AHT: New Jersey: Tia Welles sentenced 20 years in baby's death

May 27, 2011  By DANIELLE CAMILLI 

 Tia Welles Tia Welles was sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing her child. In March, the 24-year-old Willingboro woman pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, admitting she beat the toddler to death.

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MOUNT HOLLY - Collins Bulluck Jr.'s little bruised and battered body revealed that the horrific beating that killed him wasn't his first.
Not only did the medical examiner find eight separate sites of impact on his head, a swollen brain and multiple, deep bruises to his back, shoulder and buttocks from the fatal attack suffered Sept. 10, 2009, but he also found old wounds to his ribs and scars "throughout his body."
Collins was just 21 months old when he died at the hands of his abuser - his mother.
On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert sentenced Tia Welles to 20 years in prison for killing her child. In March, the 24-year-old Willingboro woman pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, admitting she beat the toddler to death.
She told Covert she "just blacked out" that night.
"I didn't mean to do it. I love my son," she said in a hushed voice. "I was just going through a lot."
In court, authorities detailed the brutal attack inside the Ridgeview Place home that was witnessed by at least two of Welles' five surviving children.
"It's clear the assault happened in more than one room and he was beaten multiple times," Burlington County Assistant Prosecutor Lawrence Nelsen said.
At the time of the child's death, the family was being monitored by the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, which had received a report six weeks earlier that the boy and two siblings "had injuries that could be consistent with abuse."
The agency, however, determined the report was "unfounded," according to state records provided to the Burlington County Times after the boy's death. The children remained with their mother while DYFS left the case open and continued to monitor the family, according to records. A DYFS caseworker from the Camden North office visited the home Aug. 20, but did not remove the boy or his siblings.
Three weeks later, Collins was dead.
Welles repeatedly slammed her son to the floor and punched him in the face as he was crying, the judge said in explaining why the sentence was warranted. Collins' blood was found throughout the house, including on the ceiling of a bedroom and on the blinds in the living room, authorities said.
Covert said the child's siblings reported to authorities that it was their mother's "habit" to beat Collins "with a belt and bang him on the floor." The reports from the young children were consistent with the boy's injuries, county Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood found.
"These were repeated, multiple heinous attacks," the judge said. "He was 21 months old and could not protect or defend himself in any way. He couldn't resist the violent attacks by his mother."
Emergency medical workers responded to the home on a report of an "unresponsive child," but little could be done to save Collins. He was pronounced dead Sept. 11, 2009.
Welles, who has been held at the Burlington County Minimum Security Facility in Pemberton Township since her arrest Dec. 24, 2009, was in an "impossible situation," her attorney, Anthony Toto, told the judge.
The 10th-grade dropout, who has a history of depression, was overwhelmed trying to care for her family. She gave birth to seven children by the time she was arrested for Collins' death; one child died before Collins was born.
In 2006, the Burlington West office of DYFS investigated an allegation that the baby died as a result of neglect by the child's father. But that death was ruled sudden infant death syndrome, according to DYFS records.
"She is truly remorseful for what happened," Toto said. "It's tough when you have a young woman crying out for help but not getting it."
Welles no longer has custody of her five surviving children. Toto argued for a 10-year sentence, saying a similar incident was unlikely to reoccur.
Covert rejected the argument. She said she believed Welles would give birth to more children and noted that the woman did not respond affirmatively to DYFS' intervention and assistance in the past.
"DYFS had been involved for years," Covert said.
The mandatory report generated by the agency after the child's suspicious death outlined a history of abuse and neglect allegations that date from 2003, about the time Collins' oldest sibling was born and his mother was about 16.
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. Its case file included about 1,000 pages, documenting the family's significant history with child protective services and the assistance offered over the years.
Despite that history, DYFS substantiated only two allegations against Welles. The first was when a newborn Collins was removed from her care and placed in foster care for about nine months.
The second was when he died from multiple injuries.
"It's clear he suffered both physical and psychological injuries, knowing that his mother was doing this to him when she should have been the one taking care of and protecting him," Nelsen said
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/mom-gets-years-in-baby-s-death/article_bc4d305f-a40f-5dc1-96d4-93ba85685345.html

SBS: New Jersey: Jonathon Kuzminski death

May 14, 2011 : By KATE KOWSH
A 20-month-old Bayonne boy died yesterday of "severe brain hemorrhaging," and Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said his office is investigating whether the death was the result of child abuse.
Jonathon Kuzminski was taken by ambulance to Bayonne Medical Center Monday night, DeFazio said.

A source with knowledge of the case said the child's mother, Crystal Acevedo, returned home from work and noticed the toddler was breathing abnormally and had a facial droop, and called the ambulance.
The source said Acevedo's female roommate had been watching the child and said that he fell and hit his chin on the bathtub.
DeFazio did not provide any details of how the child was injured.
Young Jonathon was later transferred to St. Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he underwent brain surgery, the source said. Doctors say the child's injuries resulted from shaken baby syndrome or blunt force trauma, according to the source.
"Preliminarily, it appears there were traumatic brain injuries," DeFazio said. "We're still awaiting the cause and manner of death."
Currently, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Squad is investigating the case, but no one has been arrested or is being held, according to DeFazio.
Acevedo, a North Bergen High School graduate, was too upset to be interviewed last night.
St. Peter's Hospital officials did not return calls for information.
The State Regional Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy today to determine the cause of death, DeFazio said, adding that he may have the results as early as today.
http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1305355224124931.xml&coll=3

SBS: New Jersey: Justim Benitez charged; child blind in one eye

April 19, 2011
MARLENE NAANES

 

A 5-month-old Paterson infant suffering from shaken baby syndrome is blind in one eye, and it could be weeks before doctors know the full extent of her injuries.

A doctor told investigators that the girl is blind from a detached retina, Sgt. Bert Ribeiro said. The girl was in critical but stable condition at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center.
Police arrested the girl’s father after doctors discovered on Thursday that she was suffering from the syndrome. The baby’s mother brought the infant girl into St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center about 1 a.m. Thursday after the baby was not as alert as she normally would be.
Police charged the father, whom they identified as Justin Benitez, 26, with two counts of aggravated assault.
Benitez, who lived with the baby, was under guard at a local hospital after saying he did not want to live and scratching up his wrists, Ribeiro said. It was unclear what he used to hurt himself.
The charges stem from an alleged assault on Thursday and another incident on March 21 when the baby was taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center.
Investigators did not release details about the incidents but said the mother was not present when the alleged assault took place.

The Division of Youth and Family Services was notified of both incidents, but Paterson police were not called in March, Rodriguez said. It is unclear why.

DYFS did not comment, citing privacy laws.
Shaken baby syndrome is a serious brain injury that occurs when someone shakes an infant, usually to stop the baby from crying, according to the state Department of Children and Families.
Shaking a baby can cause bleeding on the brain, which can lead to death, brain damage and developmental delays.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime_courts/041911_Paterson_shaken_baby_loses_sight_in_one_eye.html

SBS: New Jersey: historical case

January 30, 2011

By BRYAN LAPLACA
COLUMNIST

The Pompton Lakes community was in shock as the story unfolded about a neighbor charged with murdering his infant son allegedly in a frenzied attempt to stop him from crying before the Super Bowl.

A 34-year-old father allegedly shook his son and dropped him while trying to keep him quiet. The man maintained that that his son’s death was an accident.
Even those wanting to believe the injuries sustained by 8-week-old baby on Sunday, Jan. 28 that led to his death two days later were an accident, they found his father’s actions difficult to understand, it was reported.
"Others rejected pity or compassion and felt only outrage as the circumstances of the man's actions were revealed day after day across their television screens and in their morning newspapers," reported Suburban Trends.

The man was initially charged with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a minor and child neglect. He was subsequently arraigned on those charges by Municipal Court Judge Stephen Lichon and the man was remanded to Passaic County Jail on $100,000 bail.

When the baby died, however, the charge against his father was upgraded to murder and he was arraigned in Passaic County Superior Court. He was subsequently released on $200,000 bail.

According to police officials, the man’s wife had left her husband at home briefly Sunday afternoon to do some shopping. The couple reportedly planned to host a small Super Bowl party later that day.

When she returned, police said, she noticed that the baby was unusually lethargic and called doctors. The couple subsequently took their infant son to Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pompton Plains, and he was then transported to the Morristown Memorial Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit due to the gravity of his condition.

The baby was placed on life support at Morristown Memorial and when doctors diagnosed his condition as possibly resulting from "'Shaken Baby Syndrome," they notified the Prosecutor’s Office.
Dr. David Bollard of Sparta Medical explained that Shaken Baby Syndrome is "the result of violently shaking a baby back and forth. It causes a hemorrhage at the base of the brain or it can tear the spinal cord at the base of the brain."
In diagnosing this condition, Dr. Bollard said, "You will usually find a pool of blood at the base of the brain and the infant will go into respiratory arrest and death will follow. The injury is equivalent to a hangman's fracture. The injury occurs when the brain is banged violently against the inside of the skull."
The man’s wife and 2-year-old daughter, as well as other family members and friends, were in court with him days later in a show of support of his contention, expressed by his attorney Kalman Geist, that the injuries the father apparently caused his son were accidental.
On Sept. 21, 2001, the man was convicted on one count of endangering the welfare of a minor and faced a maximum term of five years in prison. He was paroled on February 18, 2003.
http://www.northjersey.com/community/history/back_in_the_day/114914944_Feb__4__1996_Infant_dies_after_Super_Bowl-related_injury.html

SIDS: Griffin, New Jersey, charged with murder

Authorities in southern New Jersey say a man smothered his 4-week-old son with a pillow when the infant would not stop crying, then left him alone when he realized the child wasn’t breathing. ~ Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said Sunday that 25-year-old Erik D. Griffin of Burlington City was charged with murder. He was being held in the county jail on $750,000 bail. ~ Bernardi said Griffin put the pillow over his son, Nyir, on Thursday to stop him from crying. Griffin removed the pillow once the infant stopped, but then left the home when he noticed the boy wasn’t breathing. ~ Robin Rieger
http://www.buzzbox.com/news/2010-11-15/death:infant/?clusterId=2446492

SIDS rate down in NJ

September 2, 2010
BY BARBARA WILLIAMS
The number of babies dying from sudden infant death syndrome has dropped significantly in New Jersey, far outpacing the decline nationwide, according to a new report from the SIDS Center of New Jersey.
The SIDS rate in New Jersey dropped 45 percent between 2000 and 2006, the report said. Nationwide, SIDS deaths declined 16.5 percent during that period.
"The numbers are good, but we still have our work cut out for us," said Dr. Thomas Hegyi, medical director for the SIDS Center of New Jersey at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Experts said the decline in SIDS contributed to a 17 percent overall reduction in infant mortality in New Jersey, compared with a 3 percent rate nationwide.
SIDS is the term applied in the sudden death of an infant that remains unexplained even after an autopsy, death scene investigation and review of the child's medical history. It is the leading cause of death among babies from 1 month to 1 year of age.
Scientists attribute much of the decline in SIDS cases to more parents putting babies to sleep on their backs rather than their stomachs and following other health recommendations, such as not exposing babies to smoke.
In 1994, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Public Health Service began promoting its "Back to Sleep" campaign after discovering that babies who slept on their backs had a much lower risk for SIDS. At the time, an estimated 70 percent of infants in the U.S. were sleeping on their stomachs, following advice of doctors who for decades told parents to put babies to sleep on stomachs out of fear they could choke if on their backs.
Downward trend
In 2000, 62 babies in New Jersey died of SIDS, a rate of 0.5 deaths out of every 1,000 infants. In 2006, 34 babies died, for a rate of 0.3 per 1,000. Preliminary information from the state Department of Health and Senior Services suggests the trend extended into 2007 and 2008.
Nationwide, 2,520 infants died of SIDS in 2000, a rate of 0.62 per 1,000 infants. In 2006, there were 2,230 SIDS cases, a 0.54 rate.
"Eighty percent of the children who died from SIDS were not on their back when put to sleep," said Barbara Ostfeld, program director of the SIDS program.
Males are at greater risk than females, and blacks and Native Americans are at greater risk than white infants to die of SIDS. Many studies suggest that one of the main causes may be an abnormality in the brainstem that diminishes the infant's capacity to arouse and respond to breathing challenges, such as lying on the stomach on soft bedding.
The AAP says infants should be placed on their backs on a firm sleep surface covered with a fitted sheet and without pillows or other fluffy objects nearby. Children under 1 should not sleep — not even nap — in hammocks, sofas or parents' beds, where they can be rolled on top of and suffocated by a soundly sleeping mom or dad.
As for smoke exposure, the chemicals from cigarettes stay on clothing, furniture and other household items for eight hours, so infants are exposed to the carcinogens even if they are not in the room when someone is smoking, Hegyi said.
These chemicals have been shown to diminish that arousal mechanism, found to be crucial for infants not to suffocate.
"If you eliminate smoking, you would reduce SIDS by another 40 percent," said Hegyi.
Some risk factors can't be altered. For example, premature babies have an elevated risk for SIDS. But within such groups, adhering to the AAP guidelines can still have a profound effect, experts say.
"If a premature and a mature baby are both put to sleep on their backs, the premature baby has a 3 percent greater chance of dying," Ostfeld said. "But if you put a premature baby on its stomach and a mature baby on its back, that percentage goes up to 48."
For the complete AAP recommendations, go to rwjms.umdnj.edu/sids.
E-mail: williamsb@northjersey.com
The number of babies dying from sudden infant death syndrome has dropped significantly in New Jersey, far outpacing the decline nationwide, according to a new report from the SIDS Center of New Jersey.
The SIDS rate in New Jersey dropped 45 percent between 2000 and 2006, the report said. Nationwide, SIDS deaths declined 16.5 percent during that period.
"The numbers are good, but we still have our work cut out for us," said Dr. Thomas Hegyi, medical director for the SIDS Center of New Jersey at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Experts said the decline in SIDS contributed to a 17 percent overall reduction in infant mortality in New Jersey, compared with a 3 percent rate nationwide.
SIDS is the term applied in the sudden death of an infant that remains unexplained even after an autopsy, death scene investigation and review of the child's medical history. It is the leading cause of death among babies from 1 month to 1 year of age.
Scientists attribute much of the decline in SIDS cases to more parents putting babies to sleep on their backs rather than their stomachs and following other health recommendations, such as not exposing babies to smoke.
In 1994, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Public Health Service began promoting its "Back to Sleep" campaign after discovering that babies who slept on their backs had a much lower risk for SIDS. At the time, an estimated 70 percent of infants in the U.S. were sleeping on their stomachs, following advice of doctors who for decades told parents to put babies to sleep on stomachs out of fear they could choke if on their backs.
Downward trend
In 2000, 62 babies in New Jersey died of SIDS, a rate of 0.5 deaths out of every 1,000 infants. In 2006, 34 babies died, for a rate of 0.3 per 1,000. Preliminary information from the state Department of Health and Senior Services suggests the trend extended into 2007 and 2008.
Nationwide, 2,520 infants died of SIDS in 2000, a rate of 0.62 per 1,000 infants. In 2006, there were 2,230 SIDS cases, a 0.54 rate.
"Eighty percent of the children who died from SIDS were not on their back when put to sleep," said Barbara Ostfeld, program director of the SIDS program.
Males are at greater risk than females, and blacks and Native Americans are at greater risk than white infants to die of SIDS. Many studies suggest that one of the main causes may be an abnormality in the brainstem that diminishes the infant's capacity to arouse and respond to breathing challenges, such as lying on the stomach on soft bedding.
The AAP says infants should be placed on their backs on a firm sleep surface covered with a fitted sheet and without pillows or other fluffy objects nearby. Children under 1 should not sleep — not even nap — in hammocks, sofas or parents' beds, where they can be rolled on top of and suffocated by a soundly sleeping mom or dad.
As for smoke exposure, the chemicals from cigarettes stay on clothing, furniture and other household items for eight hours, so infants are exposed to the carcinogens even if they are not in the room when someone is smoking, Hegyi said.
These chemicals have been shown to diminish that arousal mechanism, found to be crucial for infants not to suffocate.
"If you eliminate smoking, you would reduce SIDS by another 40 percent," said Hegyi.
Some risk factors can't be altered. For example, premature babies have an elevated risk for SIDS. But within such groups, adhering to the AAP guidelines can still have a profound effect, experts say.
"If a premature and a mature baby are both put to sleep on their backs, the premature baby has a 3 percent greater chance of dying," Ostfeld said. "But if you put a premature baby on its stomach and a mature baby on its back, that percentage goes up to 48."
For the complete AAP recommendations, go to rwjms.umdnj.edu/sids.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/health/102069483_N_J__a_leader_in_reducing_SIDS_deaths.html

SIDS: Decline In Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Contributed To Overall Decline In Infant Mortality In New Jersey

The rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), a leading cause of infant mortality, declined in New Jersey by 45 percent between 2000 and 2006, the most recent year for which final SIDS data are available, report Barbara M. Ostfeld, PhD, and Thomas Hegyi, MD, professors in the Department of Pediatrics at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and program director and medical director, respectively, for the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Center of New Jersey. According to Dr. Hegyi, this decline has contributed to the 17 percent reduction in overall infant mortality in New Jersey between 2000 and 2007 that is described in 2010 KIDS COUNT, the newly issued report of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The report also notes that the decline in New Jersey's overall infant mortality far exceeds the national trend of a 3 percent decline, placing New Jersey's rate fifth lowest among 50 states. According to Drs. Ostfeld and Hegyi, New Jersey's SIDS rate also falls below the national rate."In 2006, the rate for SIDS in New Jersey fell to 0.3 per thousand live births, the equivalent of three such deaths per 10,000 live births," said Dr. Ostfeld. "By contrast, in 2000, five infants in every 10,000 live births succumbed to SIDS, and a decade earlier, eight per 10,000 live births did so.""Preliminary data from the Center for Health Statistics of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services suggests that the lower rate of SIDS deaths in 2006 was also observed in the period 2007 and 2008," explained Dr. Hegyi, who also serves as vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics.SIDS is defined as the sudden and unexpected death of an infant before the first birthday that remains unexplained even after a complete evaluation consisting of an autopsy, a death scene investigation and a review of the medical history. Many studies now suggest that one of the potential causes of such an unexplained death may turn out to be an abnormality in the brainstem that diminishes an infant's capacity to arouse and respond to breathing challenges such as those posed by sleeping prone (on the stomach) on soft bedding. Other risk factors for SIDS, such as exposure to tobacco smoke or overheating, can further compromise arousal."A comprehensive education program provided by healthcare professionals throughout the state that follows guidelines established by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has contributed to the improved outcomes for infant mortality in New Jersey," added Dr. Hegyi. "The decline in SIDS has been associated in great part with improved compliance with these recommendations by parents and other caregivers."Referring to the recent study in Pediatrics by Drs. Ostfeld and Hegyi that found that more than that 78 percent of SIDS cases contained multiple concurrent risk factors, Dr. Hegyi commented, "Risk-reduction education of new parents and all other caregivers, such as grandparents and babysitters, should be comprehensive. In addition to education about placing infants 'Back-to-Sleep,' the position associated with the lowest risk, all other recommendations of the AAP should also be described and discussed."The risk reduction education provided by the SIDS Center of New Jersey is all-inclusive, addressing all the risk factors and safe sleep guidelines described by the AAP including those related to prone sleep, sharing sleep surfaces with a sleeping adult, smoke exposure, presence of pillows, and other soft and loose bedding, and overheating. The SIDS Center of New Jersey promotes knowledge and compliance through the education of health and social service providers for infants and families, including providers in hospitals, child care centers, offices of the Division of Youth and Family Services, and health clinics, as well as with families directly."Until the biological causes for SIDS are fully defined and lead to the identification and treatment of living infants who may be vulnerable, the risk-reducing guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics are considered by both researchers and healthcare providers to be the most effective interventions to date," says Dr. Ostfeld.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/198183.php