How Could You? Hall of Shame- Justice Hull 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 Dallas, Texas, two-month-old Justice Hull “lived most of her short life with another family at a southern Dallas apartment complex because her mother was jailed shortly after giving birth.

Justice’s mom received approval from Child Protective Services to leave her baby in the care of a friend. But when that friend left for work Monday morning, police say her 14-year-old daughter murdered the infant at the Hickory Trace Apartments.

“The facts of the case are that a 14-year-old intentionally drowned a two-month-old girl,” Dallas police Maj. Robert Sherwin said.

Details are few. According to police, the teenager called 911 to report the death. Police say they still don’t know the motive.

Shuntavia Calhoun, who also lives at the Hickory Trace Apartments, can’t imagine, either. She said this seemed like a good family.

They had smiles on their faces, they spoke politely… you know… manners,” Calhoun said. “They seemed so sweet and innocent, so for something like this to happen is like, wow.”

A relative of baby Justice collapsed outside the apartment after being told of the infant’s death. Family members said the infant’s mother saw that moment on TV from inside the jail where she’s still locked up, and now dealing with a wrenching loss.

“We talked to her,” Sherwin said. “That is obviously not a pleasant conversation. Regardless of what she did, she didn’t deserve to have her baby killed.”

A family member said Justice’s mother was jailed because of problems with traffic tickets. Relatives are now trying to raise hundreds of dollars to get her out so she can attend her baby’s funeral, but they have no idea how they will be able to pay for the burial.

CPS wouldn’t comment on the case Monday, but a spokesperson said the agency may have information to share on Tuesday.

As for the 14-year-old suspect, since she is charged with capital murder it will be up to the court system to determine if she should be tried as an adult.

Even if that happens, if she is convicted she can’t face the death penalty because of her age.”

Dallas teen faces murder charge after baby Drowns[WFAA 1/27/15 by Rebecca Lopez and Jason Wheeler]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update:“A report detailing the short life of two month old Justice Hull shows the odds were stacked against the newborn from the day she was born.

Her 24-year-old mother was in jail at the time of her death. Her 63-year-old father didn’t appear to be in the picture. A 14-year-old is charged with intentionally drowning her, and the person responsible for her care had turned to Child Protective Services for help twice, only to be denied, in the weeks before her death.

Over a 28 month period, CPS received 11 reports about Justice Hull’s mother and her alleged medical neglect of her children. The ninth report came about two weeks after Justice’s birth and resulted in the infant being placed in the home of a family friend.

After caring for Justice for more than a month, the family friend contacted CPS to ask for assistance to pay for daycare. She said her 19-year-old daughter, who had been watching the baby, was scheduled to return to school and could no longer watch her. CPS says she was told to contact Child Care Management Services. The family friend contacted CPS 10 days later, again asking for assistance, and was told again to contact CCMS. According to the report, she said she had made the call, but was on a waiting list. When CPS told her Justice may need to be moved to a different family or turned over to foster care, the friend said she could continue to care for Justice and would get financial assistance from other family members. Sixteen days later Justice was drowned, allegedly by the family friend’s 14-year-old daughter.

The CPS report goes on to list a detailed report of Justice’s mother’s interactions with CPS. A report on November 27, about two weeks after Justice was born, shows she tested positive for cocaine and PCP. A later test showed the baby also tested positive for those drugs.”

Caregiver Asked CPS For Help Weeks Before Baby Drowned[CBS DFW 3/9/15 ]

“A Dallas County judge Friday sentenced a 15-year-old girl who murdered a sleeping 2-month-old baby to 40 years in prison — the maximum sentence allowed in juvenile court.

The girl went to bed planning to kill Justice Hull and the next day, Jan. 26, drowned the baby in a shallow bowl of water, according to testimony. The girl told police that she did not want her mother to adopt the child.

The teen appeared in court at the Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center with her hair in braids and her hands shackled to a belt. She wore a fluorescent green uniform signifying that she has been on good behavior and doing well in school since her arrest. She is not being named because The Dallas Morning News does not typically identify juvenile offenders.

Dallas firefighter Justin Wales, who found Justice’s body, testified that the baby looked like “a sphinx” lying on the bathroom floor of the family’s Red Bird apartment.

The baby’s neck was supported by the rim of a bowl and her hands lay on each side, Wales said. He picked up the baby and water ran out of her nose. Knowing she was dead, Wales said, he wrapped Justice in a blanket and laid her inside a bassinet.

Not long after Wales testified, state District Judge Cheryl Lee Shannon sentenced the girl, who was 14 when she killed Justice. The girl admitted responsibility during the hearing for capital murder.

The girl’s attorney, George Ashford, said after Friday’s hearing that his client cried during the testimony of Wales and two police officers about baby Justice’s murder. Court personnel and the girl’s mother surrounded her during the hearing, which shielded her from public view.

‘Perfect child’

Ashford told Shannon that before the murder, the girl had been a “perfect child.” He said the crime was an “aberration.”

Evidence showed that the girl and her twin sister took turns caring for Justice an hour each morning before school while their mother was at work. After that, another family member would care for the baby. The day Justice died, the girl told her twin that she would take care of the infant.

In court, the girl’s mother sobbed as she asked Shannon to send her daughter home, saying that her daughter was opening up to her. The girl has been in counseling since her arrest in January.

“I feel counseling has helped her tremendously to open up,” the mother said tearfully. “I’ve seen that in visiting her.”

Ashford said after the hearing that he, too, has seen a change in his client — who teachers had said did not show emotion — since she began counseling.

“She did have lot of emotion today. She’s made lot of progress,” Ashford said. “Emotionally I can tell a great difference with her showing emotion and talking to her. She cried a lot up there today when they were talking about the condition of the baby.”

But Ashford said that he was not surprised by Shannon’s decision to give his client to the maximum sentence. He said victory for the girl came earlier this year when the judge decided against sending her to trial in adult court.

There, the girl could have received a life sentence — all served at an adult prison — and been eligible for parole. Prosecutors could not have sought the death penalty or life without parole because of her age.

State custody

The girl will begin her sentence in state custody with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. Before she turns 19, Shannon or another juvenile court judge will decide whether she should be released or have to serve the remainder of her sentence in adult prison. In a juvenile lockup, she will have more options than if she had been tried as adult, including school and counseling.

Prosecutors left the courtroom, which was cleared immediately after the sentencing, without commenting.

Ashford said the girl’s mother took the sentence “very hard.” She was not allowed to speak to her daughter after the hearing and will have to visit her another time.”

Teen sentenced to 40 years for baby’s murder [Dallas News 5/22/15 by Jennifer Emily and Diane Jennings]