REFORM Talk’s Forgotten Angels 2012

Last year during National Adoption Month, we honored US adopted children that are missing; missing and presumed dead; killed in previous years and finally received some justice; and/or related to the out-of-original family placements and surrogacy industry that are otherwise forgotten since November of the previous year.

This year and from now on, we will publish this post in December and include all child deaths and children missing from US foster care or adoptions as well as those otherwise forgotten that we could find. Between Forgotten Angels 2011 and now, there have been an additional 62 cases that we shared and another 2 cases that our readers shared .

Missing

From Fairfax, Virginia, a cold case of a missing illegal immigrant who was placed in foster care as a 12-year-old child in Virginia, Yuan Xia Wang, had renewed interest in 2012. She has been missing since 1998. See here.

Still Missing

The 400 children presumably disrupted from Russia. See here.

Still Missing and Presumed Dead

In 2011, it was brought to light that two adoptees from the same family were missing: Austin and Edward Dylan Bryant. See the case  here.

A child nicknamed Moo, foster child of Judith Leekin . See the case here.

Rilya Wilson, 4, went missing in December 2000. In 2011, her foster mother was ordered to trial. It was delayed until end of 2012. Geralyn Graham is currently on trial for murder, though they haven’t found Rilya’s body. See  here.

Reader-Shared

Both of these deaths were medically-related. One from Canada and one from Illinois.

Canada case: Aziza Caswell, aged 6, adopted 2 years ago.

Illinois case: Ukrainian adoptee Henry Dobrovits

Child Deaths-International Adoption

• Enna Barreto, Guatemala died May 19, 2008 of blunt force head trauma by Marainna Torres, the 17-year-old biological daughter of adoptive parent Janet Barreto. APs still at large .US marshalls looking for them. Placed to Mississippi. See here.
• Ilya Kitching Russian adoptee to Michigan. This  17-year-old, died on October 19, 2012. He was adopted four years ago.Death by  Suicide. See here.
• Benjamin Yhip, Taiwan. See here. From Chico, California, 2-year-old Taiwanese adoptee Benjamin Yhip (a twin) died on April 18, 2012 of blunt force trauma to the head
• Joseph Maoping Adams, China. From Lexington, Kentucky, 5-year-old Chinese adoptee Joseph Maoping Adams died on December 3, 2011. Coroner ruled death due to “lethal dose of vinegar.” See here.
• Kairissa XingJing Mark, China. From Mount Juliet, Tennessee, she died July 2, 2010 having only been in her “forever home” for less than 3 months after a blunt force injury that occurred on July 1, 2010. See here.

 

Child Deaths-Adoption

• Tyler Guiliano. From New Fairfield, Connecticut, adoptee Tyler Guiliano, 15, was shot multiple times by his adoptive father Jeffrey Guiliano in the early morning hours of September 27, 2012. He died at the scene. See here
• Ronin Bradley. From Marydel, Maryland, adoptive parent Justin A. Bradley, 26, was charged with “first-degree child abuse, following the death of his 4-month-old adopted son. See here
• Alexis Long. From Columbus, Georgia, adoptive parent Jennifer Long, 35, has been charged with murder and her husband Timothy Long, 46, has been charged with second-degree cruelty to children in the death of 20-month-old Alexis Long. She died in Atlanta on January 30, 2012. See here
• Faith Ray. Death by homicide. See here From Ocala, Florida, adoptive mother, Violet Ray, 37, “charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and child neglect in the December 8,2008 death of her 2-year-old adopted daughter, Faith Ray. Faith had bleeding of her brain, multiple bruises on her arms, chest, legs, and thighs, as well as vaginal tearing [articles indicate this was due to the force of physical abuse, not sexual abuse]. Several hours later she died. Faith was one of 6 adopted children; two from private adoption agencies, four from DCF, including Faith and her 1-year-old bio brother.”
• Chandler Grafner. From Denver, Colorado, the 2007 case of adoptee Chandler Grafner aka Chandler McLain-Norris made news in 2012as a Denver federal judge has cleared the way for a lawsuit. Chandler was 7 years old when he was starved to death while forced to spend his last few days in a closet. See here
• Amy Dye. See here. From Todd County, Kentucky, it was finally revealed on November 7, 2011 that 9-year-old adoptee Amythz “Amy” Dye was killed on February 4, 2011 by Garrett Dye, 17, Amy’s adoptive brother beat her in the head with a jack handle. At the time, she was outside on a cold, snowy evening shoveling gravel as punishment for stealing pudding and juice from a friend’s lunch box at school.
• Gary Adams. From St. Stephen, South Carolina, a missed case from 2011 reveals that adopted child Gary Adams, 12, died on June 2, 2011, just one day after trying to save Adonous Green , a 12-year-old foster child that had come to live with him and his brother and mother one month prior. See here.
• Kevin Michael King. From Bakersfield, California, adoptive mother Gloria Grayson,61, “found guilty of involuntary manslaughter ” in the death of her foster-adopted son Kevin Michael King, aged 5 in 2009, was “released from jail Thursday evening” [April 5, 2012]. Kevin died of “blunt force trauma” to the chest and abdomen. See here.

 

Child Deaths-Guardianship

• Anton Fomin. From the township of North Bluff, Nebraska, Russian child Anton Vecheslavovich Fomin, 9, died in a house fire on Thursday May 17, 2012. See here.
• Ame Deal.  From Phoenix, Arizona, a missed 2011 case revealed that 10-year old Ame Deal, under guardianship of her aunt, was found dead on July 12, 2011 inside a storage bin that was used as a punishment for stealing a popsicle. See here.

Child Deaths-Group-Respite Home/RTC/Hospital/Juvenile Justice Facility

• Anthony Parker. See here. From Fairfield, Ohio, adoptee and One Way Farm group home resident Anthony Parker, 16, died on December 28, 2011 after Lance Tiernan, then 17, “ struck Parker in the head, then picked him up and slammed his head into the floor “on December 19, 2011.
• Kathia Cassius. Kathia Casseus, 16, was a special needs child with an IQ of 68 who was taken into custody of the detention center in August 2011. She had taken her mother’s car, crashed it into a carport and caused property damage.“Last November, she was taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital and for “reasons still unknown to her mother,” according to the lawsuit, was prescribed a birth control patch.The Ortho Evra patch is known to carry “dangerous side effects,” including increased risks of developing clots, according to the lawsuit. On Feb. 21, Kathia complained of heart palpitations and foot pain. Four days later, she complained that she couldn’t breathe and had trouble walking. She was given ibuprofen.The autopsy revealed that she died of bilateral pulmonary embolism. See here.
• Corey Foster . From Yonkers, New York, 16-year-old Corey Foster died at the Leakes & Watts Residential Treatment Center after being restrained. He was playing basketball and the staff asked the boys to clear the court so THEY could play. Corey was shooting a ball that ricocheted off the rim and the ball hit an employee in the head. Then, possibly up to eight employees restrained him on the floor. Witnesses say that Corey stated that he couldn’t breathe and then foam came from his mouth. At that point, they discovered that he was dead. See here
• Illinois Case : Age at death: 17 years. Found unresponsive in the morning in his hospital room. He had been in a psychiatric unit of the hospital for a little over a month. The ward had a history of seizures, but he was taken off his seizure medication while hospitalized. See here.
• Jamiah Batts. From Cape Fear, North Carolina, Jamiah Batts, 8, foster care resident of Cape Fear Respite home, died on February 29, 2012 due to improper restraints. See here.
• Josh Oaks Churchwell. From Denver, Colorado, a missed 2011 case reveals that adoptee Josh Oaks Churchwell, 17, who was supposed to be at an RTC, River View Academy, was found dead in a suitcaseon April 1, 2011. His death remains unsolved. See here.
• Roger Eugene Benson. From Snohomish County, Washington, a 2011 missed case reveals that foster child Roger Eugene Benson, 15, committed suicide on January 21, 2011 after running away from the temporary-care, unlocked, psychiatric facility Cypress House after being told that he was on the waiting list to be admitted to a mental hospital. See here.

Child Deaths-US Foster Care 

• Foster girl. Ukiah, California, kinship foster father Wilson Lee Tubbs III has been arrested in the December 5, 2012 death of his 5-month-old foster daughter. See here.
• Aurora Espinal-Cruz. She was 7 months old when she died in 2002 in the Tulsa foster home of Deanza Jones. According to Tulsa World, “Aurora and her 4-year-old sister, Casandra, were placed in Jones’ home shortly before Aurora’s death Jan. 27, 2002.” FP gets $1 Million payout. See here.
• Alissa Guernsey. In LaGrange, Indiana, Alissa Guernsey died at 15 months of age in kinship foster care on March 28, 2009 at the hands of her cousin/foster mother Christy Shaffer. See here.
• Markel Collins. See here. From Houston, Texas, 3-year-old Markel Collins died in CPS care on September 22, 2012 after being removed from his mother’s home two month ago. Markel had to breathe through a tube and required special medical attention.
• Jasmine and Preston Lane. See here. From Jefferson County, Tennessee, foster children Jasmine Lane,6 , and Preston Lane 11, were killed when their foster parent, Terry Hackett’s Ford Expedition “dropped off the road. She over-corrected the vehicle and it rolled three times” and struck a tree on the afternoon of September 10, 2012.
• Miranda Henry. See here. From Detroit, Michigan, 5-week-old foster child Miranda Henry died around October 5, 2011 when her obese foster parent Dana Hatch rolled over on her in the bed. The autopsy indicates that Miranda suffocated to death.
• Jayla Beckley. From El Paso, Texas, 27-year-old foster father Antonio Lopez has been charged with capital murder in the death of 11-month old foster daughter Jayla Beckley. July 28 2012. See here.
• RieLee Lovell. From Charles Mix County, South Dakota, a grand jury has indicted guardians Laurie Ellen Cournoyer,28, and Taylor Lawrence Cournoyer,21, in the death of 2-year-old RieLee Lovell and abuse of other victims. RieLee died sometime between June 29, 2012 and July 4, 2012. Sadly, the exact date is unknown. RieLee and her brother were related to Laurie. See here.
• West Virginia foster daughter. 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. See here.
• Lailla Jensen. From Payson, Utah, foster child Lailla Sara Ann Jensen, 7 months, died on October 22, 2010. She “suffocated when she became wedged between a daybed frame and a mattress, according to court documents. See here.
• Jayden Matthew Villarreal. From San Antonio, Texas, 10-month old foster child Jayden Matthew Villarreal died on July 9, 2012. Jayden and his 5 siblings had been placed in 6 separate foster homeslast fall. See here.
• Aniyah Batchelor. From Fort Washington, Maryland, a 12-year-old child has been charged with second degree murder for the beating death of 2-year-old foster child Aniyah Batchelor. See here.
• Genesis Monge. From Staten Island, New York, 6-month-old foster daughter Genesis Monge died on Monday April 30, 2012 in the care of her unnamed foster parent.“Genesis Monge, died Monday night, after police responding to a 911 call found her feverish and unresponsive inside the 236 Steuben St. home of her foster mother. See here.
• 7 cases from Illinois. See post here. Illinois Case 1: An 11 day-old infant died as a result of accidental suffocation due to co-sleeping. The infant’s mother was a Department ward with three other children, ages 3, 2 and 1 year.
• Illinois Case 2: A 19 month-old boy died as a result of severe physical abuse inflicted by his mother’s boyfriend. The boy’s mother was a Department ward who lived with her son in a Transitional Living Program (TLP) at the time of his death
• Illinois Case 3:A three year-old boy died as a result of a stroke caused by a blood clot in his brain. The boy was a Department ward living in a traditional foster home placement at the time of his death.
• Illinois Case 4: DOB 4/92 DOD 3/11 Cause of death: Gunshot wound to the head
• Illinois Case 5: undetermined death, 5 months old. DOB 7/10 DOD 1/11
• Illinois Case 6: DOB 9/10 DOD 1/11; Age at death: 3-1/2 months; Substance exposed: Yes, opiates (prescribed to mother)Cause of death: Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI)
• Illinois Case 7: Age at death: 6 days; Six-day-old ward was found unresponsive when his 27-year-old aunt awoke with the baby face down on her lap. The aunt had been sitting in an upright position and had placed the baby face down in a horizontal position on her lap to sleep. The aunt also fell asleep.
• Ariyanna Pivachek. From Riverview, Florida, 9-year-old foster child, Ariyanna Pivachek, was found dead at the bottom of a pond at a birthday party of a foster family that was considering adopting her. Ariyanna was autistic.See here.
• Destiny Delgado. From Brownsville, New York, foster father Pedro Guzman, 25, left his severely disabled foster daughter, Destiny Delgado, 5, in a bathtub where she died. Destiny had spina bifida. See here.
• Dominic James of Missouri. Two-year-old Dominic had only been in the foster home of a white foster parent John “Wesley” Dilley between June 18, 2002 and August 21, 2002 when he died of “severe ill-treatment” aka “shaken baby syndrome”. Dominic had been rushed to the hospital on August 10, 2002 and DFS was called, but they returned him four days later to his foster father who then killed him. See here.
• Britney Tongel. From Trevorton, Pennsylvania, one of the 2011 cases that we missed revealed that foster child Britney Tongel, 17, died in an apparent suicide after allegations of being bullied on the internet and school. See here.
• Serenity Gandara. From Bakersfield, California, foster parents Carla and Alberto Garcia, both 28, on the lam after fleeing to Mexico following the 2010 death of their 3-year-old foster child/niece, have been taken into custody by the FBI. When they fled, they left Serenity’s body with her 4-year-old brother Isaiah, who was asleep in another room. The Garcia’s were preparing to adopt them both.“Serenity Julia Gandara was found dead of blunt-force trauma on her living room floor in July 2010. See here.
• Christina Meeks. From Muskogee, Oklahoma, a 2011 missed case reveals one of the most brutal cases that we have reported on to date. Christina Meeks, 4, a severely disabled child, died on June 20, 2011 after physical abuse and rape in a kinship placement with her uncle Robert Meeks, Jr. and her grandmother Betty Hall.See here.
• Connecticut foster son. See here. From New Milford, Connecticut, a 2011 case that we missed revealed that an unidentified 7-year-old male foster child was at a pool party on July 19, 2011 when he went under the water around noon.
• Andrew Duong. From Harpursville, New York, a 2011 case that we missed revealed that 19-month-old foster child Andrew Duong diedon April 4, 2011.“State police say a 19-month-old boy who accidentally drowned in an upstate New York pond had wandered out through an unlocked door at his family’s home.See here.
• Holden Young. From Rabun County, Georgia, a 2011 case that we missed reveals that CPS was trying to take custody of Holden Young and his sister on January 27, 2011 after his mother, Misty Bleckley, failed a drug test. CPS learned that they were at Holden’s grandmother’s house and showed up to gain custody. “When no one answered the door, the DFCS worker drove down the street to obtain cell phone service. The mother then fled in a car with her children. She crashed the vehicle, killing the boy. See here.
• Christopher Schutzius. From Blue Island, Illinois, a 2011 missed case reveals that foster child Christopher Schutzius, 17, died on Wednesday February 9, 2011 of sepsis (toxic blood infection) after a questionably-performed root canal surgery. See here.
• Adonous Green. From St. Stephen, South Carolina, another 2011 case that we previously missed reveals that foster child Adonous Green, 12, drowned in a pond on June 1, 2011 after only being in this placement for about 1 month. See here.
• Tylashia Grant. From Florence, South Carolina, a missing case from 2011 reveals that foster child Tylashia Grant, 3, was was pronounced dead on January 25, 2011. pronounced dead on January 25, 2011-homicide by child abuse. See here.
• Dana Lawrence. From Lake Oswego, Oregon, one of our missed cases from 2011 involves 8-week-old Dana Lawrence who died in foster care on February 10, 2011. She was born to a “drug-addicted mother at a Portland hospital. Dr. Karen Gunson, state medical examiner, performed an autopsy that ruled out any foul play or accidents but was unable to determine a specific natural cause. She said it would go into the books as a “sudden unexplained infant death.” See here.
• Travis Messenger. From Danville, Illinois, 12-year-old Travis Messenger was one of four siblings removed on July 6, 2011 from an Illinois home due to “alleged abuse and neglect by the children’s mother and father” but only substantiated NEGLECT against ONE of the children (NOT Travis) Stole a vehicle to get back to bio family and ended up crashing and dying. See here.
• Jaren Blacksmith. From Billings, Montana, this 2011 case just came to our attention. Three-year-old Jaren Wayne Blacksmith’s body was found on August 17, 2011 in a hot car outside of location said to be a daycare. See here.
• Andrew Burd. See here. From Corpus Christi, Texas, foster parent Hannah Overton, convicted in September 2007 of capital murder by omission in the October 2, 2006 death of 4-year-old Andrew Burd has had “an appeals court has ordered the trial court to hear new evidence that may suggest her innocence.”
• Kyler Opstrup-Williams and Tyler Emory. See here. On November 21, 2008, one of the five special needs foster children of Mark and Susan Lee, a 10-year-old boy, used a lighter to set fire to some sheets that he had made a fort from. The 4,000 square foot home that was in the process of having another 2,000 square feet added to it so they could accommodate more special needs children, burned down and two of the foster children, Kyler Opstrup-Williams, 11, and Tyler Emory, 10 were killed.

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