May 27, 2011
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.
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. |
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
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
