How Could You? Hall of Shame-Dovia Pernell case-Child Death

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 Louisville, Kentucky,foster child Dovia Pernell,15, “was shot to death on Patton Court about 10:45 a.m. at a housing complex near West Hill and 13th Streets.

Her parents placed her under the state’s custody to get her better mental health treatment. Dovia was supposed to be in Lexington where she had been placed in a foster home.

While investigators look for who killed the teen, her adoptive family is looking for answers about how she ended up in Louisville.

Dovia’s parents are experiencing “shock, anger, disbelief,” said family attorney Rachael O’Hearen. “They’re feeling a whole rollercoaster of emotions.” ”

“Dovia was in 11 foster homes before she ended up with her forever family. Mike and Jennifer Pernell adopted Dovia when she was just 5-years-old.

O’Hearen said, “as many foster children do, she had some significant trauma and diagnoses from that — behavior issues.”

She said the family wanted to get her help for those mental health issues. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services is a resource for adoptive parents in need.

“They can get treatment for a child that a parent might not be able to get with their insurance,” O’Hearen said.

The Pernells placed Dovia under the Cabinet’s custody temporarily, so the state could find a treatment program for her. That’s how she ended up in Lexington.

The cabinet said Dovia was reported missing from her foster home Jan. 20th. That’s nine days before she was shot and killed in Louisville Monday. O’Hearen said the Pernells weren’t informed that Dovia was missing until she had been gone for “probably a week.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear was asked about the case at a news conference on Thursday. He said he was aware of gaps in Kentucky’s child protective services that led to this tragedy.

“We’ve got to look at every single circumstance — avoidable and unavoidable — to make sure the next time we can do a little better,” Beshear said.

O’Hearen said Dovia’s family lives in Union, Kentucky – near Cincinnati. She said they have no ties to Louisville and aren’t aware of any ties Dovia had to the area.

There is no confirmed information about who Dovia was with or how she got into the Algonquin neighborhood. “They don’t even have enough information to say it was a friend of boyfriend,” O”Hearen said.

A public memorial is planned for Dovia on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at the Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home in Florence Kentucky. For details, click here.

Anyone with information regarding the case can call the LMPD tip line at 502-574-LMPD (5673) or utilize the online crime tip portal.”

Teen girl shot and killed in Louisville Monday was a runaway from Kentucky foster care
[WDRB 2/3/24 by Reyna Katko]

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