Signs unheeded before Hollywood boys cruel death | Miami Herald Miami Herald
Updated at 10:47 PM
The purple bruises on either side of Ahizya Osceolas jaw were telltale signs: Someone, a child abuse expert said, had grabbed the 3-year-olds face forcefully enough to leave fingerprints.
But Ahizyas bruised jaw was only a small part of what the boy faced. The states abuse hotline received a report on April 21, 2014, that he had scratches on both sides of his neck, and a large bruise and bump on his forehead. Two weeks earlier, teachers saw a pinch mark on one ear, a bruise behind the other and two bruises on his face.
Two weeks before that, Ahizya had a busted lip, another scratch on his face, a bruise on his shoulder blade and pinches and bruises on his ears. Ahizya told his preschool teacher that daddy hit him with a belt. His father, Nelson Osceola, instead described an active and clumsy toddler who frequently injured himself in run-ins with furniture, walls, a toilet and other children during an Easter party.
Broward County child protection investigators discounted the possibility of abuse and left him with a father who had a lengthy rap sheet including aggravated assault charges and a history of alleged drug use. The Broward Sheriffs Office had one last chance to intervene in December, when the states abuse hotline was told that Ahizyas stepmother had beaten his bottom, and he had bruises and abrasions on his face. But that call, too, went unheeded.
The report added: The father smokes marijuana daily, and Ahizya smells like smoke when hes around him. Whenever the mother drops Ahizya to the fathers house, he has unexplained bruises and appears to be lighter.
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The states Child Protection Team, which examines children for signs of abuse, concluded that Ahizyas injuries were consistent with the familys explanation that the toddler had hit his head on a bunk bed. Cypress signed a safety plan agreeing to accept better-parenting services from the tribe.
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When Ahizya was observed by an investigator, he sported a red mark on the side of his left eye.
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But the reports kept coming (after 1/21/14). The next allegation arrived on April 21, 2014. Though the source of the complaint is confidential, the report makes clear that Ahizyas preschool teachers were concerned that he kept arriving at the Nob Hill Academy covered in bruises. Ahizya, the report said, has been observed with several bruises on a weekly basis.
Ahizya told his teacher that his dad hit him with a belt. He later told an investigator he fell in his room.
Osceola said the boy hit his head at an Easter party. And he had explanations for all the other bruises, as well: Ahizya bumped his head on a bed at home. He fell in the bathtub. He fell off a toilet. He falls all the time [and] sometimes does not pay attention to where he is walking, and will walk into the table, the counter tops and other things.
The father also advised the child will bruise easily as his immune system is low, a report said.
The Child Protection Team found no evidence that most of the childs extensive bruising resulted from child abuse. But the fingerprints on Ahizyas jaw were worrisome, a report said, and positive for physical abuse. Someone, a report said, had grabbed the boys face with enough force to cause oval-shaped bruises.
The investigation was closed in June 2014 when Osceola signed a safety plan pledging to keep Ahizya safe, and a counselor from the tribe was assigned to monitor his compliance. The safety plan itself was not included in the documents provided to reporters Wednesday. Generally, they are written promises to avoid drugs, violence or other behaviors that are dangerous to children. Lawmakers essentially banned promissory note safety plans last spring as part of an overhaul of child welfare laws.
On Dec. 7, DCF received one last report, once again alleging physical abuse. Cypress picked up her son for a visit and noticed a bruise on his cheek. The boys bottom was hurt, too, and he said his mommy referring to Analiz Osceola was responsible for his sore bottom. When Cypress asked Osceola about the bruising, he said, once again, that the little boy had fallen.
There is concern that Ahizya is being abused at the fathers house, the report said. There is concern that anytime something happens to Ahizya, the father will say that he has fallen.
Nelson and Analiz Osceola denied harming the boy, and the investigation was closed, once again, without findings of physical abuse.
Kenneth Tommie, the toddlers maternal grandfather, said he did not understand the states decision not to act on the December report.
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He was scared, Tommie said. He didnt want to go home.
Read more here:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article16291724.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article16291724.html
Inexcusable handling of this case by DCF - IMHO. There must be a full internal investigation of the "handling" (or lack thereof) of these complaints. :furious:
Ahizya shouldn't have had to die for people to actually pay attention! No one can help him now! :tears:
:rose:
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raying:
