How Could You? Hall of Shame-Charles Garay 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 Rotterdam, New York, 4-year-old foster child Charles Garay was discovered dead on December 20, 2020.

“Schenectady County has not provided any specific information regarding if or when contact was made with 4-year-old Charlie between September, when he and his brother were placed at in foster care at a home in Rotterdam, and December 20th when his body was discovered.

The boys came from Albany County, which has already confirmed they made 8 points of contact during those three months, including home visits.

Schenectady County says though the foster parents were physically located within the County of Schenectady, the children remained in the care and custody of the Albany County Department of Social Services.

Dr. John DeGarmo, founder and director of The Foster Care Institute, says “When that child was placed in a different county, the new county, without a shadow of a doubt, that county should be visiting with that child and those foster parents.”

Schenectady County says Charlie’s foster parents, Dequan and Latrisha Greene, satisfied every requirement for foster care certification, but officials say the couple had only cared for one previous foster child for just one day.

“Wherever the child is placed those agencies have to make sure that they’re doing all they can, not only to make sure the best interest of the child, but also to support those foster parents who might be struggling,” DeGarmo said.

Dr. DeGarmo says the foster care system has been in crisis for some time, and has only worsened during the pandemic with foster children trapped inside a stranger’s home, and many foster parents quitting.

“Agencies are scrambling to find and recruit good new foster parents. Retention is a big problem right now, recruitment is a big problem right now at agencies, and sometimes a bad foster parent, that bad egg, will slip through the barrels,” he said.

The Schenectady County Department of Social Services is investigating reports of child abuse against the Greenes, following Charlie’s death.”

Foster care expert weighs in on death of local foster child

[CBS Albany 1/26/21 by Emily De Feciani]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update:“The wife of a Rotterdam man charged in January with causing the death of their 4-year-old foster son was arraigned earlier this week on a 3-count indictment that accuses her of tampering with evidence in the case, according to the Schenectady County district attorney’s Office.

The boy’s 5-year brother, who was also being cared for by Latrisha and Dequan Greene, also suffered injuries, authorities said.

Charlie Garay died at Ellis Hospital from injuries Dequan Greene allegedly inflicted. Prosecutors contend Latrisha Green warned her husband after the child was brought to the hospital on Dec. 20.

“She’s at the hospital and she sends him a text that he needs to clean up the house,” Assistant District Attorney Christina Tremante-Pelham said, explaining the top count of tampering with physical evidence, a felony, that Latrisha Greene faces.

Latrisha Greene, who appeared in county court Monday with her attorney Danielle Neroni, is also charged with two counts of misdemeanor child endangerment.

She pleaded not guilty and was released pending a future court date.”

Rotterdam Woman Indicted on Tampering charge in foster child’s death
[Times Union 3/25/21 by Paul mNelson]

“Prosecutors say Dequan Greene force-fed the two boys in his care and made them take cold showers, exposed them to extreme cold, made them sit against a wall, and confined the older boy in a dog cage.

The filings describe actions that prosecutors say ended the life of 4-year-old Charlie Garay.

Prosecutors contend Dequan Greene forcefully stepped on Charlie’s stomach area or stomped on his stomach area inside the Greene family home at 2734 Broadway in Rotterdam and then failed to get the child immediate help and failed to tell paramedics what he knew about the boy’s injuries, according to the filing from prosecutor Christine Tremante-Pelham.

The filings in the case against Dequan Greene did not detail what prosecutors believe led up to the Dec. 20 attack against Charlie, but allegations filed by prosecutors against his wife indicate the 4-year-old had been punished earlier that same day by being made to take a cold shower and sit with his back against a wall, all because the younger foster child had wet himself and did not tell the truth about it, according to the allegations.

The filing against Latricia Greene also outlines that, when taken from the Greenes’ home the night of Dec. 20, both of the brothers had “injuries and marks all over their bodies of varying ages.” The boys had been with the Greenes for three months prior to Charlie’s death.

Dequan Greene, 27, of Broadway, was indicted in January on one count of second-degree murder and other charges in connection with the death of the boy prosecutors identified then as Charlie. County officials later identified the boy as Charles Garay.

Latrisha Greene does not face charges in Charlie’s death, but she has been charged with evidence tampering related to the investigation, prosecutors said.

Charlie and his 5-year-old brother had been placed in the Greene’s care in September 2020 by Child Protective Service of the Albany County Department of Social Services, after an order from Albany County Family Court removed them from the care of their biological parents, Schenectady County prosecutors have said previously.

The couple had been certified as foster parents by the Schenectady County Department of Social Services, but previously had only fostered one child for one day, prosecutors said. The couple also have three children of their own, all girls. At the time of alleged murder, their children ranged from infant to 5 years old.

Schenectady County officials in January said the children remained in the care of Albany County Department of Social Services, even though they were physically placed in Schenectady County.

Asked about the case then, an Albany County spokeswoman indicated that county placed the children in Schenectady County because Albany County had no available foster parents who could take the siblings together. Schenectady County had certified foster parents available.

Albany County DSS generally conducts monthly checks on foster care placements, the Albany County spokeswoman said then. Those checks continued under COVID, however, they generally had been held virtually through Facetime. Specific information on any checks completed with the Greenes was not available in January.

The spokeswoman did not answer further questions recently, including on the newly outlined allegations, citing the ongoing case.

The prosecution filings focused only on the criminal cases and not any foster oversight of the couple. Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney stated in January that “questions about how this could have happened are legitimate areas of inquiry for my office to explore.” An inquiry into those issues is still planned as the criminal cases remain ongoing, officials said.

Dequan Greene originally told first responders that Charlie had fallen out of a child’s chair, began to slur his speech and then passed out, prosecutors said. He told others that the child choked, prosecutors said.

Rather than calling 911, however, he called his wife, who was out shopping, prosecutors said. When she returned home, she called 911.

The investigation revealed Charlie died due to “extensive internal injury to his liver and intestines caused by blunt force trauma,” prosecutors said.

Pre-trial hearings in the cases against both Dequan Greene and Latricia Greene are underway, including appearances last week. Latricia Greene’s attorney Danielle Neroni could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Dequan Greene’s attorney James Tyner on Tuesday called what happened a tragedy. His client denies wrongdoing. “This was just a terrible accident,” Tyner said, “but it certainly wasn’t criminal.”

Asked what happened, Tyner said “the child began choking on his dinner and my client did everything he could to help him, including rendering lifesaving CPR and rescue breathing.”

Tyner pointed to testimony at Dequan Greene’s hearing last week where first responders confirmed they arrived and found his client trying to save Charlie’s life, but that Dequan’s efforts and those of first responders were unsuccessful.

Latrisha Greene is accused of tampering with evidence in the case by texting her husband from Ellis Hospital shortly after speaking with police there and requesting he clean the house. She also faces child endangerment counts related to Charlie and his brother.

Prosecutors supported the evidence-tampering count against her by noting in motions that she was well aware of the investigation and that she texted her husband to “clean up the house if you can.” In the time between when police were first there and when they went back with a search warrant, the house had been cleaned up, prosecutors contend.

Child endangerment charges against her include allegations that Latrisha and Dequan Greene used “switches” to strike the children.

Prosecutors allege that both foster parents made Charlie take a cold shower after he wet himself and that Latrisha Greene made Charlie “sit on the wall,” his back against the wall and knees bent.

Both Charlie and his brother were found “to have injuries and marks all over their bodies of varying ages,” Tremante-Pelham wrote. “Injuries that would have been visible to the naked eye.”

Charlie even “had a number of injuries right on his face,” she wrote; his brother had bruises, a fat lip and a torn frenulum.

Prosecutors in January said Charlie’s brother was placed with a new family and that he was “now in an environment where he is safe, loved and cared for.”

Tucked at the end of a required disclosure report in Dequan Greene’s case is a glimpse of the boy’s first days without Charlie – days spent recovering from injuries just before Christmas.

“At the time, [the boy] was alone in the hospital and expressed to nurses that the only thing he was looking forward to was Christmas,” Tremante-Pelham wrote.

Included in a disclosure filing to the defense: The staff at the District Attorney’s Office purchased the boy $800 worth of Christmas gifts.

The boy was ultimately released from the hospital and to his new foster family on Dec. 23.

“That night, the gifts were delivered to his current foster parents by CPS,” Tremante-Pelham wrote in a disclosure to the defense, noting the boy was not told the true origin of the gifts. “[The boy] received the gifts on Christmas morning and was told they were from Santa.””

New details offered in Rotterdam foster care murder case; Filings lay out allegations likened to torture
[The Daily Gazette 7/27/21 by Steven Cook]

Update 2:“The murder trial of a Rotterdam man accused of abusing two foster children placed in his care and killing one of the boys by stepping on their chest, causing massive internal injuries, began on Wednesday.

Dequan Greene, 28, of Rotterdam faces a slew of charges in connection to the Dec. 20, 2020 death of 4-year-old Charlie Garay and abuse of his older brother, including second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, assault in the second degree and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Prosecutors, during opening statements, said Greene killed Garay by stepping on his chest, severely lacerating the boy’s liver and causing other internal injuries that would have killed the child within minutes, and then fabricated a story about why the boy stopped breathing while first responders worked to save his life.

Resuscitation efforts continued after the child was transported from Greene’s Broadway home to Ellis Hospital, where he was eventually pronounced dead. Blunt force trauma was later determined to be the cause of death.

“These are catastrophic injuries. Injuries that killed him quickly,” said Assistant District Attorney Christina Tremante-Pelham.

Garay and his older brother, who was 5 at the time of the incident, were placed in the care of Greene and his wife, Latrisha, in September 2020 after being removed from the home of their biological parents by Child Protective Services in Albany County. The couple, who cared for three children of there own at the time, were certified foster parents.

Tremante-Pelham said the foster home was meant to be a safe haven for the children, but said Greene abused the boys and eventually killed the youngest brother, allegations she said will be proven through testimony from first responders, doctors, eyewitnesses and the medical examiner who performed the autopsy.

She added that there is also physical evidence, including photographs, that will show bruising all over the children’s bodies, as well as testimony from the Garay’s older brother, who suffered similar injuries.

“Little did the children know, little did the case workers who put them there know, that this was not a house of respite, but a house of horrors,” Tremante-Pelham said.

But James Tyner, a lawyer for Greene, said his client was not responsible for the death of Garay and attempted the save the child’s life using CPR and showed great concern about the child’s condition while first responders attempted to save his life — action’s he said, that are not indicative of a murderer.

He added that the foster brothers had suffered abuse prior to being placed in the Greenes’ care and as a result were difficult to deal with at times, which necessitated discipline in order to ensure their “proper upbringing.”

Tyner said he plans to present evidence that will show Garay’s internal injuries were caused by the first responders attempting to save the child’s life. He did not mention a potential cause for why the child stopped breathing, only saying the circumstances were “tragic.”

“That severed liver was the result of, however well intentioned it might have been, the improper execution of CPR and the Heimlich maneuver,” Tyner said.

Greene told police that Garay became unresponsive after falling out of a chair, and that he called his wife, who was out shopping during the incident, instead of dialing 911. Latrisha Greene told her husband to alert authorities and begin administering CPR.

It was Latisha Greene who eventually called 911 after arriving home. She was initially charged with tampering with evidence, but those charges have since been dismissed.

The case has led to questions about whether authorities ignored warning signs about abuse and whether enough was done to protect the children.

Last year, a lawsuit was filed in Albany County Supreme Court by attorney Lorraine R. Silverman, the court appointed guardian for the elder Garay brother and the estate of Charlie Garay, claims that that child protective services in both Albany and Schenectady counties missed repeated opportunities to relocate the children.

The lawsuit claims multiple employees involved in the case did not take the proper steps to “interview and assess” the two children “alone in an appropriate context, and take appropriate steps to assess whether (the children) were being abused and beaten.”

On Wednesday, Tremante-Pelham said case workers were unable to assess the children for a month, between Nov. 16, 2020 and Dec. 16, 2020, after the family took a trip with the foster children and canceled appointments in the weeks that followed due to COVID-19 quarantines necessitated by travel and concerns about infecting the virus.

Authorities were finally able to see the children in-person on Dec. 16, 2020, four days before Garay’s death, but the children were wearing long-sleeved track suits that covered their arms and legs, according to Tremante-Pelham, who added there was no sign of abuse at the time.

She added that Garay’s injuries were similar to those that could be sustained in a car crash and would have resulted in death within minutes, and that Daquan Greene’s explanation of what happened does not align with the facts, which she said show that he did showed no concern for Garay, even as first responders worked frantically to save the boy.

“Most people that night did everything the could to save him,” Tremante-Pelham said.”
Trial for Rotterdam man accused of murdering foster child begins
[The Daily Gazette 9/21/22 by Chad Arnold]

“On Monday, Oct. 3, he was found guilty of those charges and faces up to 25 years to life in prison, the Daily Gazette reports.

During the trial, prosecutors reportedly claimed Dequan Greene “severely lacerated the boy’s liver and caused other internal injuries that would have killed him within minutes,” and then he lied about why his foster son stopped breathing.”
New York man found guilty of killing his 4-year-old foster child
[True Crime Daily 10/4/22 ]

Update 3: Dequan Greene was sentenced “to the maximum of 25 years to life. ”

“Prosecutors also presented evidence that Greene stomped on Garay’s chest, causing massive internal injuries, including a severed spline[sic], that killed the child instantly following a day of abuse that began after Garay was discovered to have wet the bed.”

Judge gives max in Rotterdam foster care child murder case – ‘You’re a sociopath’ (with sentencing video)
[Daily Gazette 12/6/22 by Chad Arnold]

Update 4:“Latrisha Greene, the one-time foster mother whose husband Dequan Greene was convicted of murdering foster child Charlie Garay – has now been indicted herself, on perjury charges, Schenectady County District Attorney’s officials said.

Latrisha Greene, 27, of Rotterdam, was arraigned this week on an indictment charging her with five counts of first-degree perjury, felonies, and two counts of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, officials said.

She pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Latrisha Greene is accused of lying about multiple points during Schenectady County Family Court testimony concerning her own children taken from her as a result of the murder of foster child 4-year-old Charlie Garay.

Dequan Greene was convicted of second-degree murder and other charges in Charlie’s death. Judge Matthew Sypniewski sentenced him earlier this month to the maximum term, 25 years to life in prison, calling Dequan Greene “a sociopath.”

Family Court had removed Latrisha Greene’s biological children from her custody after finding that their safety would be in imminent risk of harm if they were not removed from her care, prosecutors said.

The perjury indictment comes as a grand jury accused her of lying five times in proceedings held Aug. 31 of this year, prosecutors said.

She is accused of testifying falsely denying sending a text message to her husband stating “no more bruises we need them to heal”.

She is accused of testifying falsely denying sending a text message to her husband stating “no more bruises we need them to heal”.

She’s then accused of falsely denying she sent another text message to Dequan Greene that she had seen Dequan Greene’s handprint on the face of one of her biological children, prosecutors said.

The third, fourth and fifth perjury charges allege she falsely testified that, to her knowledge, her husband had never caused bruising to that child, caused bruising to Charlie or Charlie’s 5-year-old brother, also a foster child.

The child endangerment counts relate to accusations related to Charlie and his brother, alleging she “engaged in a course of conduct likely to be injurious to the welfare of” Charlie and his brother. They were placed with her Sept. 25, 2020 and Charlie was murdered Dec. 20, 2020.

“The People’s theory of the case is that Greene and her husband both physically abused the boys and Greene used the COVID pandemic and other excuses to prevent foster care service providers from discovering the children’s physical injuries,” prosecutors said in a release.

“Later, Greene intentionally attempted to mislead the Schenectady County Family Court judge about her knowledge of and participation in the abuse to regain custody of her own children and avoid responsibility for her conduct.”

Latrisha Greene earlier faced the child endangerment counts alone. Initially, she’d also faced an evidence tampering count, but that was later dismissed.

In the murder case against Dequan Greene, prosecutors proved to the jury at trial that Dequan Greene murdered Charlie by stomping on his chest and Dequan Greene then attempted to cover it up by not calling 911. He eventually claimed to first responders that the child became unresponsive after falling out of a toddler chair.

Prosecutors argued Charlie and his older brother, who was 5 at the time, were both subjected to months of abuse that began just weeks after the brothers were placed in the care of Dequan and Latrisha Greene by Albany Child Protective Services. The Greenes were certified foster parents who cared for three children of their own.

At her arraignment this week, Latrisha Greene was released on her own recognizance as none of the offenses charged were eligible for bail, prosecutors said. She continues to manage Ebenezer’s Dream Care Center in Glenville, where prosecutors said she provides “drop in” childcare services and operates a preschool academy.

The case was investigated by the Rotterdam Police Department, Schenectady County Child Protective Services, New York State Police Computer Forensic Laboratory and Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office Investigators.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Nobles is prosecuting. Latrisha Greene is represented by attorney Danielle Neroni. Neroni could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.”

Rotterdam foster child murder case – Foster mother Latrisha Greene indicted on perjury charges, DA says
[The Daily Gazette 12/21/22 by Steven Cook]

Update 5:“A Schenectady woman, who was accused of hiding information about the abuse of two foster children in her care, was found guilty.

The Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office said Latrisha Greene was convicted Friday of four counts of Perjury and acquitted on one count. She was also found guilty of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

Prosecutors said she lied during testimony in the trial of her husband, Dequan Greene, and also abused the two children. She faces between 10 and 30 years in prison when she is sentenced in August.

Dequan Greene was found guilty of Murder and Manslaughter in 2022. Investigators said 4-year-old Charles Garay died from injuries caused by blunt force trauma while in Greene’s care. He is serving 25 years to life in prison.”

Mother in foster care abuse case found guilty
[News 10 6/23/23 by Courtney Ward]

Update 6:“The Schenectady woman convicted of perjury and endangering the welfare of a child charges in connection with the death of a four-year-old, foster child in her care, was sentenced on Friday morning in Schenectady County Court.

Latrisha Greene, 27, was sentenced to 2 1/3 to 7 years each running consecutively, for the four counts of perjury and one year in for endangering the welfare of a child for a total of 9 1/3 to 28 years in prison and a $6,000 fine meant to reflect the money gained by Greene and her husband while caring for the foster children.

On June 23, Greene was convicted of four felony counts of first-degree perjury and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child in Schenectady County Court, after being acquitted of one of the five counts charging her with first-degree perjury.

Greene faces a maximum sentences of 2 & 1/3 years to 7 years indeterminate for each conviction of first-degree perjury. She also faces maximum sentence of 364 days local incarceration for each of the conviction for endangering the welfare of a child.”

Schenectady woman sentenced to 9 to 28 years in connection to foster child’s death
[CBS6 Albany 8/25/23 by Jana DeCamilla]