TX - Colton Turner, 2, Cedar Park, 11 Sept 2014 #1 *Arrests*

[watergirl62]

A write up of the aunt's interview has been posted here:

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/story/26619119/could-coltons-law-help-abused-children-survive

*snip*

Helfrich says when her daughter showed her and her husband Keith disturbing images of a battered and bruised Colton that she was determined to take matters into her own hands, mounting a desperate plea to save the child from his own mother. “I was told unless you had a location the jurisdictional laws don't allow for you to randomly go to any police departments in Texas.”

The couple consulted an attorney about getting custody but was told without Meagan or Colton's location, removing the child would be nearly impossible.

 

[renarde]

The Travis County Medical Examiners Office is unable to determine if the body recovered in Southeast Austin earlier this month is 2-year-old Colton Turner's.

http://www.kvue.com/story/news/local/2014/09/24/former-cps-workers-say-caseloads-too-much/16175737/

 

[renarde]

Interview with Meagan's aunt, Raquel Helfrich. Is this Tayleen's sister?

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/clip/10615128/meagan-works-aunt-speaks-out

I didn't see her name in Talyeen's obituary.

http://www.jacksonvilleprogress.com...f41-5aa9-5f2c-91d0-97caf249e83e.html?mode=jqm

 

[JeannaT]

It sounds like there was no usable DNA left and it seems likely he had never been to a dentist at his young age.

I would think you could legally presume that's Colton.

On the other hand, Travis County had a case many years ago where a car appeared to be in a wreck and caught fire. The driver of the car, burned to nearly charcoal, was presumed to be the owner of the car who was now missing. Not so. The body in the driver seat had been exhumed from a graveyard and placed in the driver seat to facilitate the disappearance of the owner of the car. Thank goodness med examiner Dr. Bayardo was thorough.

I wonder why in this case they can't get DNA through bone marrow? Could it be that the presumed father is not actually Colton's father?

 

[renarde]

It sounds like there was no usable DNA left and it seems likely he had never been to a dentist at his young age.

I would think you could legally presume that's Colton.

On the other hand, Travis County had a case many years ago where a car appeared to be in a wreck and caught fire. The driver of the car, burned to nearly charcoal, was presumed to be the owner of the car who was now missing. Not so. The body in the driver seat had been exhumed from a graveyard and placed in the driver seat to facilitate the disappearance of the owner of the car. Thank goodness med examiner Dr. Bayardo was thorough.

I wonder why in this case they can't get DNA through bone marrow? Could it be that the presumed father is not actually Colton's father?

Travis County can't do it but they are sending samples to a DNA lab at the University of North Texas. Probably the same lab used to identify Hailey Dunn's remains: http://m.ktxs.com/news/remains-disc...ssing-colorado-city-teen-hailey-dunn/19392544

 

[watergirl62]

I didn't see her name in Talyeen's obituary.

http://www.jacksonvilleprogress.com...f41-5aa9-5f2c-91d0-97caf249e83e.html?mode=jqm

Thanks, then she is Sidney's sister.

 

[renarde]

Thanks, then she is Sidney's sister.

Or sister-in-law.

 

[watergirl62]

Travis County can't do it but they are sending samples to a DNA lab at the University of North Texas. Probably the same lab used to identify Hailey Dunn's remains: http://m.ktxs.com/news/remains-disc...ssing-colorado-city-teen-hailey-dunn/19392544

They do mitochondrial DNA testing.

http://www.hsc.unt.edu/departments/pathology_anatomy/dna/Forensics/Services/Services.cfm

 

[renarde]

Same lab as in the Hailey Dunn case... how long will it be for Colton? It might be a long time. I didn't know Hailey Dunn still hadn't been buried... and it's been a year and a half.

http://www.oaoa.com/editorial/article_55fdbdaa-3ac9-11e4-9a8f-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm

 

[Knox]

Same lab as in the Hailey Dunn case... how long will it be for Colton? It might be a long time. I didn't know Hailey Dunn still hadn't been buried... and it's been a year and a half.

http://www.oaoa.com/editorial/article_55fdbdaa-3ac9-11e4-9a8f-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm

We have discussed this in her thread over and over; IMO, Hailey's remains are not waiting to be tested, they are being held for evidence.

 

[MyBelle]

MyBelle - I don't think any of us know for sure, but reading between the lines I think that was a July 4th gathering. It's not clear he was "dropped off", but his cousin and another adult (you can see two sets of hands in the photos) took those horrific photos out of sight of the mother. There are scratches and bruises on his face, and scratches or whip marks in different stages of healing as well as very deep large bruises on his hips and back.

That photo was taken, as I understand it, the last time anyone else besides Meagan and Turner saw Colton. I'm sure his family would give anything to be able to rewind the calendar and take him to the ER instead of just taking photos. It's awful watching them grieve.

The point is that none of us knows for sure when the photos were taken or by whom. So it really isn't fair to point fingers that they did something "wrong" and failed to help him as you implicated in your post. We still do not know if the child was beaten to death by his mother or the boyfriend or both. But his father isn't to blame. He wasn't beaten "to death by his parents."

JeannaT

Quote Originally Posted by MyBelle View Post
Investigation into CPS failure to follow up is underway.

http://www.ksat.com/content/pns/ksat...d-s-death.html
"He's been the subject of four investigations" according to the article.

So it seems they did follow up, in some way. As always, it seems when a child is beaten to death by his parents if CPS has been involved they get blamed. Caseworkers don't have crystal balls, though, and can't predict all the time when things will go really horribly wrong.

I'm still marveling at the beautiful pictures of this child where he is happy and healthy. And there are a lot of them. I wonder what the timing is between when Turner got out of prison, and when abuses occurred with this child.

 

[MyBelle]

It sounds like there was no usable DNA left and it seems likely he had never been to a dentist at his young age.

I would think you could legally presume that's Colton.

On the other hand, Travis County had a case many years ago where a car appeared to be in a wreck and caught fire. The driver of the car, burned to nearly charcoal, was presumed to be the owner of the car who was now missing. Not so. The body in the driver seat had been exhumed from a graveyard and placed in the driver seat to facilitate the disappearance of the owner of the car. Thank goodness med examiner Dr. Bayardo was thorough.

I wonder why in this case they can't get DNA through bone marrow? Could it be that the presumed father is not actually Colton's father?

How on earth could the state legally presume the body was Colton?

 

[txmama]

It sounds like there was no usable DNA left and it seems likely he had never been to a dentist at his young age.

I would think you could legally presume that's Colton.

On the other hand, Travis County had a case many years ago where a car appeared to be in a wreck and caught fire. The driver of the car, burned to nearly charcoal, was presumed to be the owner of the car who was now missing. Not so. The body in the driver seat had been exhumed from a graveyard and placed in the driver seat to facilitate the disappearance of the owner of the car. Thank goodness med examiner Dr. Bayardo was thorough.

I wonder why in this case they can't get DNA through bone marrow? Could it be that the presumed father is not actually Colton's father?

Unfortunately this was a Leander case too.

http://www.myplainview.com/article_cd9ad69f-bd09-548e-bb52-f425d9da3e65.html

 

[watergirl62]

Txmama I'm not finding the story you linked to. Help? TIA.

 

[SCHMAE]

The Travis County Medical Examiners Office is unable to determine if the body recovered in Southeast Austin earlier this month is 2-year-old Colton Turner's.

http://www.kvue.com/story/news/local/2014/09/24/former-cps-workers-say-caseloads-too-much/16175737/

Oh spit

 

[Knox]

We checked to see just how overloaded caseworkers are right now. Last month, on average, a CPS caseworker in Travis County had 21.4 cases.

Williamson County caseworkers had 12.8 and for Hays County 14.2.

In June, a report was released calling for 'dramatic improvements' and changes to CPS. The report cited CPS would make changes within 90 days from the report's release.
http://www.kvue.com/story/news/local/2014/09/24/former-cps-workers-say-caseloads-too-much/16175737/

Here are a few of the recommendations from the report:

• Implement Sunset recommendation to halt work on 13 non-essential projects, such as regional work groups, to re-focus attention on CPS' core mission of child protection.
• Reduce the current seven day safety assessment process to 24-hours to better assess the risk to a child and intervene more quickly in the most serious cases.
• Make better use of available state databases to more quickly locate families.
• Improve the ability to find permanent homes for foster children who cannot be reunited with families.
• Improve materials and services for Spanish-speaking families.
• Work with the Legislature to eliminate or streamline laws that create unnecessary steps for caseworkers unrelated to child protection.
• Rewrite the CPS policy guide.
• Restructure CPS headquarters staff to sharpen the lines of responsibility and accountability.
• Assign cases based on the needs of children and families, and the capabilities of individual caseworkers, instead of randomly.

CPS manages between 160,000 and 180,000 investigations every year. About one third of these investigations find abuse.

Commissioner Specia says some of the changes can be made within 90 days.

The Health and Human Services Commission hired The Stephen Group to conduct the review.

Go here to review the recommendations and the assessment of CPS.

 

[Knox]

Same lab as in the Hailey Dunn case... how long will it be for Colton? It might be a long time. I didn't know Hailey Dunn still hadn't been buried... and it's been a year and a half.

http://www.oaoa.com/editorial/article_55fdbdaa-3ac9-11e4-9a8f-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm

I think they will push the DNA test through quickly, in order to make the murder charge.

 

[JeannaT]

How on earth could the state legally presume the body was Colton?

[modsnip] What do you think the state did before the 1980's, when DNA identification was perfected? They presumed the identity of a decedent based on evidence.

People are put in prison even when bodies aren't located, MyBelle. There can be enough evidence to presume - correctly - that a person was murdered and by whom. I don't think it's a huge stretch to presume legally that this is Colton.

 

[MyBelle]

A write up of the aunt's interview has been posted here:

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/story/26619119/could-coltons-law-help-abused-children-survive

*snip*

Helfrich says when her daughter showed her and her husband Keith disturbing images of a battered and bruised Colton that she was determined to take matters into her own hands, mounting a desperate plea to save the child from his own mother. “I was told unless you had a location the jurisdictional laws don't allow for you to randomly go to any police departments in Texas.”

The couple consulted an attorney about getting custody but was told without Meagan or Colton's location, removing the child would be nearly impossible.

BBM. That's EXACTLY what needs to change. The jurisdictional issue is very real and it isn't just a state issue but a federal one. I totally support a Colton's law not just in every state but on an interstate basis. Parents move from jurisdiction to jurisdiction to keep their children from the other parent and no agency will step in and help. There is no federal law preventing a parent from kidnapping their own child within the United States and there needs to be. In fact, the current federal kidnapping statute explicitly does NOT apply to kidnappings of minor children by parents unless they leave the United States. It's ridiculous.

I can't begin to fathom the pain and frustration felt by Colton's family. Some good needs to come from this tragedy.

JMO

 

[MyBelle]

[modsnip] What do you think the state did before the 1980's, when DNA identification was perfected? They presumed the identity of a decedent based on evidence.

People are put in prison even when bodies aren't located, MyBelle. There can be enough evidence to presume - correctly - that a person was murdered and by whom. I don't think it's a huge stretch to presume legally that this is Colton.

The body was located [modsnip] The mother has told a number of lies to law enforcement.

JMO