Columnist Sandra Thompson: Give girl chance brother never had

Sandra Thompson

Sunday, April 16, 2000 | 11:07 a.m.

Sandra Thompson is vice president/associate editor of the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at 259-4025 or through e-mail at thompson@lasvegassun.com.

Last month a Family Court judge ruled that a Las Vegas woman was responsible for the 1997 death of her 18-month-old son.

On Monday the judge will consider whether the woman should be reunited with her two surviving children, ages 5 and 3, who have been in foster care since their sibling's death.

Despite suspicions that the mother caused the 18-month-old's death, neither she nor the father had been charged. However, it was determined that they had abused him. A 1997 Child Protective Services investigation reportedly found that the father had beaten the toddler with a belt. So the two other children, then ages 3 and 2 months, were placed in Child Haven and later with a foster family.

The initial petition alleging that the two children were in need of protection was based on the abuse findings only, not the fact that a child had died while in his parents' care.

Both parents continued to have visitation until the oldest raised sexual abuse allegations, and the father was ordered to have no contact with the children. Family Court had been working with the mother on a parenting plan, which if successfully completed would have paved the way for reunification.

Relatives say the mother repeatedly failed to complete the plan, but Judge Bob Gaston would not grant the state's request that her parental rights be terminated. At various times throughout the three-year case, the foster parents and some of the caseworkers were criticized for caring too much.

The District Attorney's Juvenile Division then filed a petition with Family Court alleging that the mother was responsible for the 18-month-old's death. It's a civil, not a criminal, petition. It's unclear whether it carries any consequences.

The case went before Judge William Voy after Gaston recused himself. After hearing evidence during a trial last month, Voy determined the mother was responsible for the boy's death by asphyxiation.

Relatives who had reported and later testified about the abuse and domestic violence that marked the mother and father's lifestyle thought Voy's finding would end the case, freeing the children to be adopted by the foster parents with whom they have bonded. Now they fear the mother will be given yet another chance, or that another relative, who refuses to even admit there was abuse, might take the children and allow the mother access.

The state and an attorney representing the children's interests are expected to file another request for termination of parental rights.

The decision to terminate a parent's right is not an easy one. Rarely is it cut and dried. Parents make mistakes, but some still love their children and want to do right by them. However, in this case, being responsible for the death of a child should be enough to justify such action to keep the other children safe. Death is the ultimate abuse.

Nevada statutes clearly state that one of the factors to be considered in determining neglect by or unfitness of a parent is the "unexplained injury or death of a sibling of a child."

A law passed by the 1999 Legislature says the court can opt to suspend reasonable efforts at reunification if a parent is found responsible for the death of a child.

This case, profiled here previously, has been an agonizing one for the children, their foster parents and relatives who say the children deserve to grow up in a stable, loving home.

Up to now, no names have been used because of the confidentiality of the proceedings. But the 18-month-old needs to be acknowledged. His name was Adrian, and in his short time on Earth, he endured more trauma than most adults do in a lifetime. He has been dead for longer than he was alive.

An autopsy found bruises in different stages of healing all over Adrian's body. Belt marks crossed his buttocks. The cause of death was listed as cerebral edema, possibly traumatic in nature.

Adrian's older sister and younger brother know what happened to him. The girl fears that she, too, may be killed by her mother. That's an awful burden for a girl who will be 6 years old on Monday, the day of the hearing that will help shape her future.

The court has an opportunity to give her the best possible birthday gift -- a chance for a better life.

It's a chance Adrian never had.