CPS Fail: Indiana-Phillip Robey case-Child Death UPDATED

“The Call 6 Investigators have learned new details in the November 2012 death of 3-month-old Phillip Robey.

His mother, Bambi Glazebrook, is facing murder charges and is due in court Jan. 8.

Robey was so malnourished at the time of his death, he weighed only 5 pounds and had been kept in a drawer.

Records from the Indiana Department of Child Services show Glazebrook had a lengthy history with the agency, and DCS received several calls in September and October 2012 about possible neglect just before Phillip Robey’s death on Nov. 8, 2012.

A Sept. 24 complaint to DCS said Glazebrook’s 2-year-old daughter had bruises, and the baby’s father Gregory Robey was “frustrated with Phillip, and was excessively stern and yelling at Phillip for not holding still.”

An Oct. 24 complaint to DCS said, “Phillip is so skinny that his bones are showing” and another complaint, on Oct. 25, said, “the baby looks two weeks old and does not respond to anyone or any stimuli.”

Documents in the DCS file released Thursday said DCS workers couldn’t get in touch with Glazebrook or the baby to investigate, and the case stalled.

“DCS made several attempts to contact the family — from seven visits to various addresses from Sept. 24 – Nov. 1, 2012, checking with local utilities regarding services to the addresses given, scouring state and city government databases for additional addresses, and DCS having a contractor investigator conduct an absent-parent search in attempt to locate the family and the children involved,” wrote Stephanie McFarland, DCS spokeswoman, in an email to Call 6 Investigator Kara Kenney Thursday. “Another news source interviewed Ms. Glazebrook’s father on camera in November, in which he stated he told his daughter to ignore the notices DCS had left requesting her to contact DCS.”

On Oct. 25, two weeks prior to Robey’s death, IMPD officers responded to Glazebrook’s home after someone called police, concerned the baby was not being fed properly.

IMPD spokeswoman Linda Jackson told Call 6 Investigator Kara Kenney the officers made contact with Glazebrook and saw the baby.

“At that time, they determined that the conditions in the house were acceptable. The officers also said the infant was alert and in good condition,” wrote Jackson in an email to RTV6.

IMPD did not alert DCS of their visit because they were unaware of a DCS case on Glazebrook.

According to a memo provided by IMPD , there is a system in place to alert officers dispatched to a flagged address where there’s an active case involving children under the supervision of the Indiana Department of Child Services who have previously been victims of neglect or abuse.

The memo said DCS is responsible for providing the information, so it can be entered into the Computer Aided Dispatched (CAD) system.

McFarland would not comment on why IMPD did not receive an alert, but told RTV6 when DCS does an assessment on a family, the report automatically goes to law enforcement.

When asked whether DCS is looking into a possible malfunction of the alert system, McFarland said it would likely be part of a DCS child fatality review.

Records show Glazebrook has a history of drug use, depression, anxiety and other mental health issues.

She also has a history with DCS for how she treated her five children.

In 2007, the agency cited Glazebrook twice for child neglect for exposing her children to drugs.

Records show her parental rights were terminated in 2009, and three of her children were taken away.

Glazebrook then gave birth to another child, a girl.

In 2010, DCS cited Glazebrook again for exposing her baby to drugs.

As for why Glazebrook was allowed to care for children despite her history of neglect, McFarland said DCS was opposed to idea, but the court determined otherwise.

“DCS did implement an informal adjustment after the court’s decision, which requires the parent to undergo services (and is monitored by the court) and allows DCS to have continued involvement with the family without a CHINS case with the court,” wrote McFarland in an email to RTV6.

Glazebrook gave birth to Phillip Robey on Aug. 10, 2012, and he died Nov. 8, 2012, despite many calls aimed at saving his life.

Records show Glazebrook had the drug THC in her system on the day Phillip Robey died.

Baby Phillip weighed only 5 pounds, less than his birth weight.

When asked whether Glazebrook’s other four children are with family or foster families, DCS would not comment, citing state and federal laws.”

DCS records reveal mother charged in child’s death had lengthy child neglect history

[WRTV6 1/3/13 by Kara Kenney]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 

Update:“An Indianapolis mother charged in the 2012 death of her 3-month-old son has pleaded guilty to a neglect of a dependent charge.

Bambi Glazebrook, 31, was arrested Nov. 8 after police found the boy dead in a house in the 1200 block of Earhart Street on the Eastside. Phillip Robey was “mere skin and bones,” according to court documents, and was lying on a makeshift bed: a dresser drawer on the living room’s entertainment center.

Court documents say she refused to seek medical help for the boy despite her friends’ pleas. A spokeswoman with Indiana Department of Child Services said the agency had received a report and was trying to find the family when the baby died.

Glazebrook and the boy’s father, Gregory Robey, 31, were charged with murder and neglect of a dependent resulting in death, both are Class A felonies. Robey also has pleaded guilty to the neglect of a dependent charge. Plea deals for both Glazebrook and Robey call for the murder charges to be dropped.

Glazebrook is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on May 30 in Marion Superior Court Judge Grant Hawkins’ courtroom. The plea deal calls for a 45-year sentence, with at least 20 years executed, and a probationary period of 10 to 15 years, Marion County prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Peg McLeish said. Glazebrook’s sentence will be finalized at the hearing.

Robey is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on June 6. The plea deal does not indicate any recommended sentence.”

Mother pleads guilty in 3-month-old’s death

[Indianapolis Star 5/19/14 by Kristine Guerra]

“An Indianapolis woman who pleaded guilty in May to a felony child neglect charge will serve 30 years in prison.

Bambi Glazebrook was arrested in November 2012 after emergency personnel were called to her home on the report of an infant that wasn’t breathing. Her 3-month-old son was later pronounced dead at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health.

After investigating, police arrested Glazebrook and the child’s father, Gregory Robey.

Glazebrook was sentenced to 45 years in prison with 15 years of the sentence suspended. She has also received credit for jail time already served.

Gregory Robey also pleaded guilty to neglect and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 6.”

Mom arrested after infant son’s 2012 death gets 30 years[Wish TV 6/2/14]

“Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry announced today that the mother and

father of Phillip Robey have been convicted and sentenced for the death of their infant son in
November 2012. On Friday, June 6, Gregory Robey was sentenced to serve six years in the Indiana
Department of Correction. Robey pleaded guilty to one count of Neglect of a Dependent (B Felony)
for his role in the child’s death.
In May, Bambi Glazebrook pleaded guilty to one count OF Neglect of a Dependent (A Felony). She
was sentenced on May 30, pursuant to the plea agreement, to 45 years. Thirty years of her sentence
is executed time to be served in the Indiana Department of Correction after which she will serve ten
years on probation. As set forth in the plea agreement, specific conditions of her probation include
no unsupervised contact with any minor child including her own children.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Glazebrook failed to provide proper nurture for the child
despite several warnings from concerned neighbors and friends. An autopsy revealed Phillip died of
failure to thrive or starvation. Robey was charged for his failure to see that the child was adequately
fed or nurtured.”

http://www.indy.gov/News%20Items/06-09-14%20Robey%20Glazebrook%20sentencing.pdf[Indy.gov sentencing]