Oklahoma DHS: Child Welfare

Some DHS workers allowed to keep jobs after child deaths

Agency audit discovered ‘substantial violations,' blatant irresponsibility by child-welfare workers in three deaths.
Related content:
Horrific deaths prompted calls for reform
Oklahoma child welfare system poised for change
Child Welfare coverage, timeline, important cases

Christopher Barnard, 4

Date of death/incident: April 28, 2008

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Circumstances: Christopher died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen. Reports show DHS had been contacted eight times about potential abuse before the death of Christopher but he was never removed from the home.

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Charges/convictions: The stepfather, Steven W. Lockler Jr., pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Christopher's mother, Roxann Barnard, is serving a 30-year term for enabling child abuse.

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William Barnard, 3

Date of death/incident: March 21, 2007

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Circumstances: William, a child with Down syndrome, drown in the bathtub days after being returned home from state custody. William was originally removed from the home due to filthy living conditions.

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Charges/convictions: William's mother, Alzaina Marie Barnard, was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by 10 years of probation, for child neglect. It is revealed that she was playing "Spades" online for hours while William and his sister sat in the bath.

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Natalie Emami Day, 5 months

Date of death/incident: Feb 5, 2009

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Circumstances: Natalie suffered severe brain injuries as the result of violent shaking which caused her death. The day before her death DHS workers urged county prosecutors to terminate parental rights for her mother, Ramona Emami.

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Charges/convictions: Natalie's father, Jason Scott Day, was convicted of murder and is awaiting sentencing in 2012.

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Serenity Deal, 5

Date of death/incident: June 4, 2011

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Circumstances: Serenity died of severe head injuries less than a month after being placed in her father’s care after her mother was accused of molesting a 10-year-old boy. She was placed with her father from foster care, even though she was injured twice in January during overnight visits with him.

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Charges/convictions: Serenity's father, Sean Devon Brooks, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Brooks will not be eligible for parole until he is almost 70. DHS suspended four employees after Serenity's death. One of those employees committed suicide, two were fired and one resigned.

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Christopher Lee Dunham Jr., 4, Crystal Ann Dunham, 3, and Kailey Mae Dunham, 1

Date of death/incident: Jan 4, 2011

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Circumstances: The three siblings were killed when their family’s motor home caught fire. Reports show allegations of sexual abuse, drug use and domestic violence involving the parents were received by DHS in the three years leading up to the fatal fire.

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Charges/convictions: The mother, Stephanie Dunham, was charged with three folony counts of child neglect. The father, Christopher Dunham, was charged with three felony counts of child neglect or enabling child neglect. Both also were charged with a felony count of methamphetamine possession.

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JaJuan Flowers, 4

Date of death/incident: December 11, 2006

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Circumstances: JaJuan died in the Arkansas home of his stepmother, Maria Torres-Vasquez, and father, Beltan Vasquez. JaJuan's stepmother was charged with second-degree murder in the incident. JaJuan was removed from his mother's care in 2002 for failure to protect her children from abuse when her daughter was bruised in the Vasquez home. JaJuan and his half-sister remained in the custody of his aunt until 2006 when she turned him, and his half-sister, over to Oklahoma DHS. The DHS case workers contacted Arkansas child welfare to do an inspection on the Vasquez home for possible placement. The Arkansas officials rejected the home as unsuitable but Oklahoma DHS placed JaJuan and his half-sister in the home when the Vasquez family moved back to Oklahoma shortly after the Arkansas inspection. Three months later, the family secretly moved back to Arkansas and JaJuan was killed.

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Charges/convictions: Maria Torres-Vasquez pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received a 10-year sentence in Arkansas. Baltan Vasquez is currently serving a 12-year sentence for molestation that also happened in the home.

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Adriana Hernandez, 21 months

Date of death/incident: May 4, 2011

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Circumstances: Adriana died after suffering brain trauma, a lacerated bowel and multiple bruises to her face and head. Adriana was living with her uncle, David Bridgeman, and his girlfriend, Paula Najar. Records show that the couple had been previously investigated on allegations of filthy home conditions and that a cousin was exhibiting aggressive and inappropriate behaviors.

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Charges/convictions: Bridgeman was charged with first-degree murder and Najar ws charged with child neglect and permitting child abuse.

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Ahonesty Hicks, 17 months

Date of death/incident: May 3, 2011

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Circumstances: Ahonesty's death was caused by brain injuries after being abused in an Oklahoma City apartment. Prior to the incident that led to her death, Ahonesty's mother,Tiffany Hicks, tested postive for PCP and fought openly with her boyfriend, Deandre Wells. Ahonesty was allowed to stay in the home in part because of promises that her grandmother would become her guardian and that she would be kept away from Wells.

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Charges/convictions: Deandre Wells is charged with first-degree murder and child neglect. Wells admits to shaking Ahonesty and sitting her down hard on the floor. He says he was frustrated with Ahonesty for getting in his way while he was giving his newborn son a bath.

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Aja Johnson, 7

Date of death/incident: March 29, 2010

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Circumstances: The bodies of Aja and her stepfather, abductor and murderer, Lester Hobbs, were found near Norman. Hobbs and Aja had been missing since January when Aja's mother was found murdered. Reports show DHS was contacted seven times with reports of abuse leading up to Aja’s abduction but DHS pushed to keep Aja and her step-sister in Hobbs’ home. Later, Aja was placed in the custody of her biological father, who had agreed to keep her away from Hobbs and not allow Aja's mother to take her home. Aja was abducted by Hobbs from the mother's home and killed.

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Charges/convictions: Hobbs died alongside Aja so no charges were filed. The backlash at Oklahoma DHS was widespread. HB 2136, also known as Aja’s Law, passed. The legislation requires the DHS to perform criminal background checks through both the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and FBI on any adult living in a home where a child will be placed for reunification.

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Joshua Minton, 2

Date of death/incident: May 17, 2007

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Circumstances: Joshua died in the care of day care operator Vicki Chiles. Investigations uncover that Joshua was bound and gagged by Chiles. Allegations of abuse against Chiles had been made in another case a month before Joshua's death.

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Charges/convictions: Vicki Chiles was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. A criminal appeals court modified the sentence to 30 years. Joshua's parents sue DHS for withholding the allegations of abuse at Chiles' day care from the public.

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Luke O'Daniel, 10 months

Date of death/incident: September 5, 2007

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Circumstances: Luke was in the care of an unlicensed home day care operator when he was found without a pulse in a playpen. Paramedics could not revive the baby, and he was pronounced dead at Weatherford Regional Hospital. An autopsy revealed a fractured skull and that he died of a brain injury. Lindsay Pope, the day care operator, later told police she threw Luke when he wouldn't stop crying.

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Charges/convictions: Pope pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison plus 20 years probation. Luke's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Pope.

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Raymond Palmer, 19 months

Date of death/incident: June 28, 2008

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Circumstances: Raymond was run over by a truck near a pasture in Ardmore while in the custody of his foster parents, Dale and Darla Owen. Two weeks before the death, a Chickasaw Nation child welfare worker had visited the home and found no adults supervising the foster children, records show. The worker's supervisor reported the concerns to DHS, records show.

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Charges/convictions: Raymond's mother, Tamara Ely, settled for $100,000 to dismiss her claims against Oklahoma DHS in the death of her son. Ely accepted $300,000 from the foster parents to dismiss the suit against them.

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Demarion Pittman, 3

Date of death/incident: August 2, 2007

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Circumstances: Demarion was left in a parked car by a day care provider for more than two hours. The extreme heart caused Demarion to suffer extensive brain damage. His care provider did not have liability insurance.

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Charges/convictions: Demarion's mother, Edna Pittman, campaigned for new legislation requiring all day care centers licensed by the state to carry liability insurance. In 2008, Demarion's Law is passed doing just that.

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Olivia Scroggins, 23 months

Date of death/incident: August 20, 2007

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Circumstances: Olivia died from abuse four days after her paternal grandmother, Tynia Berry, claims she called state DHS because she suspected the girl was in danger of being hurt. Olivia’s body was left at the hospital by her mother, Wendy Scroggins, and her boyfriend, Kerry Joe Smith.

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Charges/convictions: Smith pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murder plus three more life terms for abuse. Olivia's mother, Wendy Scroggins, is serving 75 years for permitting the abuse to her children.

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Kelsey Smith-Briggs, 2

Date of death/incident: October 11, 2005

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Circumstances: Kelsey was found dead at her home from injuries caused by abuse. Kelsey was in the custody of her mother, Raye Dawn Smith, and stepfather, Michael Lee Porter, at the time of her death. Kelsey was returned to Smith’s household despite having previously been removed on allegations of abuse. A 2007 report from a state oversight committee notes numerous mistakes by Oklahoma DHS and court officials in handling of the case prior to Kelsey's death.

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Charges/convictions: Kelsey's mother, Raye Dawn Smith, is currently serving a 27-year sentence for enabling the abuse to her daughter. Michael Lee Porter pleaded guilty to enabling child abuse. He is serving a 30-year sentence.

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Declan Stewart, 5

Date of death/incident: August 11, 2007

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Circumstances: Declan died in his Edmond home after allegedly falling and hitting his head. Declan had already been at the center of a child abuse allegation in 2006.

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Charges/convictions: The DA declared the death suspicious and 19 days after the incident Marcus Isaiah Clancy was charged with first-degree murder in the death. Clancy was the boyfriend of Declan's mother. He was convicted in 2009 of murder.

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Keenan Taylor, 2

Date of death/incident: June 9, 2005

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Circumstances: Keenan died after suffering severe burns while in the custody of his father, Carlis Anthony Ball. A 2007 report will show that DHS reports were falsified to cover up the DHS worker’s improper investigation into the initial allegations of abuse.

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Charges/convictions: Carlis Anthony Ball was charged and convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Keenan's maternal grandfather, Archie Taylor, settled with DHS for $160,000 for its role in the death.

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Ryan Weeks, 3

Date of death/incident: November 4, 2008

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Circumstances: Ryan was beaten to death in his mother's home. Ryan's foster parent, Danna Paulino, pleaded with DHS not to return the boy to his mother three months prior to the death because Ryan had returned from visits to the home with bruises.

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Charges/convictions:Ryan's mother's boyfriend, Rocky Allen Moore, pleaded no contest to first-degree murder in the death and was sentenced to life in prison.

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Naomi Whitecrow, 2

Date of death/incident: Jan 20, 2009

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Circumstances: Naomi died from blunt force trauma while under the care of foster parent Amy L. Holder. Holder reported she asked DHS to find the girl another home, but her requests were ignored.

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Charges/convictions: Holder was convicted of abuse. The judge assessed a $5,000 fine and a $150 Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation fee, and told Holder to undergo counseling, pay $10,000 to a victim's compensation fund and register for 10 years as a violent crime offender. The biological parents of Naomi Whitecrow filed a suit against Oklahoma DHS claiming the department knew the foster home run by the Holders where Naomi died was dangerous.

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