How Could You? Hall of Shame-Bella (Reyna del Sol Flores) 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 El Mirage, Arizona, foster child Bella, 1 year, “died for unknown reasons while in the foster parents’ care. And the family of a child who was temporarily in the Steffees’ foster home are questioning whether the state Department of Child Safety is adequately investigating foster parents.

“The morning of 9/11/18 the Steffee family woke up but there (sic) baby girl did not,” states a Sept. 16 GoFundMe for the child. “Anything would help so they can greave (sic) with there (sic) other children and not worry about anything.”

The now-defunct fundraiser includes two photos of a little girl with soft brown eyes. She’s dressed in a red onesie with polka dots in one image and wearing pink in another. In both photos, the child is smiling, her baby teeth still coming in.

Donations over six months raised $500, falling short of the fundraiser’s $1,000 goal. The child isn’t named. A caption under the toddler’s photo reads: “Steffee family.” There’s no information about how she died.

On Feb. 28, the foster mother posted a photo holding a toddler girl in pigtails with a banner that reads: “SUDC Awareness.” Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood, or SUDC, occurs in children beyond the age of 12 months, according to the SUDC Foundation’s website.

“The cause of death remains unexplained after thorough case investigation including: examination of the child and family’s medical history,” the site says.

A relative of the Steffees’ says the child’s death was investigated and no wrongdoing was found. Others wonder if the death should get a second look in light of Steffee telling police he abused his son.

‘Their first baby died’

News reports about the allegations of abuse against Steffee sparked questions about whether the Arizona Department of Child Safety is thoroughly vetting foster parents before placing children in their homes.

The family of a toddler in the Steffees’ foster home said the child arrived for a family visit last month with cuts under his eyes and scratches on his cheek. The family reported the toddler’s injuries to DCS nine days before the older boy told police that Steffee had abused him.

The mother of the toddler boy who had been in foster care at the Steffees’ home said she didn’t know about the older boy’s allegations of abuse when a DCS caseworker told her on April 24 — the same day police arrested Steffee — that caseworkers were returning her son to her home.

When news of the abuse allegations broke about a week later, the toddler boy’s mother and grandmother began to unravel what they knew about the Steffee family. They immediately remembered what the Steffees said about a foster girl they almost adopted.

“Colin told me their first baby died,” the grandmother said. “They said from SIDS. He said they were going to adopt her.”

The Republic knows the names of the foster mother and the family of the toddler boy, but it does not typically identify children in the child-welfare system.

The foster child the Steffees called Bella died on Sept. 11, 2018, according to people familiar with the Steffees and the GoFundMe for the child.

The grandmother said the conversation happened during a doctor’s visit for her grandson where she and her daughter-in-law met Steffee and his wife.

The grandmother said the Steffees had another foster child with them that day, a boy.

“He was just a baby,” the grandmother said. “They said they were going to adopt it.”

The toddler boy’s family said they’ve been mostly happy with DCS’ handling of the case. Now, the grandmother and mother of the toddler are questioning whether the Steffee home was safe for foster children, or for any child.

They want to know how after a quick Google search they uncovered a 2014 YouTube video of Steffee saying that since recently taking testosterone he noticed “that I’ve been a little bit more mad, a little bit more upset, I guess, emotional-wise.”

The video worried the grandmother, because Steffee made similar comments last week to police. After his arrest, Steffee said he harmed the child “because he has anger issues,” court documents say.

The old video, the little girl’s death, her grandson’s injuries should have served as red flags to dig deeper into what was happening in the Steffees’ home, the grandmother said. The Steffees adopted five foster children, according to the grandmother and Thomi-Lyn Stansky, a friend of the Steffees. ”

Steffee admitted to police that he abused his son, according to court records. And the boy’s mother confirmed to police that she had witnessed her husband strike the child’s face by throwing a large Tupperware container, push the child to the ground and kick him in the ribs.

The mother said she feared for the safety of her son, according to police.

Steffee is charged with three felony counts involving child abuse and aggravated assault against a minor and was released on April 25 with electronic monitoring.

‘Absolutely no wrongdoing’

A relative of Colin Steffee said the toddler girl’s death was no one’s fault.

“There’s absolutely no wrongdoing — it was investigated like every child is by the Arizona Department of Child Safety,” the relative said. “They determined no foul play and they closed the case.”

The Republic is not identifying the relative because the family has received threats amid news coverage of the alleged abuse, according to the relative.

“They’ve been very good parents thus far,” the relative said. “They have a lot of beautiful children.”

Neither Colin Steffee nor his wife responded to The Republic’s request for comment on the child-abuse case or reports of a child dying in their home.

DCS did not respond to The Republic’s questions about whether a toddler girl died in the Steffees’ foster home, whether the child’s death was investigated or the cause of death. Nor did DCS respond to questions about the whereabouts of Steffee’s five adopted children or about the foster infant in Steffee’s care at the time of his arrest on child-abuse charges.

DCS did not respond to questions about whether a report about Bella, the foster child who died, is in DCS’ public fatality and near-fatality reports online.

State law requires that the department “shall promptly provide DCS information to the public regarding a case of child abuse, abandonment or neglect that has resulted in a fatality or near fatality as follows.”

Stansky, the Steffee family friend, said she’s known the foster parents for about six months. They bonded over both families having autistic children. She counts the mother as one of her best friends.

She recently watched a few of the Steffees’ sons while the parents went to Disneyland on vacation. Stansky said the family typically takes the children with them everywhere. This was a rare respite for the couple.

Stansky said the parents are still mourning the little girl they almost adopted. They have her photo on a wall in their home. When Stansky’s son asked about the little girl, the family broke down.

“Colin just fell into tears,” she said. “She really triggers an emotional spot for Colin.”

When the Steffees came home, they talked about the little girl they wanted to name after a Disney princess. “They said they wished they would’ve taken Bella to Disneyland,” she said.

Stansky said the Steffees adopted five siblings who were in their foster care. The oldest is 13. He reported Colin Steffee abusing him, she said.

Stansky said she’s never seen either Steffee parent abuse their children and she’d feel safe having her own sons in their care.

“I would’ve never in a million years expected what happened to Colin to have happened,” she said. “They’re both extremely loving.”

Stansky said she never met Bella. She knows bits and pieces from the Steffees.

They were in the process of adopting the toddler. She was almost 2. She died on 9/11.

“All they told me was that they were waiting for the autopsy to come back,” she said. “They got it back and they said they don’t know why she died.”

Infant foster child removed from the Steffee home

Stansky said the Steffees were planning to adopt a sixth foster child, an infant they called Christopher.

“Baby Christopher … he’s 2 months old,” she said. “They had him since he was born.”

The infant was removed from the home after Steffee’s arrest, she said.

“They are not getting custody of Baby Christopher, a different family will,” she said. “They’re no longer allowed to have any contact.”

The Steffees’ five children are back in foster care. Three children with one foster family; two with another, she said.

“They’ve gotten to see them once,” she said.

Stansky said she got a call from Steffee’s wife the day after Colin’s arrest. The mother was devastated. Stansky hopes the family gets counseling and is reunited.

“Without their kids, they’re so completely lost,” she said.

She thinks health issues are to blame for Colin’s alleged abuse of his son. She said Colin told her he was diagnosed with a brain tumor about two weeks ago.

“Colin’s brain tumor is what’s getting the best of him,” she said. “I think it’s the testosterone or whatever, but I think it’s bringing on a side of Colin that he doesn’t know how to handle himself and he just took it out on the wrong person.”

A child reported his dad abusing him. Last year, a toddler girl died in foster care at the same home.

[AZ Central 5/8/19 by Dianna M. Nanez]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: Foster child “Reyna del Sol Flores, age 19 months, was found unresponsive in her toddler bed on Sept. 11,[2018] according to the report from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner. The Arizona Republic obtained the report through a public-records request.

People familiar with the foster parents have told The Republic that they called the girl Bella and planned to adopt her.

The autopsy found the child was a “well-developed and well-nourished infant female” with no obvious signs of trauma, nor any blunt or sharp-force injuries. The only toxic substance in her blood was from isopropanol, which the report notes was left over from materials used in the autopsy.

The little girl’s death came to public attention after the father at the home where she was being fostered was arrested last month on charges of abusing his own child. One of Colin Steffee’s sons had emailed the El Mirage police chief on April 24, complaining he was afraid to go home because his father had beat him the night before. The boy added that the abuse had been going on for two years.

After news reports of the child’s plea, and his father’s subsequent arrest, the family of another child who was being fostered in the Steffee home came forward with complaints their 2-year-old boy had suffered cuts around his eyes in foster care.

While telling about their encounter with the Steffee family, the foster boy’s mother and grandmother said the Steffees had told them they had lost a foster child the previous summer. That account has been confirmed by Steffee relatives and friends. These friends and family members said the death was unexplained, and they attested to the Steffees as loving and caring parents, not only to the five children they had adopted, but also to the children they were fostering.

The autopsy confirms the portrayal of the little girl’s death as unexplained.

Dr. Mary Ellen Rimsza said an autopsy with a bottom line of “undetermined” is unusual for a child over age 1. Such conclusions are reached mostly in cases involving infants and babies under age 1, due to sleep conditions that result in suffocation.

“These used to be called ‘crib deaths’ and then ‘sudden infant death syndrome’,” Rimsza said. That’s when a little one, still fairly immobile, gets suffocated by bedding, or other items in the crib or bed, she said.

“A 19-month-old would be an unusual age to see that (kind of) suffocation,” Rimsza said, because by that age, children move around quite a bit.

Rimsza leads an annual review of child deaths done by the state Department of Health Services. The reviewers have access to more records than the medical examiner, she said, such as police reports, each child’s medical history and Department of Child Safety case files.

The Flores death will be part of the 2018 review, but any conclusions will be folded into the broader report that serves as a guide for policy makers interested in preventing child deaths. State law bars disclosure of personal details in the annual review.

DCS has not commented on the Flores death in foster care. State law requires DCS to release details of child fatalities and near fatalities that are determined to be caused by abuse or neglect. But in this case, the publicly available records show no evidence of abuse or neglect.

The autopsy did note that the little girl had been born substance exposed, and that she had a history of nasal congestion. Her immunizations were up to date, the report stated, and her only recent medical problem prior to death was a cough.

When her body arrived at the medical examiner’s office, the child was wearing a red outfit with white polka dots. A photo on her foster mother’s Facebook page showed the child in a red outfit with white polka dots. The photo was surrounded by a frame provided by the Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood Foundation. The foundation said such sudden deaths occur in children older than 1.

Steffee was released from the Maricopa County Jail last month with electronic monitoring. His preliminary court hearing is scheduled for May 15, 2019.

As for the foster child who last month sustained cuts around his eyes, his family said they were told the injuries were caused by Steffee’s 3-year-old boy. The boy’s grandmother said DCS told her the foster parents promised to keep the boy always in sight as the children played. The foster boy remained in the same home until Steffee’s April 24 arrest.

The boy has since been returned to his mother’s home.”

 

Autopsy report reveals name of girl who died in El Mirage foster family of Colin Steffee

[Arizona Central 5/10/19 by Mary Jo Pritzl]

A search of the Arizona Court case files shows that Colin made a not guilty plea on July 16, 2019. The comprehensive pre-trial conference on September 12, 2019.

 A search of the Arizona Court case files shows that Colin made a plea agreement and was sentenced to probation on November 22, 2019.