CPS Fail Indiana-Child Death UPDATED

Three-year-old Carmen Ellis died on August 22, 2012. She “was found unresponsive and “covered head to toe in bruises.”

Boyfriend of Carmen’s mother “Jose Cruz, 20, [was arrested] on preliminary charges of attempted murder Tuesday [August 21, 2012] comes just more than over a month after police and a Department of Child Services caseworker investigated an allegation of child abuse made by an acquaintance of Carmen’s mother.”

“The person who called police in July told them Carmen had suspicious-looking “possible bite marks on her face and fresh bruises on her body,” according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department incident report.

 

Cruz was interviewed by IMPD on July 13, but he was not arrested or charged. Instead, police contacted DCS and a case worker came to the scene.

 

The DCS worker said she would conduct follow up interviews with the child and her mother, who was in the hospital at the time, according to the incident report.

 

The DCS worker relieved the officer, the report said, and explained she would “handle the incident from here and contact any further assistance needed.”

 

Kendale Adams, an IMPD spokesman, said DCS completed a report and the IMPD investigator in charge of the new case is aware of what it contains.”

“Indianapolis police officers found Carmen’s battered body when they responded to a call about a possible child death in the 3700 block of Long Wharf Drive at 2:24 p.m. Tuesday. She was unresponsive and taken to Riley Hospital, where she was initially reported in critical condition.

 

Cruz, who was in the living room when police arrived, was “hysterical,” the report said.'”

““Papa, I hate you.”

Those, according to court documents, were the last words spoken by 3-year-old Carmen Ellis. Later that day, police found her body “covered head to toe in bruises.”

 

Jose Cruz, the boyfriend of Carmen’s mother, is being held in a solitary unit at the Marion County Jail. He faces a murder charge in a case that also is raising questions about whether authorities decisively responded to an earlier report alleging abuse of the little girl.

 

Cruz made his first court appearance Friday before Marion Superior Court Judge Robert Altice, who entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. Altice also assigned public defender Dave Margerum to represent Cruz, who told the judge he feared for his safety.

 

The events and brutal injuries that led to the death were detailed in court documents released Friday.

 

According to police, Cruz told investigators he lost his temper after Carmen soiled herself.

 

Police say Cruz then told them he proceeded to beat her several times with a belt, slapped her repeatedly across her face, grabbed her head and shook her. Carmen’s eyes then rolled to the back of her head, court documents said, and she began vomiting and seizing.

 

Cruz told investigators he “blanked out” and “lost it.””

“That does not surprise Indianapolis sisters Katrina Parksey and Chasity Parksey. The women said they had seen other injuries and were suspicious of Cruz but never actually saw him hurt Carmen.

 

Katrina Parksey said it was clear to her that Carmen did not like being around Cruz.

 

“She would scream,” she said, “when he tried to pick her up.”

 

Chasity Parksey did call police July 13 after seeing — and photographing — bruises and what appeared to be a bite mark on Carmen’s cheek during a visit to the Eastside home where Katrina and her boyfriend lived with Cruz and Carmen’s mother, Samantha Ellis.

 

When she confronted Cruz about the marks, she said, he grabbed Carmen and fled. She called 911.

 

Chasity said she saved the pictures of Carmen’s injuries, expecting someone from the Department of Child Services to follow up with her. She said no one did.”

““I thought (DCS) was going to check her out,” she said. “I can’t understand how they could leave that little baby with them if they saw the things I saw.””

An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report confirms it was Chasity Parksey who called police July 13. The report says officers caught up with Cruz at Community Hospital North, where Ellis was a patient after recently giving birth to another child.

 

The report says police contacted a DCS caseworker and asked a security guard at the hospital to prevent Cruz from leaving with Carmen.

 

The DCS worker went to the hospital, the report says, and “relieved (the security officer) and stated she would handle the incident from here.”

 

Sgt. Linda Jackson, an IMPD spokeswoman, said that after the initial police response, the incident “was turned over to DCS for follow-up” and IMPD had no other involvement.

 

Chasity Parksey said she was devastated when she learned of Carmen’s death. It triggered a flood of emotions — including anger and frustration over what she believed was a missed opportunity to save Carmen.

 

She had gone to visit her sister that day in July to talk about bridesmaid dresses for her wedding next month. During the visit, Chasity said, she heard Carmen crying in a back room.

 

“I asked if I could go get her,” she recalled. “She was in a soaked diaper, and when I picked her up she just loved on me and loved on me. She wouldn’t let go of me.”

 

But it didn’t take long for her to notice something else about the affectionate little girl. It was so disturbing that she confronted Cruz, even though she said she didn’t know him well.

 

“She had a bald spot on her head where her hair had been pulled out,” Chasity said, “and bruises all over her.”

When she asked Cruz about the injuries, she said he blamed “ghosts.”

 

“I told him I wasn’t crazy,” Chasity said, “and I took the baby outside and started taking pictures.”

 

She said Cruz soon came outside, and the two got in an argument. That’s when Cruz snatched Carmen and left.

The girl’s mother told investigators she knew about Carmen’s injuries. She said Cruz had an excuse every time she asked about the bruises, documents said.

 

Ellis also said Cruz told her to not take Carmen to the hospital Tuesday, saying she would heal on her own. The mother admitted she was afraid to take her daughter to the hospital, documents said, fearing Cruz would be mad and take it out on her.

 

Cruz is being held without bond at the Marion County Jail. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Nov. 14 and a jury trial for Nov. 19.”

Sources:

Boyfriend of mother charged in death of 3-year-old girl

[The Indianapolis Star 8/22/12 by Jill Disis and Tim Evans ]

3-year-old’s last words were ‘Papa, I hate you’

[The Indianapolis Star 8/24/12 by Tim Evans and Kristine Guerra]

Woman warned Department of Child Services about potential abuse 5 weeks before death of 3-year-old
[The Indianapolis Star 8/24/12 by Tim Evans ]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 In this case at the hospital after the initial report, DCF TOOK OVER the situation from police! Once again THE POLICE need to be leading abuse investigations, NOT DCF!!!!!!

Update : “Police say Ellis’ boyfriend, 20-year-old Jose Cruz admitted he beat the toddler to death for soiling her pants. In the affidavit, Samantha told police she was aware of her daughter’s repeated bruising, but she didn’t take her daughter to the hospital “for fear Jose would find out and then take his anger out on Samantha.”

Last month, 24-Hour News 8 spoke with Samantha’s mother, Tina. She said her daughter never expressed concern or fear about Jose’s behavior.

When asked whether her daughter was capable of standing by while her boyfriend beat her child, Tina said, “I don’t know.” But Samantha’s brother and sister-in-law believe they do know. According to the affidavit, they told police Samantha’s behavior was far from motherly.

They claim when they babysat Carmen, the baby was always “dirty, hungry, and had a bad diaper rash.” They claim, “Carmen would be found in the street or in a field behind the house playing with knives,” and “family members had to watch the toddler because Samantha would not.”

That evidence and Samantha’s own admission that she did nothing despite suspicions that her boyfriend was beating her child were enough for prosecutors to charge her with felony neglect.

On Monday, Sept. 17, she will appear in court to face those charges.”

Ellis charged after child’s death

[WISH TV 9/14/12 by Deanna Dewberry]

“According to court documents, Ellis acknowledged that her daughter would often have unexplained bruises when she left her in Cruz’s care. When she asked Cruz about the marks, Cruz “would always have an excuse” for the bruises. When Ellis would tell Cruz that she wanted to take Carmen to the hospital, Cruz would tell her not to, saying the “bruises would heal themselves.”
Ellis told detectives she never sought help on her own because she was afraid Cruz would take it out on her.
According to court documents, detectives also talked to family members and acquaintances of Ellis who saw bruises on the girl’s body.”

Mother charged with neglect after daughter’s death

[FOX 59 9/14/12]

Update 2: “When toddler Carmen Ellis soiled her pants, Jose Cruz beat her so severely that a doctor said it would be easier to document parts of the child’s body without injuries than those that were bruised and battered.

For the violent outburst that killed the Indianapolis child, Cruz is getting a 75-year prison term followed by deportation.

“We believe it is one of the longest sentences ever given in Marion County for the killing of one child,” Deputy Prosecutor Kristine Korobov said. …”

Indianapolis man admits to beating 3-year-old to death[Indianapolis Star 9/23/13 by Tim Evans]

“The mother of a 3-year-old girl who was fatally beaten in August 2012 was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday for her role in her daughter’s death.

Samantha Ellis, 25, had pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a Class A felony. According to the Marion County prosecutor’s office, Ellis did not get medical treatment for her daughter, Carmen Ellis, and failed to keep her away from Ellis’ then-boyfriend, Jose Cruz.

Cruz was sentenced last October to 75 years in prison for beating the child to death. If he is alive at the end of his sentence, he will be deported to Guatemala.

Police say Cruz lost his temper after Carmen soiled herself and beat her several times with a belt, slapped her repeatedly and shook her.

Carmen’s last words, Cruz told investigators, were, “Papa, I hate you.”

Court documents say Ellis admitted to knowing Cruz had been repeatedly abusing her daughter. Those documents say Ellis told detectives she occasionally left Carmen in Cruz’s care and often returned home to find a new bruise on her daughter.

Ellis said that Cruz had told her not to take Carmen to the hospital because her bruises would heal on their own — and that she went along because she didn’t want to make her boyfriend angry.

Ellis testified against Cruz during his sentencing last year. Handcuffed and wearing an orange jumpsuit, Ellis sobbed on the witness stand and told Cruz, “You were supposed to be the husband and father we’ve dreamed of. But you turned it into a nightmare.

“You didn’t show us your true color,” Ellis continued. “You hid it well.”

The Indiana Department of Child Services also investigated allegations that Carmen had been abused before she was killed, according to documents obtained by The Indianapolis Star after Carmen’s death. The agency closed its investigation — with a finding that the allegations were unfounded — just one week before her death.

In a statement Wednesday, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said it was “imperative” that Cruz and Ellis be held responsible for Carmen’s death.

“Carmen’s life must not be forgotten, and her death should serve as a reminder to parents and anyone else who has the responsibility for protecting a child that there is no justification for leaving a child with a person who is any way suspected of harming that child,” he said in the statement. “Nothing should rise above a child’s right to be safe in his or her own home.”

In addition to her 20-year sentence, Ellis was sentenced to 10 years of probation that will begin after her prison sentence concludes.”

Mom sentenced to 20 years for role in 3-year-old’s fatal beating[Indianapolis Star 8/6/14 by Jill Disis]