March 29, 2011 :
Tia Welles, 24, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the Sept. 11, 2009, death of 21-month-old
MOUNT HOLLY - A Willingboro mother admitted Monday that she beat her toddler son to death in 2009.
Tia Welles, 24, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the Sept. 11, 2009, death of 21-month-old Collins Bulluck Jr., Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi said.
Superior Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert is expected to sentence Welles to 20 years in state prison May 13 in accordance with the woman's plea agreement with the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.
Welles, who had a long history with child protective services before her son's death, initially was charged with first-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child. She remains in custody at the Burlington County Minimum Security Facility in Pemberton Township.
Emergency workers responded to a report of an unresponsive child at Welles' residence on Ridgeview Place on Sept. 10, 2009, authorities said. Collins was taken to Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County in Willingboro and transferred to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, where he was pronounced dead the next day.
An autopsy performed by Dr. Ian Hood, the county medical examiner, determined the child had been beaten to death.
At the time of her 2009 arrest, Welles had five other children between 4 months and 6 years old. She had another child who died of sudden infant death syndrome, according to records provided to the Burlington County Times by the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services.
In court, Assistant Prosecutor Lawrence Nelsen said Welles had a significant family history of involvement with DYFS that included about 1,000 pages of records. The Burlington County Times learned last year that the history included an allegation of abuse only five weeks before Collins' death.
The agency investigated, but the boy remained with his mother, according to records.
Collins previously was removed from his mother's care when he was a newborn for medical neglect, according to DYFS records. He was returned to Welles after spending nine months in foster care, during which she completed DYFS-ordered services.
Less than a year later, the boy was dead.
DYFS received an allegation Aug. 1, 2009, just six weeks before the death, that Collins and two siblings "had injuries that could be consistent with abuse."
The agency determined the report was "unfounded," according to state records. A spokeswoman said that DYFS could not provide details of the allegation, but that the agency did investigate.
The children remained with their mother while DYFS left the case open and continued to monitor the family, according to records.
Also, the report generated after Collins' death outlined a history of abuse and neglect allegations that date from 2003, about the time his oldest sibling was born.
Nine allegations were considered "unfounded" from 2003 to January 2008. But DYFS has had an open case on Welles and her children since November 2005, according to the report.
DYFS substantiated only two allegations against Welles. The first was when Collins was a newborn and the second was when he died from multiple injuries.
The last contact a caseworker from DYFS' Camden North office had with the toddler was Aug. 20, 2009, about three weeks before his death, according to the report.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/mother-admits-beating-son-to-death/article_0c5122c2-c5d7-5f38-a546-25e6518db061.html
Superior Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert is expected to sentence Welles to 20 years in state prison May 13 in accordance with the woman's plea agreement with the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.
Welles, who had a long history with child protective services before her son's death, initially was charged with first-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child. She remains in custody at the Burlington County Minimum Security Facility in Pemberton Township.
Emergency workers responded to a report of an unresponsive child at Welles' residence on Ridgeview Place on Sept. 10, 2009, authorities said. Collins was taken to Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County in Willingboro and transferred to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, where he was pronounced dead the next day.
An autopsy performed by Dr. Ian Hood, the county medical examiner, determined the child had been beaten to death.
At the time of her 2009 arrest, Welles had five other children between 4 months and 6 years old. She had another child who died of sudden infant death syndrome, according to records provided to the Burlington County Times by the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services.
In court, Assistant Prosecutor Lawrence Nelsen said Welles had a significant family history of involvement with DYFS that included about 1,000 pages of records. The Burlington County Times learned last year that the history included an allegation of abuse only five weeks before Collins' death.
The agency investigated, but the boy remained with his mother, according to records.
Collins previously was removed from his mother's care when he was a newborn for medical neglect, according to DYFS records. He was returned to Welles after spending nine months in foster care, during which she completed DYFS-ordered services.
Less than a year later, the boy was dead.
DYFS received an allegation Aug. 1, 2009, just six weeks before the death, that Collins and two siblings "had injuries that could be consistent with abuse."
The agency determined the report was "unfounded," according to state records. A spokeswoman said that DYFS could not provide details of the allegation, but that the agency did investigate.
The children remained with their mother while DYFS left the case open and continued to monitor the family, according to records.
Also, the report generated after Collins' death outlined a history of abuse and neglect allegations that date from 2003, about the time his oldest sibling was born.
Nine allegations were considered "unfounded" from 2003 to January 2008. But DYFS has had an open case on Welles and her children since November 2005, according to the report.
DYFS substantiated only two allegations against Welles. The first was when Collins was a newborn and the second was when he died from multiple injuries.
The last contact a caseworker from DYFS' Camden North office had with the toddler was Aug. 20, 2009, about three weeks before his death, according to the report.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/mother-admits-beating-son-to-death/article_0c5122c2-c5d7-5f38-a546-25e6518db061.html
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