Protective Services visited home where boy died

Keith Paul

Thursday, June 13, 2002 | 9:11 a.m.

Clark County Child Protective Services was investigating allegations of neglect and drug use by the mother whose 5-year-old son died after being found inside a hot car over the weekend, officials told the Sun Wednesday.

A caseworker had gone to the woman's home three times in May and was not able to contact her, but did not find any reason to take the 5-year-old boy or his 2-year-old brother out of the home, said Ann Rubin, an assistant manager for Child Protective Services.

"He didn't find anything to suggest the children were in immediate danger," Rubin said. "There was food in the home and there were appropriate caretakers in the home."

Two other complaints -- one in September 2001 and one in 1997 -- were also investigated by caseworkers but were not substantiated.

But the most recent case was not closed because the mother was never interviewed. The caseworker returned May 17 and 24 to try to talk with the mother, but she was not home and did not contact the Child Protective Services office, Rubin said.

The boy's mother could not be reached for comment.

Rubin said the caseworker was planning another visit, but on Saturday afternoon the woman's 5-year-old son, Raymond Spinharey, was found inside a hot car at her home on Taylor Avenue, near Owens and Eastern avenues. The boy was seen earlier in the day and came inside for a glass of water before noon. But he was not seen after that and was found about 2 p.m. inside the car.

He died at 2:48 p.m. Saturday at University Medical Center. Results from testing during an autopsy are not expected for several weeks.

Police went through the car Wednesday and found that the inside door latches did not work and that the electric windows were up, Lt. Art Redcay said.

"Once he was able to get into the car and the door closed, he couldn't get out," he said. "We are trying to determine how he got into the car."

Detectives will complete the investigation and send the case to prosecutors to determine if charges will be filed, Redcay said. The boy's mother has not been arrested and is not currently facing charges.

However, after the boy's death Saturday, his brother was taken to Child Haven and remained in protective custody after a hearing Monday in Family Court.

A caseworker went to the woman's home on May 7 after a call was placed to the Child Protective Services' hotline May 6 saying there was drug use in the house, no food in the house and that the children were unsupervised.

The caseworker found no evidence of the allegations, but did find some cockroaches in the house. Other adults at the home showed him bug bombs that were going to be used. When the caseworker returned there were no signs of the bugs, Rubin said.

"It's not to say that something terrible has to happen before we intervene," Rubin said. "Hindsight is foresight. We wanted to talk with the mom and the caseworker wanted to try another time to meet with her."

A caller to the hotline in September lodged the same complaints -- drug use at the house, no food in the house, the children were filthy and had no supervision.

"We went out there and found there was food in the house, the children were clean and there was no evidence of drug use seen," Rubin said.

Details of the 1997 complaint were not available.

Adrienne Cox, Clark County Department of Family and Youth Services assistant director, said taking children from a home is done only when there is immediate danger.

"We don't presume you are guilty when we look into a complaint nor do we require that you live up to the middle-class standards," she said. "If you are meeting the supervision and health needs of the child, we are not going to take your child into protective custody."

Last year a 5-year-old boy died after climbing into the trunk of a car while playing hide and seek on a hot day. Two infants also died last year in separate incidents after being left in hot cars. In none of the cases did prosectors press charges.