GA - Jonah, 3, & Nicole Payne, 2, Warrenton, 23 April 2005

[Meech]

In reading all these posts, the thought just hit me that it is a good thing I raised my children before I got a computer. I had four in six years and was a good mother, but I am afraid that as hooked as I have been reading on my computer, I might have been negligent and no telling where they would have wound up. Sometimes I mean to get on only a few minutes and before I know it an hour has gone by.

Your right Annie..Because At any given part of the day my son sits at his table and chair..Watching Caillou and I'll say Whatcha doing lilMan? he will relpy "Mommys is on the puder" I laugh everytime..But believe me I do the home school thing with him so I'm very busy 8am-12pm

 

[tezi]

I had a sudden thought at lunch today - what if the mom is a methamphetamine user? She may have been in the bathroom to prepare and snort a line of meth. One of the things that meth does is completely alter your sense of the passage of time. If she was constantly under the influence of meth, she literally could not tell the difference between 5 seconds, 5 minutes or a couple of hours. Originally I was thinking about cocaine, but it is much more expensive and less available in that type of area. Betcha' there are plenty of meth labs, though.

Well, that could be one answer...I bet there are plenty of labs, just like Southern AR.

 

[AutumnBorn]

She didn't strike me as a drug user but you never can tell.

Meth users are generally bone thin, unless they've just started. I agree. She didn't strike me as one, either. She looked rather solid.

 

[Sheromom]

Two neighbors told 11Alive news they saw the children walking alone several times before. Some legal experts say that could be enough to charge the parents under Georgia’s new child endangerment law.

“If news accounts are correct and that is DFACS has investigated a number of occasions…[And] there have been neighbor concerns about [children] being abandoned and then we have what occurred that day earlier, plus we have what resulted in their death, then clearly it merits prosecution,” said Don Keenan, a longtime attorney and an advocate for children’s rights.

The child endangerment law has only been on the books for a year. Georgia was the last state to pass such a measure.

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=62313

One thing I have learned from my Grandson's situation is that when these agencies visit, they schedule appointments. My grandson's mother would run around cleaning ONLY on the day they would visit. She would even hide dirty dishes in her oven! (Of course, I let them know about THAT!:innocent: ) It's very possible the agents didn't see the same house that the neighbors saw.

JerseyGirl, I have four kids- 30, 26, 16 and 12. (And four grands) ALL kids go through about two years of bad behavior. But they come out of it again and are good. Just hang in; next year your child will be an angel again!

 

[LazyCat08]

Okay, this case is very clear and simple. The parents were not good parents at all, for whatever reason or child services would not be visiting for the past two years. The children had been getting out, had been getting out that VERY day yet the mother still allowed them to escape. Everyone knows that if you are REALLY watching kids, they won't get too far in a few seconds. No more excuses are acceptable to me. The house was probably unsafe and filthy and money probably spent with no thought to what to buy. Now the mother is saying that neighbors were holding her children that day. Excuses excuses. Neighbors fault, little girls fault, blah blah. If the parents are smart enough to try and blame others, then they are smart enough to be held accountable. About that fence around the waste pond, if child services didn't have to visit these people weekly for years, then maybe the county would have more money. I hope that they are not allowed to sue because even though the fence should have been secure, the parents are at fault, and if they were angry and defiant with authorities and neighbors and let that affect their childrens' safety out of spite, then they should be thrown under the jail.

I'm having a hard time with the dad's statement on Nancy Grace that they just bought a safety chain and was going to put it on that very evening, but time ran out........how convenient.

The news that the family has a history with child protective services is a CLEAR indication that something is wrong with these people!
Like I said before - the time frame doesn't fit their story - these children had to have been left alone for longer than the mother is admitting and the stories from their neighbors prove that it is very likely that this was the case. I hate to say that this mother just didn't care about the possible dangers, but maybe she just can't comprehend them...
I agree that there is no excuse. What's done is done here, it's not like they juat got a few scratches - these children are DEAD!
These people sound totally incompetent, but I'm sure they loved their children as much as they were capable of. It's so sad, I don't know that charging these people will do anything - it won't bring back the kids - I think sterilization might be a better option! :twocents:

 

[KatherineQ]

Where is everyone seeing that CPS was visiting weekly? Remember the first several days, the cops said PLAINLY, there is no history of CPS intervention in this case.

When did it come out they are getting weekly visits, I just missed it in the media.

Thanks.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Where is everyone seeing that CPS was visiting weekly? Remember the first several days, the cops said PLAINLY, there is no history of CPS intervention in this case.

When did it come out they are getting weekly visits, I just missed it in the media.

Thanks.

Nancy Grace's show last night!!

 

[Annie]

Where is everyone seeing that CPS was visiting weekly? Remember the first several days, the cops said PLAINLY, there is no history of CPS intervention in this case.

When did it come out they are getting weekly visits, I just missed it in the media.

Thanks.

Go back to post #629 to find a link to a newspaper article.

 

[luthersmama]

Meth users are generally bone thin, unless they've just started. I agree. She didn't strike me as one, either. She looked rather solid.

Maybe she hasn't been using long enough for the anorexic effect to make a difference? Or she was even more hefty and has dropped some weight already? I'm just wondering about the time span ... meth use certainly isn't out of the question.

 

[Jovin]

Tezi, we need another smillie to attach to our posts...like a GOLD medal for all our moms. ....

And for the poster that made you laugh so hard...we have this one!

 

[tezi]

Thanks Jovin, I love your smilies!!!!

 

[Miss Daisey]

Thanks, Jovin. We needed that. lol

 

[Jovin]

Thanks Jovin, I love your smilies!!!!

It's my job..I'm the Smiley Queen!

 

[Jovin]

Thanks, Jovin. We needed that. lol

Whenever I can add a little smile...I try to do so...like I said, it's my job (and Im not very good at anything else anyway!)

 

[Shadow205]

KK'sMom,

You are right about the comment in the Nancy Grace interview. He does say "WE" ran around the house looking for them see below:

GRACE: Sir, how do you think the kids got out of the house?

PAYNE: Well, my wife, simply like she said, she was in the room and they -- the youngest one opened up the door. That`s what she said. And when she came around the corner, the door was wide open, and the kids were gone.

GRACE: Oh, gosh.

PAYNE: And we ran around the house, the yard, and everything looking for them. No sign of them.

 

[concernedperson]

Most DFCS seems remiss in checking on families. Why would they spend so much time with this family.....weekly visits? Is that the truth? If so, the only thing I can think of is the parents weren't at a normal comprehension level and they were making sure they taught them the skills needed to care for children. Not because they were violent or appeared to be.

 

[mysteriew]

news article
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/0405/27warren.html

 

[LovelyPigeon]

April 27
Sheriff: Parents bought lock to stop determined toddlers
The Associated Press -

Hours before two toddlers drowned less than a quarter mile from their east Georgia home, their parents bought a lock to keep the determined children from getting out the front door, authorities said Wednesday.--->>

The sheriff displayed the lock the parents bought Saturday and said they had a receipt that showed the purchase was made that day.--->>

Autopsies concluded Tuesday also found no significant injuries to the children's bodies, Bankhead said. There were scratches on the childrens' legs consistent with them traipsing through a wooded area. More tests are being conducted on their bodies to help investigators pinpoint a time of death.

Warren County Coroner Paul Lowe said there appeared to be no foul play and that the children probably died late Saturday
night.--->>

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=60009

 

[LovelyPigeon]

KatherineQ, here's one source for info on DFCS (Georgians call the agency "de-facs") making frequent visits:

Drowned toddlers' family had history with DFCS
By CRAIG SCHNEIDER, MAE GENTRY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/27/05
The parents of two toddlers found dead Monday in an east Georgia sewage pond have been under the scrutiny of the state child protection agency for about two years, with the latest home visit occurring last week, officials said.

The state Division of Family and Children Services started monitoring the family in early 2003 because of concerns that the boy and girl had been left unattended, officials said.

After determining the children were neglected, officials said, the agency provided to their parents, Lottie Kain and Dennis Payne, a variety of services and training, including parenting skills, housekeeping and decision-making. The DFCS case was closed in February.

But the case was reopened a month later after Payne got into an altercation with a neighbor. The DFCS again counseled the family and resumed weekly visits, officials said. --->> http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0405/27warren.html

 

[MysteryAddict]

KK'sMom,

You are right about the comment in the Nancy Grace interview. He does say "WE" ran around the house looking for them see below:

GRACE: Sir, how do you think the kids got out of the house?

PAYNE: Well, my wife, simply like she said, she was in the room and they -- the youngest one opened up the door. That`s what she said. And when she came around the corner, the door was wide open, and the kids were gone.

GRACE: Oh, gosh.

PAYNE: And we ran around the house, the yard, and everything looking for them. No sign of them.

I was struck by the fact that in this interview Dennis Payne persisted in calling Lottie Kain his "wife" over and over again.

This sounded strange since they aren't married and
surely he's smart enough to know that!