality inquiry report says Choy’s application to be a foster parent wasn’t properly completed or reviewed and case workers were aware of abuse, but failed to take action.

“Kawliga Potts’ death was a direct result of the fundamental failure of everyone connected with this child to do their jobs,” provincial court Judge Ferne LeReverend wrote in her report released Friday.

During Choy’s trial, the Crown argued that the boy’s death was a case of “near murder.” Court heard that Choy hit the boy, denied him food and left him wearing only a diaper in an unheated garage.

The report said the Indigenous boy had developmental problems and may have suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome.

LeReverend said Choy, a single parent with two children of her own and three other foster children, was not qualified to care for Potts.

When evidence of abuse came to light, no one reported it to the child advocate or police, she said.

“Evidence of abuse was present. It was known to five different case workers involved in Lily Choy’s home. None of the workers addressed their minds to what needed to be done to save Kawliga Potts.”

LeReverend recommends the province disclose the names of children who die in care and establish a committee to investigate the deaths of all such children.

She also recommends the province expand the mandate of the child and youth advocate to act on behalf of families in the child-welfare system.

LeReverend said police should be notified immediately when staff suspect criminal activity and the government should provide whistleblower protection for families and officials.

The judge said her recommendations are based on comments made by Tim Richter, CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, about the need to reform child welfare.

“When a child is taken into care, Albertans become that child’s de facto parents,” her report said.

“We have to pressure government to act urgently to eliminate preventable injury or death in our child-welfare system and to make improving that system a priority.

“We have to do better. And we have to do it now.”

Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said the government is reviewing the recommendations. She said the system has substantially improved since Potts’s death.

Hoffman said the government has bolstered how foster parents are trained, monitored and screened.

“As Judge LeReverend notes, while the rules and procedures necessary to ensure appropriate foster care were in place, they were not followed. This is unacceptable,” she said in an email.

“When our child protection system falls short, we need to ask ourselves why, and take action to prevent tragedies from happening again.””

Foster boy’s death a result of child welfare failings: Alberta judge

[Times Colonist 7/28/17 by John Cotter]