How Could You? Hall of Shame-James and Penny Hafer-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 Silverton, West Virginia, 3-year-old foster child, pseudonym “Jasmine”, died in a hot car on July 22, 2012 near Ravenswood, West Virginia after her foster parents James and Penny Hafer forgot her in the third row of the car for 2 to 3 hours.
“The family had just gotten back from church and had several children and adults in a SUV. Investigators say everyone got out the vehicle and went inside the house to take naps.
Jackson County Deputies estimate the little girl was inside the hot vehicle for about three hours before her family realized she was missing about 3:30 p.m. Sunday. She died in the driveway.
“Through some sort of confusion about which parent may have done what the 3-year-old was left in the child seat in the third row seat in an SUV,” Chief Deputy Tony Boggs – Jackson County Sheriff’s Department said. “It’s the worst case of dealing with a child death especially one that didn’t have to happen.”
The family told detectives Jasmine fell asleep on the way home from church and they didn’t realize she was left in the car.
In an interview with WSAZ.com, the victim’s foster uncle says the family is devastated about what’s happened.
“We love the heck out of them and still love the heck out of them even though this happened,” David Hafer, the victim’s foster uncle said.
“They always called me uncle Dave and I always liked that…I’d play with them all the time and they were as happy as all get out I thought.
“”Just the middle of the summer and the heat that we’ve had — it takes very little time for something of this nature to occur,” Chief Deputy Boggs said. “Uh you know, it gives you goose bumps you can’t imagine.”
Deputies say they expect to file child neglect charges against the child’s foster parents this week.
Investigators tell WSAZ.com the couple also had custody of an older child, but CPS has now taken custody of him, according to deputies.
“They were just in our family just the same as any of the rest of our kids were and we love them to pieces and we hate that this happened — I’m telling you because those kids are just like our family and we really do miss them,” Hafer said. “They were just all happy to get out to church and…I just don’t know it’s weird…I don’t like it a bit but I don’t know.”
Jasmine’s foster parent is blaming himself for taking the family to church, according to Hafer.
“He says if maybe he hadn’t have gone to church maybe this wouldn’t have happened. And I said no…, going to church didn’t make it happen or what not,” Hafer said. “God’s not going to take care of things like this — that’s the devil doing that.”
UPDATE: Charges Pending Against Foster Parents in Toddler’s Death
[WSAZ 7/23/12]
This article says that they were in the process of adopting her. “On Sunday, the family of James and Penny Hafer, which included adults and children, came home from church, but left the toddler inside the SUV, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Tony Boggs said this morning.
Two hours later, the Hafers realized the child was missing and found her strapped in the car seat inside the vehicle, Boggs said.
After finding the child, the family called 911, he said.
Deputies are continuing their investigation and charges are expected to be filed, Boggs said.
Investigators expect to have a preliminary cause of death by the end of the day Monday.”
Family was in process of adopting child who died in hot car near Ravenswood
[WOWKTV 7/23/12]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update: “The chief deputy said several family members had taken naps before realizing the child wasn’t in the house.
The girl was found still in her car seat about 3 p.m. She was unresponsive. Boggs estimated she had been in the vehicle unattended for about two hours.
Family members called for help. Jackson deputies and Silverton firefighters responded with paramedics, but it was too late. The girl was pronounced dead at the scene.
Temperatures Sunday in Parkersburg were 87 degrees at 3:50 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures in the Ravenswood-Silverton area would have been in the mid to high 80s, meteorologists said.
Jan Null, an adjunct professor of meteorology at San Francisco State University, tracks incidents of children being injured or killed after being left in hot vehicles.
The Jackson County incident was the 14th of its kind this year in the United States. The last incident in West Virginia occurred in May 2009 near Buckhannon where a 3-year-old boy died.
“With an outside air temperature in the upper 80s, the inside air temperature of the car could have been on the order of 125 to 130 degrees,” Null said. “Objects or a person inside the car in direct sunlight would have been significantly hotter.”
“Investigators were waiting to hear results of the girl’s autopsy.
He said Child Protective Services was made aware of the situation. He did not know Monday afternoon if the other children in the home would be removed.”
Foster parents could be charged in toddler’s hot car death
[Charleston Daily Mail 7/23/12 by Ashley B. Craig]
I KNOW THE MOTHER OF THE LITTLE GIRL WHO DIED OF A TERRIBLE DEATH .I KNOW THEY WOULD NOT HARM THESE CHILDREN OF THEIRS FOR ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD, SO PEOPLE SHOULD NOT JUDGE THESE PARENTS IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE FACTS OR THE PEOPLE. BAD THING DO HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE, THEY ARE GOOD PEOPLE.AND SHE WOULD GIVE YOU THE SHIRT OFF HER BACK IF SHE KNEW YOU NEEDED IT. THIS IS HARD TO UNDERSTAND BUT THEY DID’NT MEAN FOR THIS TO HAPPEN.SHE LOVES THAT LITTLE GIRL AND HER BIG BROTHER.AND TO ALL WHO SAID THEY WERE JUST MONEY HUNGERY ,THEY BOTH WORK VERY HARD AND REALLY WANTED THOSE KID’S IN THEIR FAMILY TO LOVE AND CARE FOR THEM AS THEIR OWN,MY HEART ACHES FOR THE LITTLE ANGEL SO MUCH…AND FOR THE FAMILY WHO LOVES HER. THIS COUPLE ARE NOT BAD PEOPLE . JUST SOME MISS COMUNACATION THAT TOOK THEIR LITTLE ANGEL AWAY FROM THEM.
Shorty 72, this case is in our archives because a child died in the care of the state so it is tracked with other cases of abuse or neglect. While it is reasonable to believe that the foster parents meant no harm, neglect that caused death did occur. Neglect is the reason for 2/3s of child removals to state care in the first place. When we step back and look at the welfare of children in all cases who were removed from care, questions remain such as would the child have been better off in her original home and assisted? or in the care of relatives?
Neglect and abuse in state care and adoption is not tracked and made public except on blogs like this one and a handful of others. So we track this to propose changes (see our resources tab for more) , to make the public aware, and for the children themselves.
Shorty you don’t know the mother,you know the woman that left this child in a hot car for three hours, there’s a big difference between the two and “bad things happen to good people” well bad people go to church to make themselves appear good ever hear of a wolf in sheeps clothing?
I, too, know the biological family and this would NEVER have happened if they would have been given to relatives. There is no excuse for leaving a child of this age in a hot OVEN, no matter how good and hard working a person is!
so you know the biological family, what did you do when they was with them,did you help those two defenceless children when they needed some ones help when they was with biological family, who are you to get on here and defend them you are no better,so dont judge the foster parents you know nothing about.
shorty72, you are an idiot! The children’s biological aunt and uncle wanted those children and took excellent care of them when they had them. I know for a fact their REAL aunt and uncle NEVER left them alone in a car in 90 degree heat! Yes, both children are defenseless and where were your friends – asleep while the baby was roasting! There is no judgement on my part, only facts, the Hafner’s should be ashamed of what they have done!
I know they’re worthless parents more so than I ever was even at my worst and that if hell is real Santans got a spot already picked out for baby killers and the supporters of baby killers YOU make me sick defending two monsters that DESTROYED a life before it even began. Be glad you didn’t come over to dinner after the funeral you had no right to attend Jim and penny…be very glad I’ll hold this in my heart the rest of my life I regret a lot I wish I wouldn’t of trusted you I should of listened to my gut
Shorty 72.. you are on here defending murders .. i also know the biological family and you are bashing the family like they miss treated the children .. which NEVER happened! they gave the children up because they were promised that the children were going to a better home that could support and take care of them .. did other family want them, hell yea! but it’s the parents choice who the babies went to (most of them didn’t know til the day of that the children were leaving) and after being promised that this is what was best for them they made a very mature and difficult decision to give the children what was promised to be the very best life that they couldn’t financially support. yeah.. notice that they had the kids for how long and NOTHING like this every happened! but yet these idiots get them for such a short time (not even long enough for the adoption to be final!) and Jasmine is now dead .. those two defenceless children are now separated and one is dead because the better life was actually way worse and they neglected to even provide the basic needs of these two! At least when they were with their real family they were alive and enjoying life .. not being strung through a bunch of nonsense that should of NEVER HAPPENED if the foster family were doing what they were suppose to be doing! I hope that the state throws the book at these two IDIOTS and file charges for child neglect and murder!! It’s what they deserve! Do I believe they feel bad, yes.. as they should!! THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT BABIES DEATH!! nobody else!! So defend them all you want .. but if it were YOUR KID OR FAMILY MEMBER that was dead; then you too would be in the same boat as the rest of the world and want the ones responsible to be punished! And how about you take your own advice and don’t judge the biological family that you know nothing about.. I’m in no way judging your family .. just saying the ones responsible should be punished and the biological family is NOT responsible for this!
Amen! Its so nice to see this. Thank you for bringing the Jeffers out of the closet and showing who they truly are! RIP Sweet Angel!
They call her their granddaughter but they knew nothing about her just the same as their grandson and other granddaughter Jaidalyn. They even took a life insurance policy out on Joey because they said he was going to die. What kind of parents do that? Why didnt they offer to help him?
Alright first of all her names Jasmyne not jasmine something the hafers probably didnt even know before they let her suffer to death for three hours while they slept inside their home and shorty 72…you’re an imbecile,plain and simple and also not worth anymore of this comment so I’m done with you,now back to the murders. The hafers obviously don’t need children if they can’t even do something as simple as take them outta the car especially in the summer time when the heats at 87 degrees making it extremely hot in a vehicle it’s beyond negligence one could even call it torture. Also the biological grandparents will be held accountable for their actions as well we’ve gotten photographs that have been turned into us from 10/31/2011 when Jay and Jackie Jeffers had the kids showing poor Jasmyne with finger nail marks on her face and bruises all up and down her behind and the lies that were told to their son the biological father Joey to get him to sign his rights away,the biological mother was paid by Jay to sign her rights over, yes Joey was on drugs at the time and honestly made a mature decision knowing he was not capable of properly taking care of those children being addicted to cocaine. Now I’m not saying it was ok for him to be on drugs but he did what he needed to do in getting clean and is currently sober and doing very well considering he lost his daughter and then was kicked out by his parents the day after his daughters funeral because he didn’t believe it was right for Jim and penny to be at the funeral much less sit in the seats in front of the grave where the immediate family is supposed to sit, this was orchestrated by Jay Jeffers who made sure that they sit there also note that Jay and Jackie Jeffers sympathize with the murderers and constantly defend them. There something that’s just not right with this and I say this directly to Joey and Chasity (joeys ex who helped him raise the kids) We will get to the bottom of this and your little girls death will not go unpunished and your son James will be returned to where he rightfully belongs and the abuse of both children by the biological grandparents jay and jackie will also not go unpunished I think they’ve gotten away with abusing children long enough I’ve spoke with a woman from new martinsville who has pictures of Joey when he was younger with bruises and marks on his face and also took Joey in when he was terrified to go home also this courageous woman protected him when Jay showed up and charged at little Joey by tripping him and letting Joey get away also guidance counselers from the school he attended reported signs of abuse on numerous occasions but say nothin was ever done. When I spoke with Joey about this he was reluctant to speak about it and you could see the pain in his eyes just from me mentioning it to him. So in conclusion all the wrong doers involved in this situation had better enjoy the free time they got left because its about be over. Thank you for your time
I know the biological parents and The girl that was the only mother those 2 children knew! For one the children were only neglected by there biological grandparents and the foster parents! They should have never been take from the home where they were loved and taken care of. The hafers should be charged for murder! This is ridiculous! Shorty 72, you have no idea what your talking about! The biological grandparents fed the hafers a line of bs for them to adopt these 2 children. I know the whole story and can show you evidence! The parents were tricked into doing this and live in regret everyday. They thought they were giving them a better life than what they could provide them with. You guys have no clue how this whole story went down. Why would grandparents that have more money that they know what to do with not want to have there grandchildren in their lives????? I know the family personally and I could tell you all kinds of information as in how they raised and treated their son and grand kids! You guys have no idea!!!!!!!
I think that this is a very clear case of neglect and from what I understand the little boy is back with these same people after this incident. I feel that it is an awful decision to let this little boy go back to the same home where these people were neglectful enough to let something happen to the little girl. Even if this was an accident on their part, they were neglectful and with having children you always have to be aware of where your children are and what they are doing at all times. If my children are napping I at least go and check on them while they are napping and they were even too neglectful to do that. I know some members of the children’s family who would have loved to adopted them and they weren’t allowed by the biological grandparents for reasons that are unknown to me. It is a shame and the neglect can not only be blamed on the part of the foster parents, but also the part of the biological grandparents for not protecting and watching over their grandchildren. It is things like this that make me thankful to have wonderful parents like mine who would do anything for my children and I am even more proud that I can call myself a good and loving parent. Children are innocent and need protection, where was this for that child? They were suppose to have a better life. I pray justice is served for the family of these children who did care about them.
These parents were given another 3 year old little boy and a newborn baby girl this past year. The little boy finally went to his dad and the baby girl was taken because penny wouldn’t get the medicine filled for her breathing and give it to her. These are not good parents. Cps says there just aren’t enough foster parents. Cps doesn’t do their job in the first place and let the little boy go to his dad’s where the step mother abuses him. I know this personally
OMG. Is she STILL a licensed foster parent after these episodes?
yes she is and this is who cps placed my NEWBORN niece and 3 yr old nephew with when they were placed in foster care. Not only does she still foster but a newborn and 3 yr old? The CPS system is full of lazy,stupid,good for nothing idiots. Did the hafers mean for this to happen? no. Should they still be fostering???BABIES??? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Children are not test animals.
Thank you all for standing up for my little girl Jasmyne that never did get the justice she deserved! She will always be my baby and I would do anything to have her and James back in my arms. I never neglected those babies. Their biological mother, biological grandparents and the foster parents a r the ones at fault! But is still ruled as an accident. This is not an accident. This is murder!