How Could You? Hall of Shame- Maqkwone Jones case-Child Death UPDATED and Lawsuit
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 Chicago, Illinois, foster child, Maqkwone Jones,3, “was left alone in a locked apartment when fire spread from back porches.”
“A Cook County judge angrily scolded the state’s child welfare agency Thursday over the slow pace of its investigation into the fire death of a 3-year-old boy in foster care, losing his temper when officials refused to provide any details.
“You tell me how he died, OK?” Juvenile Court Judge Patrick Murphy said during an often combative hearing. “I failed a kid because I appointed you as a guardian.’’
Officials with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services explained they were still conducting their own investigation.”
“”He died in a fire last Sunday,” Murphy shot back. “It’s Thursday. … I can tell you, I can find out in an hour. … It would not take me four days.”
In another tense exchange, Murphy demanded to know why the agency hadn’t acted on an earlier complaint about inadequate supervision in the home. The complaint was made to DCFS earlier this year and investigators determined it was unfounded, but an agency attorney could not give any other details.
Murphy said he wanted to know more about the complaint and why no action was taken. “I think it’s pretty relevant,” he said. “So someone reports a lack of supervision. … A couple days later a kid dies in a fire. … I think it’s pretty relevant.”
Murphy — a former public guardian known for his fierce advocacy for youth in care — had ordered DCFS to prepare a report for the hearing on how the boy had been cared for. But the complaint was not mentioned in the report and was only disclosed when another attorney asked about it.
The current Cook County public guardian, Charles Golbert, accused the agency of withholding information. “It’s very disappointing … since apparently it has to do with inadequate supervision given the special needs of the child.”
In a statement issued later in the afternoon, Golbert said he has suspicions about the agency’s handling of the complaint. “I look forward to receiving the materials and, frankly, anticipate the worst,” he said. “If these materials were innocuous, DCFS would not have tried to bury them.”
Not long after Golbert’s statement, DCFS released details of the complaint. The agency said it received a hotline call in January from someone alleging that one of Maqkwone’s older brothers had touched his 2-year-old sister “on the butt over the clothing while she was sleeping,” according to Neil Skene, special assistant to the director of DCFS.
“The hotline caller said it was ‘unknown’ whether the foster mom was adequately monitoring the behavior,” Skene said. “The investigator concluded that the caregiver took immediate action at the time and ‘has taken reasonable action to ensure that adequate supervision to children is provided at all times.’ The allegation was ruled unfounded.”
Maqkwone, two brothers ages 8 and 9 and the 2-year-old had been in the foster care of their mother’s cousin since September 2017, when their mother was investigated for child abuse and neglect, according to DCFS. Cook County court records indicate Maqkwone’s biological mother, 33, was charged with aggravated battery of a child under 12 and aggravated battery last October. That case is pending.
None of the other siblings were in the cousin’s home at… when the fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, according to fire officials. The cousin was not home at the time, but a friend was sleeping at the apartment, according to police and DCFS. Not realizing the boy was at home, the woman told authorities she ran outside when the fire started, Skene said.
The friend said she learned the boy was inside when she called the aunt, officials said. She alerted firefighters, who broke down the doors and found Maqkwone, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford. The boy died at Comer Children’s Hospital.
Police did not find any evidence of arson but were continuing to investigate, said chief police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. “Child endangerment is certainly a component of the investigation,” he said.
Thursday’s hearing was held to discuss the future custody of the surviving siblings. It began with Murphy offering his condolences. “I’m very sorry about what happened.”
But the proceedings quickly became contentious as Murphy talked about the boy dying “tragically’’ after “he was left alone,” citing news reports.
DCFS officials objected to Murphy relying on news stories for what happened to the boy. “Sounds like everyone in this courtroom cares about their butts,” the judge said at one point. “Let’s get back to the kids seeing each other.”
The judge was told the older boys were placed at psychiatric hospitals after the fire, one in suburban Streamwood and the other on the South Side. “Those are very far apart,’’ Murphy said.
When Murphy asked about the health of Maqkwone’s mother, a woman speaking on her behalf said she was “moving forward,’’ living by herself in an apartment on the South Side. She has some “anger issues,’’ the woman said, and must learn more effective ways to cope and to be a better mom.
Toward the end of the hearing, Maqkwone’s mother stood before the judge holding her youngest child, an infant, over her right shoulder and rocking slightly back and forth. The infant had been placed in a different foster home than the other children.
“That is one beautiful child,” Murphy said.
Suddenly the mother’s left arm shot up. “I have to go back to the funeral home,’’ she said, explaining she had to make funeral arrangements for her son.
Murphy stressed that he wanted the entire family to attend the funeral. “Grieving is very important,” he said. “The whole family should be together. Let’s work it out.’’
Another hearing was scheduled for Friday morning.”
[Chicago Tribune 7/13/18 by Elyssa Cherney and Rosemary Sobol]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update: “Child welfare officials offered new details Monday into the death of a 3-year-old foster child in an apartment fire last month, but a Juvenile Court judge expressed skepticism over the account, saying police must continue investigating the “bizarre” circumstances.
Maqkwone Jones, who was in the custody of a relative, died July 8 after firefighters found him alone and locked inside a burning apartment in the Grand Crossing neighborhood.
Since then, authorities have been sorting through conflicting versions of how the tragedy unfolded and investigating whether neglect played a role in Maqkwone’s death. Maqkwone, two brothers ages 8 and 9 and a 2-year-old sister had been in the foster care of their mother’s cousin since September 2017 when their mother was investigated for child abuse and neglect, according to the Department of Children and Family Services.
In court Monday, Maqkwone’s birth mother cried and hyperventilated at times as a public defender stood by her side. The woman said she and her children are suffering as they wait for more answers about Maqkwone’s death.
“I’m not OK. As a mother, I’m not going to be OK,” she said. “My son is dead through grown people, and it’s not fair. Everyone keeps saying stories that are changing.”
Judge Patrick Murphy, who is overseeing the siblings’ case in the child protection division, has called multiple hearings to demand more information from DCFS officials. On Monday, DCFS Guardian Janet Ahern offered the first detailed account of how Maqkwone ended up alone at the time of the fire.
On July 7, his foster mother dropped the boy at his grandmother’s house while she attended a vigil at a beach, Ahern said. The other children were divided among different relatives.
The foster mom returned to the grandmother’s house and was with the boy until about 4 a.m. on July 8 when she got a call from her roommate, Ahern said. The roommate said she had gotten into a fight with some other women.
After the call, the foster mom took Maqkwone back to her apartment to be with the roommate where they lived at … A few hours later, the foster mother left to pick up the other children and woke up the roommate to find her keys.
When the foster mother was out getting the other kids, the roommate saw smoke about 10:30 a.m. and ran outside without realizing Maqkwone was still inside, Ahern said.
The roommate told DCFS she was either too tired or hungover to recall the conversation with the foster mother about keys, Ahren said.
Murphy peppered Ahren with questions as she explained the sometimes disjointed and confusing narrative.
“When I hear the story, it sounds bizarre,” Murphy said. “It’s all very vague. There seems to be something very fishy here, and I hope police get to the bottom of it.”
Though DCFS interviewed the roommate once, she has stopped being cooperative with investigators, Ahern said.
DCFS was not aware the foster mother had a roommate who may have been watching Maqkwone at times, officials said.
The criminal investigation into Maqkwone’s death remained open as of Monday, according to Officer Michael Carroll, a Chicago police spokesman. Investigators could not determine whether an accelerant was used in the fire, which may indicate arson.
Ahern alluded to that during Monday’s hearing to explain the challenge for authorities to determine exactly what led to Maqkwone’s death.
“I do know there is a police investigation,” Ahern said, “so perhaps people are not willing to talk.””
New details in fire death of foster child are ‘bizarre,’ judge says
[Chicago Tribune 8/6/18 by Elyssa Cherney]
Update 2:“The mother of a 3-year-old boy killed in a 2018 fire in Grand Crossing has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the foster mother who had custody of the child at the time.
Shanette Roach filed the suit Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court, nearly two years to the day after the death of her son, Maqkwone Jones.
The toddler died July 8, 2018, after being left in a burning apartment in the … by an adult who escaped and didn’t know the child was there, authorities said at the time.
The two-count suit alleges wrongful death against the boy’s foster mother — both individually and in her capacity as a foster parent for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services — as well as a man who lived with her.
The woman, who is related to Roach, was given custody of the boy and his three siblings in 2017, according to the suit.
The suit claims DCFS failed to properly screen the backgrounds of the foster mother’s roommates or properly investigate reports of drug use in the home and the children being left with improper supervision.
The man’s criminal background should have disqualified him from living in the home or caring for the foster children, according to the suit.
The suit also states that the door to the children’s bedroom was modified to lock from the outside so the foster mother and roommate “could host house parties fueled by drugs, alcohol, loud music and violence throughout the night.”
On July 7, 2018, and into the next morning, the foster mother and her roommate allegedly hosted a party at the home “where alcohol and/or drugs were consumed and where a physical altercation occurred between the attendees,” according to the suit. The foster mother then left the man in charge while she left the home in the early morning hours of July 8.
When the fire broke out, the man got out without realizing he’d left Maqkwone inside, according to the suit.
The lawsuit is seeking at least $100,000 in damages, aswell as court costs and other fees.
A spokesman for DCFS said the department does not comment on pending litigation. The department is not named as a defendant in the complaint.”
Mother of 3-year-old killed in 2018 Grand Crossing fire sues foster mom, roommate
[Chicago Sun Times 7/9/2020 by Luke Wilusz]
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