How Could You?Hall of Shame-Angel Lance Place 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 Grand Junction ,Colorado, 20-year-old Foster mother Sydney Danielle White was arrested on “suspicion of child abuse resulting in death after she allegedly killed an 11-month-old girl she was hoping to adopt, according to court records.” 

She “is accused of shaking to death Angel Lance Place by her throat after White couldn’t get the baby to stop crying Sept. 15. She was arrested Friday.

“Sydney stated she was out of control, saying she didn’t know for how long she shook Angel or how many times she shook her,” the records say.”

White also told police she dropped Angel on the floor the day of the shaking, causing a minor cut on the baby’s lip and a bloody nose.

“White said the baby initially became lethargic and wouldn’t wake up, but that later she appeared to be doing better,” police said in a news release Tuesday.

White that night took Angel to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, where the baby became unresponsive after her right side went stiff. Angel was transferred to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora and died two days later, police said.

Court records indicate Angel was taken away from her biological parents by Mesa County Child Protective Services this year and placed with White and her husband in July.

White and her husband have two children of their own, police said.

The Mesa County coroner found that Angel died as the result of blunt-force head injuries and ruled the death a homicide.

White is being held at the Mesa County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Grand Junction police arrest foster mom in 11-month-old’s death[The Denver Post 9/23/14 by Jesse Paul]

“The Grand Junction Police Department said Sydney Danielle White told investigators she “accidentally dropped” the infant, Angel Lane Place, on the floor September 12, and then on September 15, grabbed her by the neck and shook her.

Police said Angel arrived at Children’s Hospital in Aurora from Grand Junction on September 16 and was taken off life support the next day. The coroner said Angel died of “blunt force head injuries” and ruled her death a homicide. White is charged with child abuse resulting in death and is in the Mesa County jail on a $100,000 bond.

White told police that Angel suffered a minor cut on her lip and a bloody nose in the incident on September 12, and said Angel hit her head in the fall.

According to an arrest affidavit, White said that on the morning of September 15, Angel was screaming and she couldn’t get her to stop. She told police she held the baby “by the neck with both hands and shook her multiple times.” She said she stopped after one of her children then came into the room and said, “Mommy, stop it,” and put Angel to sleep.

“White said the baby initially became lethargic and wouldn’t wake up, but that later she appeared to be doing better,” police said in a statement sent to 7NEWS. “Later that night White took Angel to St. Mary’s Hospital when Angel’s right side became stiff and she was unresponsive.”

CALL7 Investigator Theresa Marchetta spoke Tuesday with Angel’s biological mother, Tierra Place, who said her daughter her been removed from her home because she and her husband fought, and said her husband told human services he used marijuana.

Place said her brother is married to White, and she approved of Angel being placed with the couple. She said her brother, who is 21, checked in with her every day.

“This is like losing her twice. I don’t know how someone could possibly do that to a baby,” she said. “Inside I know she is walking with God.”

Ted Place, Angel’s father, is now threatening to sue Mesa County.

“You know I was seeing pictures of her, seeing videos, you know she was doing good, she was making good progress, and I was ok with the situation she was in,” he said. “And then, all of a sudden, I had just found out that your daughter is in urgent care in Denver, Colorado, and you need to come there. I just want Mesa County to pay for what they’ve done.”

The Mesa County Department of Human Services website lists 21 as the minimum age to become a foster parent, and officials with Colorado DHS confirmed Tuesday that is a state-wide policy. But counties can make exceptions for situations known as kinship placements, in which children are placed with adult relatives 18 or older.

The CALL7 Investigators looked into Sydney White’s background and found no criminal history. According to the arrest affidavit, Angel had been placed with White since July, and she and her husband were in the process of adopting the little girl.

Mesa County DHS said they cannot provide details about the conditions of Angel Place’s placement because the case is an open investigation.”

Foster mother, 20-year-old Sydney Danielle White, arrested in baby’s death[ABC 7 9/23/14 by Deb Stanley and Sandra Berry]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 

Update:”During the interview, White allegedly admitted that in response to the inconsolable child, she “held Angel by the neck with both hands and shook her multiple times.” The warrant quotes her as admitting she was “out of control” and lost track of how long the shaking went on — but at one point, the older of her kids came into the room and said, “Mommy, stop it.”

 

She said she did so and then put Angel down to sleep. Afterward, she called someone whose name is blotted out in the document to report anxiety about her condition — but when she awakened, White insisted that the baby seemed better

This improvement didn’t last — and when her condition continued to deteriorate, Angel was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction. She was in such dire condition that she was soon flown to Aurora for treatment.

After White’s arrest on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death, the Grand JunctionDaily Sentinel uncovered evidence of a previous abuse allegation aimed at White.

In July, when Angel was eight months old, Misty Blackwell, who served as the baby’s foster mom before White took over, saw a mark over the baby’s right eye. She had just been returned to Blackwell by White.

The caseworker assigned to oversee Angel’s well-being was informed about Blackwell’s concerns, but a report obtained by the Sentinel states that “no scratches were seen on Baby Angel during the handoff,” and as a result, there was “no probable cause for charges.”

At this writing, White is in Mesa County jail on a $100,000 bond.”

Sydney White’s Child While She Was Shaking Baby Who Later Died: “Mommy, Stop It”[Denver Westword 9/25/14 by Michael Roberts]

“Angel’s biological mother, Tierra Place, told CNN affiliate KMGH that her daughter had been removed from her home because she and her husband fought, and said her husband admitted to using marijuana.

Place told the affiliate her 21-year-old brother is married to White, and that she approved of Angel being placed with the young couple.

White is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. Her attorney Steve Laiche would not comment on the case. ”

Foster mom, 20, arrested in baby girl’s death[HLN TV 9/29/14 by Katherine Cavazini]

Update 2:”A woman being held in the death of a foster baby she was caring for has been charged with first-degree murder as well as child abuse resulting in death.

The Daily Sentinel reports that 20-year-old Sydney White was advised of the charges Tuesday in a courtroom in Grand Junction.

The 11-month-old baby girl died after being taken off life support in September.

Social workers removed her from her biological parents and placed her with White and her husband and their two young children in July. According to an arrest affidavit, White’s 2-year-old child walked in on her shaking the baby and told her to stop.

White allegedly told investigators that she was out of control and didn’t know how long she shook the baby.”

Foster mom charged with murder in baby’s death[9News 10/15/14 by Associated Press]

Update 3: “The foster parent accused of killing an 11 month old baby in her care was back in court today. 20 year old Sydney White now has a preliminary hearing set.

White is facing a first degree murder charge as well as a child abuse charge resulting in death.

White was one of the foster parents of 11 month old Angel Place who died in September of 2014.

A police affidavit says white admitted to dropping the baby on her head and later shaking her while holding her by the neck.

The baby later died at a children’s hospital in Denver.”

Woman accused of killing foster child back in court[KJCT 1/15/15 by Stacia Strong]

Update 4:“Yesterday, Sydney White appeared in court  on charges related to the death of Angel Place, an eleven-month-old who died in her care last year.

According to police reports on view below, White told investigators that she accidentally dropped Angel, then shook her so violently one of her two biological kids told her to stop.

The expectation was that a plea agreement would be announced at the hearing. But prosecutors instead asked for and received a delay until next month, when this disturbing case should finally be resolved.

As we’ve reported, Angel’s biological mother was Tierra Place. She said White and her husband — Place’s 21-year-old brother — took custody of her daughter in July.

The baby had previously been taken out of Place’s home because of the couple’s fighting and her husband’s admission that he used marijuana.

As such, Angel joined a family that already included two children. White’s Facebook page, which describes her as a stay-at-home mom (and remains online at this writing), features photos and videos of her kids — one a toddler as of last summer, when the page was last updated, the other considerably younger.

But within a matter of months, things went terribly wrong for the new addition.

Although White and her family live in Grand Junction, Angel died at Children’s Hospital in Aurora. She was flown there in September, but she didn’t respond to treatment. The arrest report notes that she was taken off life support on Wednesday morning, September 17 and was declared dead early that afternoon.

A subsequent autopsy revealed a large bruise on her right temple area, above the hairline. The cause of death was most likely blunt-force trauma, a doctor told investigators.

Meanwhile, White met with law enforcers. The report stresses that she voluntarily revealed incidents that preceded Angel’s death.

On September 12, she said, she was holding Angel in the bathroom while tending to one of her kids when she dropped the baby on the floor.

Although Angel landed on her head, White maintained that the baby suffered only a minor cut on her lip and a bloody nose.

White reported no ill effects from the fall for several days. But on Monday, September 15, she reportedly said Angel began screaming and wouldn’t stop.

During the interview, White allegedly admitted that in response to the inconsolable child, she “held Angel by the neck with both hands and shook her multiple times.” The warrant quotes her as admitting she was “out of control” and lost track of how long the shaking went on — but at one point, the older of her kids came into the room and said, “Mommy, stop it.”

She said she did so and then put Angel down to sleep. Afterward, she called someone whose name is blotted out in the document to report anxiety about Angel’s condition. But when Angel awakened, White insisted that the baby seemed better

This improvement didn’t last — and when her condition continued to deteriorate, Angel was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction. She was in such dire condition that she was soon flown to Aurora for treatment.

After White’s arrest on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel uncovered evidence of a previous abuse allegation aimed at White.

In July, when Angel was eight months old, Misty Blackwell, who served as the baby’s foster mom before White took over, saw a mark over the baby’s right eye. She had just been returned to Blackwell by White.

The caseworker assigned to oversee Angel’s well-being was informed about Blackwell’s concerns, but a report obtained by the Sentinel states that “no scratches were seen on Baby Angel during the handoff,” and as a result, there was “no probable cause for charges.”

After Angel’s death, prosecutors had no such issues. According to KJCT-TV, White has been formally accused of first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death.

We don’t know yet if the district attorney in the case is willing to lessen these accusations in order to secure a guilty plea, owing to yesterday’s delay. But negotiations are said to be ongoing, and within the next month or so, White should learn her sentence for this tragic event.

Look below to see a larger version of White’s booking photo, followed by a 7News piece broadcast shortly after White’s arrest, a KJCT report about the latest developments and the aforementioned arrest warrant.”

SYDNEY WHITE, FOSTER MOM CHARGED WITH BABY’S MURDER: PLEA DEAL DELAY [Westword 6/17/15 by Michaels Roberts]

Update 5:”A woman who was arrested in the death of a foster baby she was caring for has pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death and tampering with physical evidence.

The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports (http://goo.gl/QR3Pm5 ) 21-year-old Sydney White struck a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty Monday in the September death of 11-month-old Angel Place. Prosecutors dismissed a first-degree murder charge.

Social workers removed the girl from her biological parents and placed her with White and her husband and their two young children in July 2014.

Grand Junction police say White told them she violently shook Angel, grabbing the child with both hands by the neck Sept. 15 when the infant wouldn’t stop crying.

The plea agreement allows for a sentence of up to 51 years in prison.”

Mesa County foster mom pleads guilty in child’s death [Denver Post 8/17/15 by Associated Press]

Update 6: “A 21-year-old mother of two will spend three decades in the Colorado Department of Corrections for the death of a foster child she had hoped to adopt.

Mesa County District Judge Richard Gurley sentenced Sydney White on Monday after hearing supportive testimony pleas from White’s family and a Mesa County Department of Human Services caseworker and frustration from the angry family that had hoped to adopt 11-month-old Angel Place.

“I did a horrible thing that I am not proud of,” White told Gurley. “I hate myself for it.”

Whatever sentence Gurley might impose, “I will deserve it and I am going to make the best of it,” White said.

Gurley handed down a sentence of 30 years, plus a consecutive one-year sentence for tampering with evidence. White also is to serve five years of parole.

The sentence followed a plea agreement in which prosecutors dropped a first-degree murder charge and White agreed to a maximum 51-year sentence.

Gurley handed down the sentence after hearing from the woman who had hoped to adopt Angel and from White’s relatives, as well as a caseworker.

White, said caseworker Ruth Anderson, was struggling to overcome a dysfunctional childhood while trying to be a good mother.

“From everything I observed, she was a good person and a good mom” who was trying to give her own children a better life than hers, Anderson said.

“Look past the fragile exterior,” Misty Blackwell urged the judge, “and see her for the monster she is.”

Blackwell had spent eight months preparing to adopt Angel, who was ultimately made available to White’s family as a kinship adoption, or one from a relative.

White battered Angel on Sept. 14, 2014, shaking her and, at one point, kicking the toddler in the head.

The resulting wound was so egregious that it couldn’t have been delivered from a standing start, District Attorney Dan Rubinstein said he was told by the coroner.

White “would have had to have stepped into (the kick),” Rubinstein said.

Angel was taken to Children’s Hospital on the Front Range, where she was taken off life support. Angel suffered multiple skull fractures and her neck was marked with fingernails on the right and left sides.

On top of that, White concocted a scheme she hoped would get her out of jail by asking her husband to write her an undated letter that she could later date in such a way as to exculpate her, Rubinstein said.

White, however, was trying desperately to get back to her family, said Public Defender Steve Colvin, who insisted that White was far from a monster, but rather a young mother who took on too much even though she knew herself to be unstable under pressure.

“This young lady is more than the worst thing she ever did,” Colvin said.

White admitted to her actions in a letter to the judge, Colvin noted, asking that Gurley sentence White much as he would any other young woman in a similar situation.

Child protective services officials had investigated previous reports that Angel was abused, but found no evidence, Colvin said.

He said the injuries Angel suffered all were inflicted in a single event.

People on both sides wrote him, some to urge the death penalty and others to ask that he free White, Gurley said.

“What is justice in this particular case?” Gurley said, noting that few would be happy with the sentence.

Oneal Blackwell, who had hoped to be Angel’s grandfather, was one who asked that White be consigned “to the worst prison there is and have the hardest time trying to survive.”

Of the sentence, “We got what we got,” he said.

“There are no winners” in the case, said Rubinstein, noting that White’s two children “lose out, as will every person who knew Angel. Hopefully they all can move forward.””

‘I hate myself’ for baby’s death [The Daily Sentinel 11/30/15 by Gary Harmon]

Update 7:“A “systemic” problem with how Mesa County assesses risk in foster families with whom small children are to be placed was a contributing factor in the 2014 death of 11-month-old Angel Place, according to a recently released state review of the child’s death.

The Mesa County Department of Human Services placed the baby in the care of 20-year-old Sydney White and her 21-year-old husband, Randy Bond, some three months before the baby’s death in September 2014. The couple was additionally caring for two biological children, ages 1 and 2, when Angel was placed in their care.

White was sentenced to 30 years in prison in August after pleading guilty to child abuse resulting in death in the case. White admitted in the state review to “accidentally dropping” the baby on Sept. 12, 2014, and to shaking the baby multiple times three days later. The baby died of blunt force injuries Sept. 17, 2014, at a hospital in Denver.

An autopsy showed Angel suffered multiple skull fractures. Doctors observed fingernail marks on the left and right side of the girl’s neck and said the head injuries would have been “immediately symptomatic” for Angel, incapacitating and obvious to anybody caring for the girl, according to court records in the case.

A key finding by Colorado’s Child Fatality Review Team, which examined the circumstances leading up to Angel’s death, showed that the county Department of Human Services violated policy by not completing a thorough risk assessment of White’s family before placing the child in the home.

“Documentation shows the risk assessment tool was started on Dec. 6, 2013, but not all risk factors were addressed,” the state report reads. It additionally concludes “the risk assessment tool was not thorough as not all 13 risk factors were addressed on the family.”

It specifically cites the Department of Human Services’ lack of addressing a “primary caregiver’s provision of physical care or supervision.”

The state report does show local child welfare officials completed an inspection and analysis of White’s home in 2014, and executed a certification waiver that was required because White was under the age of 21.

County social workers conducted a home visit on Aug. 20, 2014, during which White was alleged to have told officials that Angel was “throwing fits for attention” and had “mad mood swings,” according to the state report.

Regarding the incomplete risk assessment, the state review team said the oversight “does reflect a systemic practice issue for MCDHS.”

The state said a random sample review of Mesa County assessments done in 2014 showed the county completed the risk assessment tool accurately 42.3 percent of the time, compared to a statewide average, not including Mesa County, of 58.9 percent.

Officials with the county Department of Human Services declined an interview last week to discuss the state fatality review findings, citing pending litigation.

That pending litigation includes a recent notice filed by attorneys for Theodore Place, Angel’s biological father. In the notice — a pretext to a likely lawsuit against the county and the Department of Human Services — Place’s attorneys contend the Department of Human Services “and/or its employees negligently placed (the baby) in the care of Ms. White and negligently continued to allow Ms. White to have custody of Angel.”

They further contend the county was negligent in hiring and employing the people associated with the case, and didn’t adequately train or supervise those employees.

Public employees listed in the notice who are allegedly involved in the case include Jacque Berry, Susan Swift, Kristine Beck, Betty Corona, Lisa Burnett, Crystal Stewart and Ethan Storneg.

The notice says Angel Place was removed from her biological parents, Theodore Place and Tierra Bond, in December 2013. The baby was placed in foster care for a number of months before being placed under White’s care due to a family connection. Angel’s foster mother, Misty Blackwell, had hoped to adopt the child.

Place’s attorneys with Killian Davis Richter and Mayle, PC, estimate they may be seeking $925,000 in economic and non-economic damages, plus punitive damages if their investigation reveals the county’s conduct was “willful and wanton.”

Those numbers could change, pending further expert analysis of the case, attorneys wrote in the notice.

A recommendation in the state’s fatality review of Angel Place said the county Department of Human Services should identify barriers to accurate completion of the risk assessment tool and implement solutions around those barriers.

The fatality review — mostly completed by October 2014 — also pointed to the state’s plans to implement a new Colorado Family Risk assessment in 2015.

A spokesman for the Colorado Department of Human Services said Friday that new safety and risk assessment tools were piloted in 2015, and statewide implementation began this year.

Mesa County is scheduled to roll out the new assessment tools between April 29 and July 1 this year. All 64 counties must implement the new assessments by Dec. 31.”

Foster family 
in baby’s death 
not fully vetted [The Daily Sentinel 4/2/16 by Dusty Hayes]

Update 8:“A civil case filed in Denver has put the death of Angel Place back in the spotlight, this time under the microscope of a federal lawsuit.

“We think this is a horrible tragedy. The folks involved want to explore that further,” said Attorney Keith Killian who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Estate of Angel Place, represented by her grandfather Shane Place.

The lawsuit was filed against Joyce Anderson, Jacque Berry, Joni Bedell, and Crystal Stewart, employees of the Mesa County Department of Human Services.

The four played a role in placing Angel in the kinship care of the woman who murdered her: Sydney White.

“It’s not so much an attempt to insult these individuals, or make an allegation specifically against them, but we have no other choice when we’re bringing a civil rights action,” said Killian.

After accepting a plea deal, White was sentenced to 31 years in prison for the murder of Angel. The federal complaint says that in 2014 White dropped Angel on her head, and violently shook her, which ultimately led to her death.

“When you have a tragedy like this it should be examined by the state, by the citizens that are familiar with the facts, and that’s what we’re really asking here,” said Killian.

The Executive Director of the Department of Human Services has issued a statement:
“Our sympathies go out to this family and all families who have lost a child due to abuse and neglect. We take all incidents of child abuse and neglect very seriously. Due to pending litigation we are unable to provide any specific response in regards to the Angel Place lawsuit.”

“The caseworkers and those involved in the case are humans, just like the foster parents and the kinship families, and you can’t really predict human behavior,” said Janet Rowland, who advocates on behalf of children in court.

Rowland said DHS performs detailed background checks and home studies before placing a child in kinship or foster care.

“[The decision] is not made in a vacuum. It’s made by a whole team of professionals really looking at what’s best for the child,” said Rowland.”

Grandfather of murdered foster child sues DHS[KJCT8 9/13/16 by Katie Greenburg]