ME ME - Ayla Reynolds, 20 mnths, Waterville, 17 December 2011 - # 8

[Sparklin]

1) It is alleged that JD doesn't want to be a parent and took little interest in Ayla for the first months of her life.

2) JD gains temporary custody of Ayla when TR goes to rehab. It is alleged that the DiPietro family had an inside connection with DHHS.

3) Mysterious injuries: pulled muscle, bruising from non existant ball pit at CEC, fallen on by JD on a night when it was probably not raining, treatment delayed due to JD's CDL class which seems not to match up with dates of class.

4) Unemployed JD takes out life insurance policy on toddler he has only temporary custody of and seeks to have support payments terminated.

5) Justin refused to let TR see or speak to Ayla and missed follow up appointment with specialist.

6) On a normal Friday night on which young adults all go to bed at 10PM, Ayla coincidentally sleeps in her room alone. Take your pick on when the last time she was seen or who discovered her missing as there are several versions. Ayla goes missing from a small house with three adults. Neighbors note a car arriving and leaving, a loud noise in the night, but the three adults in the home hear nothing.

7) JD doesn't speak to the media or take an LDT intially because of "emotional stress". When he does issue statements, they are defensive in nature and address accusations made against him.

8) PD describes normal, non partying night at the DiPietro home and later "clarifies" that she was not present.

9) JD and LE disagree as to whether he was informed of his LDT results. Most surmise he failed. He is unaware if his sister, mother or girlfriend have taken LDTs.

10) This Little Light of Maine is launched to garner sympathy for the DiPietros and lavish praise on long time girlfriend CR.

11) Ayla's blood is found in the DiPietro basement.

12) JD drives brother LD to find and beat down the father of ED's baby. JD as usual, knows nothing.

Is every one of these allegations absolutely true? I don't know. Could there be an innocent explanation for some of these actions? Maybe. Is it possible that all of these seemingly incriminating actions and statements are lies, misunderstandings and coincidences? I don't think it's possible. When I look at the big picture, everything points to JD, family members and CR. ED needs to get her lawyer to talk deal. All MOO.

The only things that are of concern to me are bbm above. Where the heck is this beautiful Ayla baby lease:

 

[Sparklin]

she had urged them to visit Ayla at Ayla’s father’s Waterville home and Trista says they did not.

Read more: http://www.wmtw.com/news/30456815/detail.html#ixzz1mTLLQQu6

Trista tells us, “I thought she was safe and protected in that house and I was so wrong. So wrong.”

Read more: http://www.wmtw.com/news/30456815/detail.html#ixzz1mTLR1FEh

Again with the contradictions .. she thought she was safe there, but she contacted DHHS to visit them? I just wish, if nothing else, we had the full, unbridled truth form Trista at least. From the beginning.

 

[Sparklin]

Also taken from that article....



Seriously? Do your job! Make sure you know where and with whom you are placing that child and make sure above all that with those above mentioned that the child is less likely to be in danger than where you took her from.
Sheesh!!

MOO

To be fair, if they are unaware of an issue, as seems to be alleged here, then they can't just imagine a problem and investigate.

 

[Sparklin]

Suppose they did more of what you think they should have done with the checking out of Justin. From what we all know about him prior to the disappearance of Ayla makes him look like a better choice for a parent than Trista. MOO If Trista's sister had not called LE at the time of the fighting, would DHHS even have been called in? Would Trista have even gone to rehab? I say, probably not. Everyone is giving Trista all these kudos for getting help, when it really wasn't her choice at all, was it?

I doubt very much if she is going to stay sober. I'll bet she is drinking again already. To go to detox, that means you are in really bad shape, like getting the DT's if you don't have a drink. That's a lot more serious condition than the problem drinking that can just use some self control and kick the habit with abstinence.

Thank you ~ I feel for Trista at this point, but I don't think she went to rehab voluntarily and I don't think that the fight with the sister was the first issue. How would LE/DHHS even know that she had a problem from just one incident? Even if her sister ratted her out - they can't threaten to take her kids on someone elses say so...there is WAY more to that situation. That being said, I think Trista is the one that is suffering most right now and my mommy heart is breaking for her!

 

[naturallyme]

Respectfully snipped by me.


Based on our very limited knowledge, I'm going with this choice, but with a slight twist. I feel that DHHS called Jessica and told her that they were suspending her temporary custody/placement/whatever because Justin had stepped forward and had the right to take her. We know from the timeline that Jessica refused. I feel that it was Jessica's refusal to surrender Ayla that caused the police intervention. I could be wrong, but if Jessica and Becca were named by DHHS as temporary caregivers, I would think that they had no legal standing at all to refuse to surrender Ayla. That would not be an issue in which DHHS would just wait to have settled in court. JMO

You make a good point. I wish we had an attorney or someone who knows the law in Maine to tell us what the proper procedure would be when Jessica refused.

I used what little I have read of Maine's law and what happens in my own state as basis for that post. In my state I am about 99% sure DHHS would have advised Justin to take it to the courts, unless he was reporting an emergency situation that the child was in immediate danger.

It would be interesting to know the law or Policy and procedure on this.

The only thing I can find so far is this....

Citing privacy reasons, a DHHS spokesman would not comment on this case, but the director of the Office of Child and Family Services says in general "We have to have a report. Somebody has to let us know that there are specific concerns that rise to the level of us being involved."

http://www.wmtw.com/r/30456815/detail.html

The director said that in response to Trista's claim of bruises etc.
I wonder if the same applies to the call Justin made.

 

[Sparklin]

bbm. This sentence negates any defense anyone has for cps IF cps had a role in Ayla being removed. If I recall correctly, the LE was told by the cps that Justin had permission to take ayla. How did cps know that Justin was ayla's real father and not some nut off the street? It would and does take more then two weeks to legally work through all the channels of custody arrangements. We can obviously see that because Justin linnel does not have custody of his daughter yet!!!! If we go by how CPA handled Ayla GD should already be with her dad by now.

But Trista has herself said on numerous occasions that there was an agreement between her and Justin. Regardless of how it came about, Trista agreed to allow Ayla time with her dad.

 

[naturallyme]

Read more: http://www.wmtw.com/news/30456815/detail.html#ixzz1mTLLQQu6



Read more: http://www.wmtw.com/news/30456815/detail.html#ixzz1mTLR1FEh

Again with the contradictions .. she thought she was safe there, but she contacted DHHS to visit them? I just wish, if nothing else, we had the full, unbridled truth form Trista at least. From the beginning.

I also wish we had the full, unbridled truth from Justin and those in the house that night. Then we, or more importantly LE could sort this out.

 

[HiHater]

I was looking at Maine's CPS policies, trying to see if I can glean anything that pertains to this case. I came up with a few things...Keep in mind that we only have TR's word to go on...

1. Police are mandated reporters, they have to contact DHHS if they have reasonable cause to believe a child is abused or neglected. That's probably a "duh!" but we do know that LE was the first contact for TR in this case. No charges were filed, they instead notified DHHS. No one knows if it was just the drunken fight or other things that led to this. What happens a lot of times is that police are called for something unrelated, and then either the environment or something about the children leads to them being taken.

2. "Serious substance abuse by a caregiver of a young child that causes or is likely to cause the caregiver to be unable to provide adequate care or supervision to protect the child from harm" is listed as a type of neglect. By TR's own admission she was becoming increasingly more dependent on alcohol due to stress and being a single parent.

3. JD would have been notified of action involving his child. The policy lays out specific "Time Frames for Attempts to Inform Persons Regarding Child Protection Action." JD, as a legal parent, would have received notification. He would not have had to be "tipped off" by his inside DHHS connection.

4. I cannot remember where or who said it, but it seems as though giving JD Jessica's address would have been legal: 22 M.R.S.A. §4008. 2.D. provides: The Department may disclose relevant information in the record to a child named in a record who is reported to be abused or neglected or the child’s parent or custodian . . . with protection for identity of reporters and other persons when appropriate. It also seems as though the address was divulged to police not to JD directly.

5. There may also be times where extended family members are making arrangements or decisions to bring a child into their home but another relative will care for the children for a very short time until matters concerning the long term provider are resolved. Could JD have been the "long term provider" in this case, while Becca/Jessica were only temporary?

6. With regard to police making the removal, police assistance is requested for various reasons, specific to this case: when family members respond only to law enforcement authority. Again, TR's timeline indicates that Jessica refused to turn Ayla over to JD when the caseworker called her and told her to do so. Police can also respond when agency staff is unavailable to place the child.

Also from what I understand, the "removal" actually occurred when the children were taken from Trista. There may not have been anything wrong with the aunt/grandma's house. Remember that each child has a different permanency goal, with family reunification being the overall goal. We can't compare the baby and Ayla, because JD stepped up.

Source: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/cw/policy/

Everything else is JMO

 

[HiHater]

You make a good point. I wish we had an attorney or someone who knows the law in Maine to tell us what the proper procedure would be when Jessica refused.

I used what little I have read of Maine's law and what happens in my own state as basis for that post. In my state I am about 99% sure DHHS would have advised Justin to take it to the courts, unless he was reporting an emergency situation that the child was in immediate danger.

It would be interesting to know the law or Policy and procedure on this.

The only thing I can find so far is this....

Citing privacy reasons, a DHHS spokesman would not comment on this case, but the director of the Office of Child and Family Services says in general "We have to have a report. Somebody has to let us know that there are specific concerns that rise to the level of us being involved."

http://www.wmtw.com/r/30456815/detail.html

The director said that in response to Trista's claim of bruises etc.
I wonder if the same applies to the call Justin made.

Jessica had no legal right to refuse. She has no real legal interest in the child, hence the police were called in to take her. If anyone was worried about Ayla, they did not have to subject her to that. JMO

 

[HiHater]

Does this make sense to anyone??

Justin was also ordered by DHHS to bring Ayla to the treatment facility the following day for a visit with Trista, and to release her into the care of Trista...[snipped]

 

[HiHater]

But Trista had help from other family members - how is that any different from the way Ayla was being cared for at Justin's house? Justin was going around doing things and leaving Ayla with other people, too. It's just that he managed to get the sanctions of CPS on his side. And, I might add, Grandma D. might have lied a little bit about where she was staying - as she did on national TV.

Personally, I don't buy for one minute that no drinking ever went on inside the DiPietro house. :twocents: And his girlfriend's sister was arrested for being heavily into drugs. So I don't see that one situation is safer than the other, especially now that Ayla is gone - we can't just overlook that.

I guess I'm one of those people guilty of making excuses for Trista. A major excuse in her favor is that Ayla never disappeared when living with the Reynolds family.

There's a difference between drinking and being an alcoholic.
How do we even know the involvement JD's girlfriend's sister in the house at 29 Violette? That's a connection that has not been made, so I don't see JD as "guilty by association" with the drugs.

 

[HiHater]

I have tried looking at this from all the angles I can think of to determine if DHHS did err in their involvement in this case.

These are the angles I have come up with so far.

1----If Trista's, Becca, or Jessica's home was unsafe and DHHS needed to remove a child, they erred in not removing both children.

If that was not the case then we look at a couple different scenario

2----If there was no Custody order already set, then Justin as the biofather under Maine law had a right to his child. If he decided to exercise that right he would have called and said I am coming to get her. If Becca or Jessica told him not to, then it would have become necessary to go through court, not DHHS.

DHHS does not get involved in just Custody disputes.

3-----If there was a Custody order in place and Trista had custody and Justin had a visitation schedule already set, it would have been necessary for him to go to court to get that changed.

What I am trying to say is this.

If a child in Trista's care was unsafe, then both children should have been removed.

Since her son was not removed, then the proper channels for Justin to obtain Ayla was through the Court system not the DHHS.

That is why I question the actions of DHHS.

Both children were removed from Trista's care, we don't know that Ayla was "removed" from her aunt/grandma's care for safety issues. They could have been a good placement, but JD as a father was probably seen as a better placement. Jessica would not have legal standing to take JD to court for custody of Ayla. Therefore, there could be no real "custody dispute" between them. What "parental/custody" rights did she have? None. Unless Jessica herself had received rights through a court, I do not see how that applies. She was simply a placement for DHHS, one that was likely temporary.


ETA: sorry for flooding the board! I am catching up, because I keep getting distracted from some legal research I need to complete for a term paper!

 

[ThoughtFox]

:cow: :cow: :cow:

This seems so simple to me: Trista was trying to get help for an addiction, and she has been punished for it in every possible way, including the constant bashing of her decision on the internet. To me that's adding insult to injury, since she is a mother who has lost a child through no action of her own.

If this was just a custody case, and Justin didn't return Ayla when agreed, everyone would be on Trista's side. But somehow it's twisted around so that Trista should have protected Ayla when the child was out of her control, and under the complete control of the Dipietros.

Going into rehab should have been a positive choice for Ayla and her sibling. Don't we want to encourage people to get help if they need it? Don't we want them to be better parents?

But the minute she was out of the way, going to get help for herself, Justin D. took advantage of the situation and for unknown reasons suddenly wanted Ayla to live with him.

Yeah, Trista made decisions, then Justin made decisions.

But can we at least let Justin take some grown-up boy responsibility for being in charge of Ayla when she disappeared? :cow: And not just him, but all the other grown-ups in that house?

Trista wasn't there. This case really isn't about what Trista did or didn't do. JMOO :cow:

LE is putting the blame where it belongs, in my opinion. They looked in that house in Waterville and found many hinky things. They said the stories don't pass the smell test. I don't really care about how "normal" the DiPietro's say that night was - it seems it was anything but normal.

 

[HiHater]

:cow: :cow: :cow:

This seems so simple to me: Trista was trying to get help for an addiction, and she has been punished for it in every possible way, including the constant bashing of her decision on the internet. To me that's adding insult to injury, since she is a mother who has lost a child through no action of her own.

If this was just a custody case, and Justin didn't return Ayla when agreed, everyone would be on Trista's side. But somehow it's twisted around so that Trista should have protected Ayla when the child was out of her control, and under the complete control of the Dipietros.

Going into rehab should have been a positive choice for Ayla and her sibling. Don't we want to encourage people to get help if they need it? Don't we want them to be better parents?

But the minute she was out of the way, going to get help for herself, Justin D. took advantage of the situation and for unknown reasons suddenly wanted Ayla to live with him.

Yeah, Trista made decisions, then Justin made decisions.

But can we at least let Justin take some grown-up boy responsibility for being in charge of Ayla when she disappeared? :cow: And not just him, but all the other grown-ups in that house?

Trista wasn't there. This case really isn't about what Trista did or didn't do. JMOO :cow:

LE is putting the blame where it belongs, in my opinion. They looked in that house in Waterville and found many hinky things. They said the stories don't pass the smell test. I don't really care about how "normal" the DiPietro's say that night was - it seems it was anything but normal.

With all due respect, Trista is making the custody issue/DHHS a big deal by threatening to sue when her daughter has only been missing for 2 months. Of course people are going to realize and comment on the irony of that. She is faulting the state for not taking care of or protecting her children. That is not the state's job, it's a parent's job. Then to announce the plans of this suit so soon...it's kind of tacky IMO, she does not have a lawyer, but if she did I bet he or she would tell her to cease and desist any kind of talk. Lest she forget that her "timeline" and all of her own contradictory statements will be admitted as evidence to the contrary.

As for hypotheticals, if Ayla had disappeared on TR's watch, then I think people would be characterizing her alcohol problems and seeking help for them quite differently. JMO

Like they say though, If "ifs" were fifths, we'd all be drunk!

 

[ThoughtFox]

With all due respect, Trista is making the custody issue/DHHS a big deal by threatening to sue when her daughter has only been missing for 2 months.

As a mother myself, all I can say is that this would be a big deal if Ayla was only missing 2 hours.

Two months is an eternity. :twocents:

 

[menmo]

To be fair, if they are unaware of an issue, as seems to be alleged here, then they can't just imagine a problem and investigate.

It is their job to make sure that they are providing for the children in the best possible manner. That means to me they didn't have to go jerk Ayla from the family she knew best. I think the reason Justin D. acted so quickly was under momma's advice, I can almost hear it now...
Just my opinion how it probably went--->go get her Justin, and you won't have to pay that child support, we can take care of her for far less than that. I'll help you out by saying that I'll be living there and helping take responsibility for her just like Haleigh Cummings grandma Teresa told the courts she'd be there for her grandkids and Ron.
PHOOEY!

But Trista has herself said on numerous occasions that there was an agreement between her and Justin. Regardless of how it came about, Trista agreed to allow Ayla time with her dad.

I think how that probably went down was Trista and Justin speaking about it and Justin promising when she got out that Ayla could go back with Trista. I don't think he ever had any intentions of that, though, unless Trista would let him stop the child support.

I also wish we had the full, unbridled truth from Justin and those in the house that night. Then we, or more importantly LE could sort this out.

....and then LE could probably find this beautiful little girl named Ayla.
BBM

:cow: :cow: :cow:
This seems so simple to me: Trista was trying to get help for an addiction, and she has been punished for it in every possible way, including the constant bashing of her decision on the internet. To me that's adding insult to injury, since she is a mother who has lost a child through no action of her own.

If this was just a custody case, and Justin didn't return Ayla when agreed, everyone would be on Trista's side. But somehow it's twisted around so that Trista should have protected Ayla when the child was out of her control, and under the complete control of the Dipietros.

Going into rehab should have been a positive choice for Ayla and her sibling. Don't we want to encourage people to get help if they need it? Don't we want them to be better parents?

But the minute she was out of the way, going to get help for herself, Justin D. took advantage of the situation and for unknown reasons suddenly wanted Ayla to live with him.

Yeah, Trista made decisions, then Justin made decisions.

But can we at least let Justin take some grown-up boy responsibility for being in charge of Ayla when she disappeared? :cow: And not just him, but all the other grown-ups in that house?

Trista wasn't there. This case really isn't about what Trista did or didn't do. JMOO :cow:

LE is putting the blame where it belongs, in my opinion. They looked in that house in Waterville and found many hinky things. They said the stories don't pass the smell test. I don't really care about how "normal" the DiPietro's say that night was - it seems it was anything but normal.

I agree! Unless and until the adults in this case starts owning their responsibility in this then it helps no one, including but not limited to Ayla.
Normal for the DiPietro's is obviously not my normal. Thank God.
BBM

With all due respect, Trista is making the custody issue/DHHS a big deal by threatening to sue when her daughter has only been missing for 2 months. Of course people are going to realize and comment on the irony of that. She is faulting the state for not taking care of or protecting her children. That is not the state's job, it's a parent's job. Then to announce the plans of this suit so soon...it's kind of tacky IMO, she does not have a lawyer, but if she did I bet he or she would tell her to cease and desist any kind of talk. Lest she forget that her "timeline" and all of her own contradictory statements will be admitted as evidence to the contrary.

As for hypotheticals, if Ayla had disappeared on TR's watch, then I think people would be characterizing her alcohol problems and seeking help for them quite differently. JMO

Like they say though, If "ifs" were fifths, we'd all be drunk!

Of course I'm going to comment on that!
This "big deal" all started, imo, with the Dipietro's. Period. It also ended with the Dipietro's and Courtney Roberts, imo. Period.
Trista is faulting the state for not protecting her child, that's true, imo. However, when they step in then the child becomes their responsibility and "job" and no longer is the parents responsibility or "job" of how that child is cared for and if any harm comes to her. Trista had her children safe, as far as we know. The state failed this child, big time, the state failed her mom and her mom's whole family. Was it worth placing Ayla with Justin for the little stent in rehab Trista went through? To me it was not. I don't ever want it to happen again.
Kind of tacky? Not to me. If something happens to a child that they know about and should be watching over then shame on them!

All above my opinions only!

MOO

 

[naturallyme]

I found this link to a Handbook from Maine DHHS

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/cw/handbook.html

also this link to more info. on Maine DHHS

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/

I have not had time yet to search, read, and absorb it fully.

So far I have not been able to find anything that would deal with the question we had earlier. All I have found so far is DHHS dealing with conditions of neglect or abuse, but nothing to indicate they get involved unless that is the situation. Perhaps someone else can locate the info. concerning a bioparent getting DHHS involved because he was the bioparent.

 

[C-Squared]

:cow: :cow: :cow:

This seems so simple to me: Trista was trying to get help for an addiction, and she has been punished for it in every possible way, including the constant bashing of her decision on the internet. To me that's adding insult to injury, since she is a mother who has lost a child through no action of her own.

If this was just a custody case, and Justin didn't return Ayla when agreed, everyone would be on Trista's side. But somehow it's twisted around so that Trista should have protected Ayla when the child was out of her control, and under the complete control of the Dipietros.

Going into rehab should have been a positive choice for Ayla and her sibling. Don't we want to encourage people to get help if they need it? Don't we want them to be better parents?

But the minute she was out of the way, going to get help for herself, Justin D. took advantage of the situation and for unknown reasons suddenly wanted Ayla to live with him.

Yeah, Trista made decisions, then Justin made decisions.

But can we at least let Justin take some grown-up boy responsibility for being in charge of Ayla when she disappeared? :cow: And not just him, but all the other grown-ups in that house?

Trista wasn't there. This case really isn't about what Trista did or didn't do. JMOO :cow:

LE is putting the blame where it belongs, in my opinion. They looked in that house in Waterville and found many hinky things. They said the stories don't pass the smell test. I don't really care about how "normal" the DiPietro's say that night was - it seems it was anything but normal.

Respectfully BBM

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe this was a decision made by Trista. IIRC, she was forced into the rehab situation. She did not voluntarily enter it.

 

[Seek&Find]

Please disregard if already posted. I searched the last two pages, and try to keep up with Ayla's case, but may have missed it.

“In the same week Justin took Ayla from me, he took out a life insurance policy on Ayla," Trista Reynolds said...

link

This looks very bad, IMO. We've seen this new insurance policy play out in other cases with bad outcomes.

I will say I have a small life insurance on my son for, God forbid, funeral expenses, but he didn't go missing, especially shortly after the policy was purchased!

 

[officer'swife 2010]

:cow: :cow: :cow:

This seems so simple to me: Trista was trying to get help for an addiction, and she has been punished for it in every possible way, including the constant bashing of her decision on the internet. To me that's adding insult to injury, since she is a mother who has lost a child through no action of her own.

If this was just a custody case, and Justin didn't return Ayla when agreed, everyone would be on Trista's side. But somehow it's twisted around so that Trista should have protected Ayla when the child was out of her control, and under the complete control of the Dipietros.

Going into rehab should have been a positive choice for Ayla and her sibling. Don't we want to encourage people to get help if they need it? Don't we want them to be better parents?





But the minute she was out of the way, going to get help for herself, Justin D. took advantage of the situation and for unknown reasons suddenly wanted Ayla to live with him.

Yeah, Trista made decisions, then Justin made decisions.

But can we at least let Justin take some grown-up boy responsibility for being in charge of Ayla when she disappeared? :cow: And not just him, but all the other grown-ups in that house?

Trista wasn't there. This case really isn't about what Trista did or didn't do. JMOO :cow:

LE is putting the blame where it belongs, in my opinion. They looked in that house in Waterville and found many hinky things. They said the stories don't pass the smell test. I don't really care about how "normal" the DiPietro's say that night was - it seems it was anything but normal.

Thank you for posting this. People judge people who are addicts. At least she was seeking help. People with an addiction are not bad people they are sick people. It doesn't make her a bad mom. At 1st I thought maybe she took the child but now I'm not thinking that. People need to stop judging her. I'm sure she has enough guilt. We need to support her and help her get through her addiction. People need to understand more and quit being so judgemental towards addiction.