How Could You? Hall of Shame-Amari Boone 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 Fort Worth, Texas, foster child Amari Boone,3, “who died of severe abuse on Easter Sunday is the third child in less than a month to die at Cook Children’s Hospital due to severe child abuse, the hospital said.

Amari Boone was taken to the hospital Friday morning and later died of his injuries Easter Sunday [April 12,2020] at about 1:19 a.m., police said. Amari’s aunt, Chasatie Boozer, says he had fractured ribs, two broken arms, bleeding in his brain and bruises. His death has been ruled a homicide, Fort Worth police said.

The Fort Worth Police Crimes Against Children Unit is involved in the investigation. They are asking anyone with information on the murder or abuse is asked to contact the CACU at 817-332-5036 or email FortWorthPDCACU@fortworthtexas.gov.

Boozer tells WFAA that the people he was staying with, who she calls his foster parents, are responsible for the severe injuries that put him in a coma. The state says he was living with friends of the family.

She wrote on a GoFundMe page for Amari’s funeral expenses that he was the “smartest, intriguing, funniest child in the world.”

“Justice needs to be served,” Boozer said. “Someone needs to be held responsible. The system failed yet another child.”

Child Protective Investigations says the boy was in the state’s legal custody and was living with friends of their family. They are working with Fort Worth police to find out what happened and who is responsible, said Marissa Gonzales, Media Relations Director for Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

“Before the children were allowed to live in that home, background checks and visits to the home were conducted. The judge overseeing the children’s CPS case approved the placement,” Gonzales said in a statement. “Amari’s younger brother has been moved out of the home and placed in a foster home.”

Since March 17, eight children have been admitted to Cook Children’s Medical Center for injuries related to child abuse, the hospital said. Three of those children died. To put that number in perspective, Cook Children’s typically sees six child abuse deaths a year, the hospital said.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and Cook Children’s staff planted 2,055 pinwheels outside of the medical center to represent each child abuse visit in 2019. With isolation and stresses mounting due to COVID-19, the hospital says they could see even more pinwheels planted at the hospital next year.

“It’s heartbreaking. We’ve seen a substantial increase in serious child abuse cases at Cook Children’s recently,” said Jamye Coffman, M.D., medical director of the Cook Children’s Center for Prevention and Child Abuse and Neglect and the CARE team. “We can’t say for certain if the effects of COVID-19 are driving this increase. All we can do right now is sound the alarm about what we are seeing.

Experts are concerned about an uptick in child abuse while kids stay home during the coronavirus epidemic. Fewer suspected cases are being reported to the state’s abuse hotline, but child welfare advocates say that decline is artificial while children are out of the eyes of teachers and daycare workers, the Texas Tribune reported. Children with injuries are less likely to be spotted.

The National Domestic Abuse Hotline says abuse is about power and control. When survivors are forced to stay in the home or in close proximity to their abuser more frequently, an abuser can use any tool to exert control over their victim, including a national health concern such as COVID-19.

If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, call 1-800-799-7233, text LOVEIS to 22522, or chat online at thehotline.org.

In Tarrant County, 211 is another resource for parents. There is also the Texas COVID-19 mental health hotline, the National Child Help Hotline and Texas Youth Crisis Hotline are on stand-by with 24/7 staff.”

3-year-old Fort Worth boy dies from ‘severe child abuse’ Easter morning
[WFAA 4/14/2020 by Eline de Bruijn]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “The death of a 3-year-old Fort Worth boy who died Easter Sunday in state custody is being investigated as a murder, and his mother said she warned child welfare workers weeks ago that he was being physically abused.

Amari Boone, who was in the custody of court-appointed caregivers, was taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center Friday morning with severe head trauma, police said in a statement.

In addition, his parents said every one of his fingers and both arms were broken.

“He was amazing,” his mother Ariana George said. “He was the most brightest spirit you have ever met.”

George lost custody of her son about a year ago after she fell on hard times and became homeless, she said.

Amari lived with an aunt for a while.

And when she couldn’t care for him anymore, a judge ordered him to live with two men who were friends of his parents.

“We both thought we knew them,” George said.

But soon after getting custody, the friends took him to the hospital with a sprained ankle, saying he fell down some stairs, according to the parents.

During a visit early last month, Amari’s mother said she noticed what appeared to be new bruises and a swollen lip and eyes.

She said she complained to CPS and even sent the photos as evidence.

“I gave it to my CPS caseworker. I gave it to her supervisor. And I gave it to my boy’s lawyer,” George said.

But nobody did anything, she said.

Amari stayed with the same caregivers.

On Friday, the boy showed up at the hospital again with extensive injuries.

Amari died on Easter Sunday.

His mother said he’d still be alive if CPS had taken her complaint seriously.

“I think they failed,” she said in an interview Tuesday. “They failed miserably. Because I gave them the information they needed and the pictures that I have.”

In a statement, CPS said it was working with the Fort Worth Police Department to find out what happened and who was responsible.

“Before the children were allowed to live in that home, background checks and visits to the home were conducted,” CPS said.

CPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said she could not comment further until the internal investigation was finished.

On March 22, Cook Children’s warned of a spike in child abuse cases linked to “stresses from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The hospital said then that it had treated seven cases of severe abuse of children under 4 years old in the previous week and two of the children died.

The numbers did not include Amari.

“He was amazing,” his mother said. “He was the most brightest spirit you have ever met. He was so tiny but had such a big personality. He was just an awesome kid and didn’t deserve this at all.”

Police said the investigation was continuing, but no arrests had been made.

George said she hasn’t been homeless months and wanted to win custody of her son again.

She was following every request of her but CPS turned her down.

“They’ve not done a very good job of protecting my child,” she said.

The agency allowed her to comfort him in the hospital in his final hours.

“I have to make sure my son rests in peace,” George said. “I talk to him all the time and tell him that I”m here, I’m still here, I love you, I never left your side and I believed you from the jump and we’re going to get justice for you.””

Mother of Boy Who Died in State Custody Says She Warned CPS He Was in Danger

[NBC Dallas-Fort Worth 4/14/2020 by Scott Gordon]

Update 2: Deondrick Foley and Joseph M. Delancy II are the foster parents. “To date, no one has been arrested or charged in Amari’s death.”

Amari Boone Story

[Suffer the Little Children 5/7/2020]

Update 3:“Two arrests have been made following the abuse of a 3-year-old who died of his injuries on Easter Sunday 2020, Fort Worth police said Wednesday.

Amari Boone was taken to the hospital on April 10, 2020 and later died on April 12, police said. Amari’s grandmother told WFAA at the time that he had 10 broken fingers, two broken arms, bleeding in his brain and bruises.

Deondrick Foley faces seven felony charges of injury to a child by omission – bodily injury and Joseph Delancy faces a felony charge of injury to a child by omission-serious bodily injury. They were arrested Jan. 22, [2021].

They were both his caretakers at the time of his death, Fort Worth police said Wednesday.

Amari’s cause of death was blunt force trauma of the head and his death was ruled a homicide, Fort Worth police said.

An arrest warrant for Foley has additional details about Amari’s death and the abuse the toddler suffered.

According to documents, Amari’s biological father, Rodney Boone was a friend and coworker of Foley. He had asked Foley to take guardianship of Amari and his 1-year-old brother because the two were going to be placed into foster care.

Foley said yes without talking to Delancy about it first, according to police.

Amari and his brother were placed with the two suspects’ home on Jan. 27, 2020. Amari died about three months later.

During interviews with police the topic of potty-training was a consistent topic brought up between Delancy and Foley, the arrest warrant states.

Amari had struggled with potty training ever since being placed with the two men. Foley said in the couple weeks prior to his death, Amari had been doing well and was wearing regular underwear, according to court documents.

The potty training didn’t bother Foley as much as it did Delancy, police said.

Delancy’s interview with police

Delancy told police that he and Foley woke up and were getting ready to take Amari and his brother to daycare the morning of April 10.

He said he found Amari on his back, with the crib on top of him, and saw blood coming from the toddler. However, Delancy told police he didn’t know where the blood was coming from.

According to the arrest warrant, Delancy said he walked into Amari’s room first and threw the playpen off him, and a few seconds later Foley walked in. Delancy told the officer he didn’t think the playpen was heavy enough to injure Amari.

Foley went to go check on Amari’s pulse, in which they heard “gargled” breathing sounds, the warrant describes. At this point, Delancy walked out of the room with Amari’s brother, leaving Amari alone in the room with Foley.

Amari’s prior injuries

Delancy told a police officer that Amari had injured himself in prior incidents such as jumping off the bed and running into a door frame. The man also claimed that Amari’s 1-year-old brother liked to fight and would hit Amari with a toy, his hand, or the remote, according to the arrest warrant.

He said that Amari liked to jump off the bed and that the boy had hit his head before in prior incidents. Amari had also allegedly run into a door frame and bumped his eye prior in the weeks prior to his death, according to the report.

Delancy and Foley said they had to call a CPS caseworker after this incident, the arrest warrant states.

When asked if Amari was potty trained, Delancy said yes but also answered that the toddler had “some” accidents.

Delancy said the night before Amari was taken to the hospital, the toddler had an accident on the floor and wasn’t wearing a pullup time at the time. The man said he placed Amari in bed next to this brother, who was in the playpen.

The police officer asked Delancy if he had checked on Amari throughout the night, to which replied “no.” Delancy admitted that he was the last person to be with the toddler that night.
Foley talks to police

During an interview with police, Foley said Delancy struggled with anger more than him. “Um, Joseph [Delancy] is a little more… I’m calmer, um, I mean, I’m more patient generally, so um… I’m the good parent of good parents bad parent, good cop bad cop,” the warrant said.

Foley also said that Delancy was the “disciplinarian of the house.” He said Amari would usually stand in the corner as a form of discipline.

When an officer asked if Foley had ever seen Amari jump off the crib or bed and he said no. He then went on to share that the toddler was well-mannered, well-behaved, and quiet from his perspective.

On the morning of April 10, Foley said he saw Delancy in the bathroom with Amari’s brother when he woke up. Foley said when he got to the end of the hallway, he noticed Amari was laying on the floor between two beds, where the playpen normally is.

Foley said there was foam on the floor next to Amari’s mouth. Foley wiped up the foamy substance which appeared to be light pink and said there was blood in Amari’s ear.

He said there was a wet stain on one of the beds, and on the floor. Delancy was calmer than Foley when they found the boy, the document states.

Authorities said while processing the scene at the house Amari lived in, they found stained clothing on a dining room table in a plastic bag. Then, on the carpet of the bedroom floor when found a pinkish-red stain that appeared to be blood.

Police worked with a reagent that reveals when bloodstains have been washed out or wiped off. Fluorescence indicates the presence of blood, according to detectives.

Foley said they decided to take the boy to Cook’s Children Hospital himself because “it would be the fastest way,” the warrant says.

However, police said surveillance footage from the hospital showed the two men arriving at the emergency department at 8:13 a.m., when they found Amari at 7:25 a.m. that morning.

Authorities said that was a 48-minute difference. Investigators checked traffic records for that day and said there were no reports of crashes or delays that day.

The route they took normally is 12 to 18 minutes long, police said.

Evidence of abuse

Detectives said they found evidence of child abuse in Facebook in messages between Delancy and Foley. According to the arrest warrant, the messages dated back to February 2020.

The messages included the two men talking about how to make their house not smell like “weed or smoke” prior to a caseworker visiting.

They also discussed other injuries that Amari suffered, including a limp, swollen face, and bruises on the neck.

Investigators said Delancy and Foley also mentioned financial issues such as, “not getting money from the boys,” and talked about potty-training accidents that Amari had.

A search warrant conducted by police also reveal that the two men Googled several questions while they had custody of Amari, including “how to keep your foster child, how much power does cps have, how to beat cps,” are among some of the searches.

According to officials, significant fluorescence was found on the floor of the area of the bed, below a windowsill, the window will itself, bathroom area, two-bed sheets, and the bathroom sink counter drawer.

Another person that lived with the two men told CPS that Amari feared Delancy. The toddler told her that he would get into trouble when having potty-training accidents.

The arrest warrant also said the woman noticed a red whip mark on the back of Amari.

Amari Boone’s cause of death

Amari was pronounced dead on April 12, 2020. He died from blunt force trauma of the head, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner.

According to medical officials, the toddler had suffered a skull fracture, brain bleeding, bleeding from his right ear, seizures and bruising, and hemorrhage of the eyes.

A radiology report revealed previous injuries, including fractures to bones in his feet, arms and pelvis. All showed signs of healing, according to the court documents.

A doctor told an officer that the pelvic fracture that Amari suffered often seen when people are in car wrecks or when they’re hit with tornado debris.

That same doctor told police that the skull fractures the toddler suffer couldn’t have occurred from falling off a bathroom counter. Instead, she said this type of massive trauma would’ve been consistent with someone falling several stories from a building or being thrown from a vehicle during a wreck.

The Fort Worth Police Department Crimes Against Children Unit conducted an investigation into Amari’s death in conjunction with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.

The investigation is ongoing and charges may be upgraded at a later time, police said.

Last year, Child Protective Investigations said Amari was in the state’s legal custody and was living with friends of their family.

If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, call 1-800-799-7233, text LOVEIS to 22522, or chat online at thehotline.org.

In Tarrant County, 211 is another resource for parents. There is also the Texas COVID-19 mental health hotline, the National Child Help Hotline and Texas Youth Crisis Hotline are on stand-by with 24/7 staff.”

2 arrested after boy died from severe child abuse injuries on Easter 2020

[WFAA 1/28/21 by Eline de Bruijn and Jozelyn Escobedo ]

Update 4:“The biological family of 3-year-old Amari Boone, a Fort Worth toddler who died in April 2020 while in foster care, is suing ACH Child and Family Services, the organization that managed his case.

According to the suit, Amari had two emergency visits to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth under ACH’s watch before his death from a brain injury. The lawsuit alleges that details about his injuries were never added to his case file and that ACH didn’t ensure Amari was safe in his foster home.

His caretakers, Deondrick Foley and Joseph Delancy, were arrested earlier this year. A Tarrant County grand jury indicted the men in March. Foley is charged with seven counts of injury to a child by omission resulting in bodily injury, while Delancy was indicted on five counts of the same charge.

Amari’s biological parents, Ariana George and Rodney Boone, sued for more than $1 million. The Button Law Firm filed the suit April 12 in Dallas County and requested a trial in front of a jury.

The suit also names Amari’s case manager, Sheila Roberson, and her bosses, supervisor Chaisity Frida-Caro and director Jalaha Lawrence. Neither ACH nor the employees have filed a response to the lawsuit in the court.

ACH chief executive Wayne Carson declined to comment on the suit. An ACH spokesman declined to say whether Roberson, Frida-Caro and Lawrence still work for ACH. They could not be reached through publicly listed phone numbers.

“We remain heartbroken over last year’s tragic loss of Amari Boone, and our deepest sympathies are with his family and friends,” an ACH spokesman wrote. “Because it is pending litigation, we are unable to provide any further comment.”

ACH is a nonprofit private provider that the state contracts with to find foster homes for children in state care and to provide a full range of therapies. ACH took over case management duties in March 2020 — after Amari was placed with Delancy and Foley — and oversaw a series of complaints that Amari’s family says were signs that he was abused in their care.

Case background

Amari and his younger brother, who now lives with his grandmother, were placed with the couple in January 2020. Amari’s parents knew Foley and asked that he become their guardian, according to an arrest affidavit.

The children were placed in foster care at their mother’s request while she struggled to care for them in a shelter and she attended drug treatment, according to a report by the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services. Her attorneys said the biological parents “were working hard to get back on the right track.”

The department conducted background checks on Foley and Delancy and visited their home before placing Amari and his brother in their care, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services said after their arrest in January.

On April 10, 2020, Amari Boone’s foster fathers drove him to Cook Children’s Medical Center, where doctors determined he suffered from respiratory failure and a severe brain injury, according to court documents. He died two days later.
On April 10, 2020, Amari Boone’s foster fathers drove him to Cook Children’s Medical Center, where doctors determined he suffered from respiratory failure and a severe brain injury, according to court documents. He died two days later.(Boone Family)

On the morning of April 10, 2020, Foley and Delancy drove Amari to Cook Children’s, where doctors determined he suffered from respiratory failure and a severe brain injury, according to the lawsuit.

Specialists said Amari would die from the injury and conducted a skeletal survey to look for other injuries, according to the suit. He died April 12, 2020.

The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office ruled that Amari’s death was a homicide resulting from blunt force trauma to his head.

Delancy told detectives that he and Foley had been getting Amari and his brother, who was 19 months old then, ready for day care when he found Amari unresponsive under the boys’ playpen, according to an arrest affidavit.

Foley heard “gargled breathing” when he checked Amari’s pulse, and blood was flowing out of his nose and ear, the affidavit states.

During the four months the brothers lived with Foley and Delancy, a day care director, family, neighbors and Amari’s court-appointed special advocate contacted ACH and Amari’s case manager to report concerns that he was being abused, according to the lawsuit.

On Feb. 18, 2020, the case manager, Roberson, attended a court hearing about Amari’s placement. A leg injury Amari had was discussed in court. But Roberson did not document the hearing or the injury in Amari’s file, according to the lawsuit.

Amid a statewide bed shortage created by a raft of troubles, Texas’ big foster care privatization effort is facing rocky times in San Antonio and Fort Worth. The model, which cedes virtual control of a geographic region to a non-state entity, is slated to come to Dallas late next year. This 2016 file photo shows backpacks at a Mineral Wells foster home that was part of the new “community-based care” program.

Later the same day, Foley took Amari to Cook Children’s, where he was found to have a fractured pelvis, the suit states.

The lawsuit alleges Roberson failed to include any information about the hospital visit and diagnosis in Amari’s file.

Parents discover bruises

Amari’s biological parents discovered bruising on their son during a March 7, 2020, visit. They suspected Amari had been abused and refused to hand him over to the caretakers. Delancy called police.

Amari’s parents took photos of his bruises and sent them to Roberson that day. Roberson put the pictures in Amari’s case file and told Delancy and Foley to take Amari to Cook Children’s, according to the lawsuit.

The couple took Amari to the hospital, but the lawsuit alleges that Roberson failed to put the medical records in Amari’s file.

Amari’s court-appointed special advocate reported “concerning behavior” on March 11, 2020, after a visit to Delancy and Foley’s home, according to the lawsuit. She called the Texas Abuse Hotline and Roberson and said she had seen one of the caretakers grab Amari’s arm roughly. She also said the men hadn’t allowed Amari to have anything to drink.

Roberson was upset with the advocate for calling the Texas Abuse Hotline and did not document her call in Amari’s file, the lawsuit alleges.

Roberson and her bosses, Lawrence and Frida-Caro, decided on April 3, 2020, that Amari would be removed from the couple’s home if another event occurred, according to the lawsuit.

After a March 11, 2020, visit to Amari’ Boone’s home, his court-appointed special advocate called the Texas Abuse Hotline to report that one of his foster fathers grabbed the boy’s arm roughly. Amari’s case manager, Sheila Roberson, didn’t enter the information into his file, according to court documents.(Boone Family)

On April 6, Delancy and Foley sent a photo to Roberson that showed Amari had a swollen right eye. Roberson documented the photo and determined the swelling was a result of allergies, the suit states.

Amari missed day care the next two days according to the suit. On April 9, Amari was back at day care and the director told Roberson “something was off with Amari and that he didn’t seem right,” according to the lawsuit.

That day, Foley and Delancy picked the boys up from day care, and Foley said he thought Amari seemed subdued, according to the affidavit. When they got home, Foley left for about half an hour to get food and diapers, and when he got back, Amari was already asleep. Foley said he didn’t see Amari again until the next morning, the affidavit says.

The next day Amari was admitted to Cook Children’s with the fatal brain injury.

Death investigators examined the photo from the day care director and determined Amari had a “large swelling to his right forehead with a linear contusion,” according to the lawsuit.

Suspects’ accounts differ

After Amari’s death, Delancy told Fort Worth police that Amari liked to jump off the bed and had hit his head multiple times, but Foley told police he had never seen Amari do that, according to the arrest affidavit. Delancy said Amari had gotten the bump on his eye when he ran into a door frame a few weeks earlier, according to the affidavit.

Delancy said Amari had wet his bed on April 9, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. He said that while changing Amari on the bathroom counter, he left to get wipes from the living room and came back and found that Amari had hit his head and was on the floor, the affidavit says.

Delancy told police that Amari was talking and responsive but that his head was hurting. Amari watched TV until he fell asleep, and Delancy put him back in bed, the affidavit says.

A search of Foley’s and Delancy’s Facebook messages by detectives showed that they often spoke about Amari’s injuries, including a video Delancy sent to Foley of Amari walking with a distinct limp and the caption “he movin a lot betta today.”

The pair also argued over Delancy’s being too hard on Amari and Foley’s not being strict enough.

Another search warrant for electronics revealed Google searches the men allegedly conducted while the boys were in their custody, including: “how to keep your foster child,” “how to beat cps,” “can I get food stamps for my foster child” and “how to get a new CPS caseworker.””
Suit filed by dead toddler’s parents says foster care agency ignored signs boy was being abused

[Dallas News 5/5/21 by Krista M. Torralva]