The Star is investigating the case thoroughly and published a lengthy article about it. In brief, Neveah was in foster care from birth until about three when she was placed back with her mother. Neveah had autism and was non-verbal. Despite that, her foster parents said that she was affectionate and loved to be hugged, go to malls and playgrounds. The mother struggled to deal with her complex needs and one daycare the mother enrolled her in said they were not able to either.
She was last seen alive on June 10th, 2021. Despite not complying with the requirements the mother was given when she regained custody, the Children’s Aid Society closed the case the following November.
It’s not in the article, but I recall that Neveah’s remains were found with dead insects that are only active during warm weather. So she may have died that summer, IMO.
The mother told police that she gave Neveah to strangers named ‘John and Mary’ and then lost contact. The police found and investigated ‘John’ and concluded he had nothing to do with Neveah’s disappearance or death. He’s not connected to anyone named Mary, and the police said she is unknown.
Telling to me is the mother’s response when three homicide detectives unexpectedly showed up to her door once they had identified Neveah. —
‘Neveah was failed’: Rare access reveals haunting details about the life and death of the girl found in a Rosedale dumpster
[…]
Standing at the stoop, in the heat of a late June afternoon, was a trio of plain clothes officers from the Toronto police homicide squad.
The woman had one question for the detectives at her door.
“How did you find me?”
[…]
Problems right away
Born in 2017 in York Region, Neveah had been taken into child custody at birth after marijuana was found in her system, and placed with a foster parent.[…]
In March 2020, Neveah, nearing age three, and recently diagnosed with autism, and her brother, just shy of age two, were moved from their shared foster home to their mother’s care, contingent on a set of court-ordered conditions.[…]
Neveah and her brother found wandering
Unmentioned at that December 2020 hearing was an incident that happened just eight days earlier. Toronto police had been summoned to a downtown apartment building around 8 p.m. by a call about a lone toddler running around the lobby. It was Neveah.
According to a detailed report written by responding officers, the 911 caller returned Neveah to her apartment, where he found her mother asleep and three other young children unattended (the mother had earlier obtained custody of her two older daughters, then eight and six, on weekends).[…]
At a January 2021 court appearance, CAST <Children’s Aid Society > continued its effort to end supervision. The judge, Justice Manjusha Pawagi, pushed back. She noted the mother — unexpectedly absent that morning — hadn’t taken any action. Her kids still weren’t enrolled in daycare, and Neveah wasn’t yet receiving autism support. Pawagi adjourned the case.[…]”
Smith gave the mother Neveah’s official death notification and did not provide details. Her mother began to sob and said little, according to Gordon, who was called to testify at a child protection hearing for Neveah’s two younger brothers last year (Neveah’s mother had a sixth child in January 2024).
“She didn’t have any questions at all about how, where, when,” Gordon told the court.”
(Paywalled).
‘Neveah was failed’: Rare access reveals haunting details about the life and death of the girl found in a Rosedale dumpster
ETA: The police showed Neveah’s older sister photos of the children’s blanket with butterflies and the other wrap Neveah’s remains were found in. She said the blanket was Neveah’s favourite that she would carry around.
www.thestar.com
