Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Something here doesn't sound right.

Family defends murder suspect.

I'll admit upfront that I could easily be wrong here, but I wonder if police aren't barking up the wrong tree (or only one of the right trees).

So, you have this heinous crime where this two-year-old was beaten to death.  Observed on his body were bruises in various stages of healing.  Arrested for his death was his mother's boyfriend, who was caring for him at the time of his death.

A few things strike me as "off" here, but this is the biggie:

His mother said he had been complaining of a stomach ache for a week, but refused to take him to the doctor, saying she feared CPS involvement.  Now, I get not having health insurance.  But there are clinics in this city connected to University Hospital where you can take your kid to be seen that very day, and they will not demand money up front, and it's UHS for chrissakes--they have procedures established to deal with the uninsured.

I don't rush my own kids to the doctor for every little ache and pain and fever--but a week-long stomach ache, accompanied by bruises?  Yeah, that gets me to the PD first and then the hospital.  (I actually have done something similar in the past, when my middle daughter turned up with a finger-shaped bruise on her thigh, so I'm not talking out of my ass here.)

You also have a suspect who reportedly does not so much as spank his own children--and this is Texas, where no one would be ashamed to admit to spanking--and who was, from all accounts, absolutely distraught at the child's death.  (And, frankly, he even looks it in that photo.)

It doesn't smell right.  It seems highly improbable that the child's mother did not have at least some involvement in his death--even in only failing to get him care once he was injured by her boyfriend.  I really hope the investigation doesn't stop at the easy explanation.  It's usually the best, not always.

1 comment:

Charlene said...

It has been reported that Kentucky has one of the highest infant murder rate in the country.

Just last week a mother in a similar situation you describe, was sentenced to prison for not taking her twin son for health care when her boyfriend tossed the child across the room because he was crying. The child had numerous healing injuries including broken bones.