GUILTY NY - Evanna Tranberg-Bennett, 12, died, parents failed to get her medical care, 6 Dec 2019 Probation

[Lusitana]

Austerlitz couple accused of failing to get care for dying daughter

A husband and wife accused of failing to get medical attention for their 12-year-old daughter who died while suffering from kidney failure and pneumonia were arraigned on a criminal complaint filed by the Columbia County sheriff's office that charges them with manslaughter.

Steven Bennett, 58, and Heidi Tranberg-Bennett, 47, were charged with second-degree manslaughter Monday, nearly 11 months after their daughter, Evanna, died at Albany Medical Center Hospital after she was rushed to ambulance from the family's home on County Route 9, District Attorney Paul Czajka said.

The couple failed to seek medical care and disregarded the risk of death for their daughter "despite their awareness of her increasingly severe and apparent symptoms of pneumonia and end-stage renal disease including swelling of her legs and abdomen, weeping legs and increasing lethargy over a period of at least a week and as a result of their failure, the child died on Dec. 6, 2019," the complaint filed by Inv. William Dunspaugh states.

 

[borndem]

Austerlitz couple accused of failing to get care for dying daughter

>>> very respectfully snipped by borndem to save room <<<

Beautifully done, @Lusitana! Thanks for starting this thread for all of us. ....

And a big Thanks to the Mods for letting us get this out here so quickly!! .

 

[meanmaryjean]

Justice for Evanna

 

[borndem]

Re Manslaughter in the Second Degree in NY:
--------------------------------------------------------
New York Involuntary Manslaughter Laws - FindLaw
statelaws.findlaw.com › new-york-law › new-york-invo...
Mar 26, 2018 — A person commits second-degree manslaughter when he or she (a) recklessly causes the death of another person; (b) commits an unjustified ...

 

[Lusitana]

Can someone access the Court's website and maybe share any information about them, their charges and what might be happening next?

 

[MsMarple]

Court documents now reveal the child had been suffering from severe symptoms of pneumonia and renal disease.

None of which, court documents allege, the suspects got her appropriate medical care for.

Sheriff David P. Bartlett states, “I am grateful to all who spent countless hours working on this case, and to those who will continue to work hard until this matter is resolved. This was a true team effort by all persons and agencies involved.”
Two charged in 2019 death of Austerlitz 12-year-old

I haven't been able to find arrest or court records. I can search for names but Columbia County isn't listed as a court option except for Family Court. Please let us know if anyone finds a good search engine.
Columbia Supreme, County, Family and Surrogate Courts - 3JD | NYCOURTS.GOV
NYCOURTS.GOV - New York State Unified Court System

 

[MsMarple]

Re Manslaughter in the Second Degree in NY:
--------------------------------------------------------
New York Involuntary Manslaughter Laws - FindLaw
statelaws.findlaw.com › new-york-law › new-york-invo...
Mar 26, 2018 — A person commits second-degree manslaughter when he or she (a) recklessly causes the death of another person; (b) commits an unjustified ...

Manslaughter in the second degree is a class C felony which carries a minimum sentence of 1 to 3 years in prison and a maximum period of incarceration of 5 to 15 years.
Manslaughter in the Second Degree- NY Criminal Defense

At first I thought it was a soft charge but I see that the parents can certainly go to jail and it doesn't seem too difficult to prove.

 

[Lusitana]

Court documents now reveal the child had been suffering from severe symptoms of pneumonia and renal disease.

None of which, court documents allege, the suspects got her appropriate medical care for.

Sheriff David P. Bartlett states, “I am grateful to all who spent countless hours working on this case, and to those who will continue to work hard until this matter is resolved. This was a true team effort by all persons and agencies involved.”
Two charged in 2019 death of Austerlitz 12-year-old

I haven't been able to find arrest or court records. I can search for names but Columbia County isn't listed as a court option except for Family Court. Please let us know if anyone finds a good search engine.
Columbia Supreme, County, Family and Surrogate Courts - 3JD | NYCOURTS.GOV
NYCOURTS.GOV - New York State Unified Court System

I have a really hard time believing this poor child wasn't complaining a lot. How could so many people not notice any symptons of a) pneumonia AND b) end-stage renal disease. She had to be in a lot of pain, her last weeks alive must have been terrible for her.

 

[meanmaryjean]

End stage renal disease is a terrible way to die. The build-up of uric acid causes intense, never-ending itching and the fluid retention can stretch the skin to the point where it literally weeps fluid. The thought of a child suffering this because their parents would not seek medical attention is just too awful to ponder.

 

[Filly]

End stage renal disease is a terrible way to die. The build-up of uric acid causes intense, never-ending itching and the fluid retention can stretch the skin to the point where it literally weeps fluid. The thought of a child suffering this because their parents would not seek medical attention is just too awful to ponder.

This poor little girl. What suffering she had to be in.

Most of the postings on their FB and others mostly all focus on the other children which were removed from their home. An argument with a grandmother who would take custody of two of the children.

The few things they say about Evanna is the EMT killed her. I would have thought this all had to do with Religious beliefs. No. Thank God she is not suffering now, but sooo young. A life ahead of her.

 

[greyarea]

This case is so troubling. Just to comment, the astonishingly verbose Facebook posts the family has been putting up seem bizarre in the extreme. If you search “Tranberg Bennett family” on FB you can see their page. It’s paragraph after paragraph of the same explanations ad nauseam. I’ve never seen anything like it. They are attempting to use legal-speak in order to defend themselves on social Media (maybe thinking this will help their criminal case?). It doesn’t make sense, one would think legal counsel would be advising them against this.

1. Does anyone know why a case like this would last so long in the investigation phase—-almost a year?

2. according to a local paper some of the kids were sent home. Couple pleads not guilty in girl’s death
Is it common when a large group of children who live together (but with separate guardians) to have only some of them taken away from the custody of an abusive parent while leaving the others in that same home?

P.S. I think based on their dogmatic explanations and complete faith in how they describe the actions of their family and the creepy praise of their father figure (especially in their early posts) there is some element of cult-ism here. Also if you have the energy to go back and read the original posts, they kind of invent the choking aspect of the child’s death along the way. (Such a sad thing to read and follow) They don’t mention it in their original posts. They talk about how she vomited during the resuscitation and then in later posts kind morph into a choking incident.

 

[Lusitana]

This case is so troubling. Just to comment, the astonishingly verbose Facebook posts the family has been putting up seem bizarre in the extreme. If you search “Tranberg Bennett family” on FB you can see their page. It’s paragraph after paragraph of the same explanations ad nauseam. I’ve never seen anything like it. They are attempting to use legal-speak in order to defend themselves on social Media (maybe thinking this will help their criminal case?). It doesn’t make sense, one would think legal counsel would be advising them against this.

1. Does anyone know why a case like this would last so long in the investigation phase—-almost a year?

2. according to a local paper some of the kids were sent home. Couple pleads not guilty in girl’s death
Is it common when a large group of children who live together (but with separate guardians) to have only some of them taken away from the custody of an abusive parent while leaving the others in that same home?

P.S. I think based on their dogmatic explanations and complete faith in how they describe the actions of their family and the creepy praise of their father figure (especially in their early posts) there is some element of cult-ism here. Also if you have the energy to go back and read the original posts, they kind of invent the choking aspect of the child’s death along the way. (Such a sad thing to read and follow) They don’t mention it in their original posts. They talk about how she vomited during the resuscitation and then in later posts kind morph into a choking incident.

The Facebook page is very... interesting, to say the least. I'm unsure if we are allowed to discuss what has been posted there, but I'm going to alert a mod to this post so we can have that figured out. I think it would be very important for us to comment on those posts.

 

[Sillybilly]

The Facebook page is very... interesting, to say the least. I'm unsure if we are allowed to discuss what has been posted there, but I'm going to alert a mod to this post so we can have that figured out. I think it would be very important for us to comment on those posts.

The FB pages appears to have been set up by the parents as it indicates it is in relation to their 'beloved daughter Evanna'.

As the parents have been charged in Evanna's death, their social media is allowed to be sleuthed.

Tranberg-Bennett Family

 

[Lusitana]

The FB pages appears to have been set up by the parents as it indicates it is in relation to their 'beloved daughter Evanna'.

As the parents have been charged in Evanna's death, their social media is allowed to be sleuthed.

Thank you @Sillybilly!

 

[Sillybilly]

So, let's all post pics of a loaf of bread and other good eats on a FB page supposedly set up regarding the death of our daughter?

Never mind

 

[shotgun09]

I was here last December, when this case was first brought to WS, ( and quickly removed ) The case has haunted me, and I must admit to following the family's story on their FB page. I was instantly appalled at the food and anti-school and anti-vaccine rants, as if that had anything to do with this poor child's death. What really got my goat was when there was instant and direct accusations of the paramedics and police, who valiantly tried to save her. She was so sick, and so negligently ignored. Justice for this precious soul!

 

[shotgun09]

The parents live in a very large home, with many children, some of them adults with children of their own. Evanna's sister was the one who posted the story here, back in December of last year.

 

[Lusitana]

I suspect they are not living in the same house anymore. Because it really wouldn't make any sense to return the grandchildren and not the children if the paretns pose a risk.

 

[shotgun09]

I believe all the adults are still at the home, and the many children and grandchildren are in foster care.

 

[Lusitana]

I believe all the adults are still at the home, and the many children and grandchildren are in foster care.

Two sets of children were taken out of the home when Evanna was rushed to the hospital, one set were the victim's siblings, and the other set of children were her nieces and nephews. Evanna's nieces and nephews were just recently returned to their mother and father(s), their mother is Evanna's older sister. Her siblings, Heidi and Steven's children were not returned and are still in foster care.