MI - Nevaeh Buchanan, 5, Monroe, 24 May 2009 - Body found - #6

[MissJames]

I haven't caught up but I want to respond to the above. While I understand the point that is being made, one thing is sticking in my craw. Everyone is acting as if JB was adjudicated to be unfit, and custody was taken away from her. This is not the case. GM was guardian simply bc JB was going to prison and for no other reason that I am aware of. GM still had custody, but that, I believe, was more a function of not having gone to the court to change custody back to JB. No one ever said that JB couldn't care for NB, be around NB, or anything of the sort. And her conviction for home invasion would not lead to that conclusion, either, as the crime has nothing to do with harming her.

Just because someone has committed a felony does not mean that their parental rights are terminated.

They don't have rights TERMINATED ,but depending on the crime ,they often lose custody.This is considered temporary until the parent completes whatever plan social services and the courts deem necessary.If they can't get it together then rights are often terminated.Most SS's try to keep kids with family.
I have no idea what,if any, conditions social services put on JB having Neveah.I don't even know if SS had anything to do with GM having custody.What upsets me is Gm leaving Neveah with mom when she knew who mom was hanging with. I also suspect gm was aware that mom wasn't the greatest babysitter.

 

[Scarlett]

fwiw, iirc the grandmother decided to go ahead and assume custody/apply for it before Jennifer was sentenced. This was per a media interview with the brother very early on in the case...

In Monroe county there is approximately a month between a plea and sentencing. In the meantime, the probation dept. does what is called a pre-sentence recommendation report where a p.o. interviews the defendant and, based on that interview and the scoring of the guidelines, makes a recommendation to the Judge regarding what the sentence should be.

She knew she was going to do time, so I am sure JB and GM were making the necessary arrangements, even though she hadn't been sentenced yet.

 

[eyes4crime]

I know I'll be bombarded, but I want to say this about Jennifer! Why is it that so many people need to cast guilt and blame on her? This young woman (24yo) has just lost her child in the most horrible of circumstances...yes, she was guilty for not following her child upstairs, downstairs, and outside, but how many mothers do the exact same thing? I don't see ANY benefit in continuing to discuss why and how Jennifer is guilty...I want to discuss how and why beautiful Nevaeh was found in concrete! Children disappear from their beds, from rich people, poor people, educated, intelligent, and uneducated and low IQ...there are NO barriers protecting children from pedophiles, murderers, or abuse...all children are vulnerable. You can talk about what constitutes 'good mothering' all you want, and each of us would have different perspective.


...is there any such thing as the perfect mother? We view mothering from our own vantage point, our role models, lifestyle, IQ, education, status, and ability to make, what we feel, are good JUDGEMENTS...and the like. The NG interview was a disgrace to everyone who wants to support a grieving mother who is in agony and is feeling guilt. Jennifer has managed to live her life with the defenses of denial and minimization - maybe that's how she, herself has survived. Her child was found encased in CEMENT...a crime more like the mafia rather than a pedophile....she has to deal with this tragedy in the best way she knows how.

 

[Scarlett]

They don't have rights TERMINATED ,but depending on the crime ,they often lose custody.This is considered temporary until the parent completes whatever plan social services and the courts deem necessary.If they can't get it together then rights are often terminated.Most SS's try to keep kids with family.
I have no idea what,if any, conditions social services put on JB having Neveah.I don't even know if SS had anything to do with GM having custody.What upsets me is Gm leaving Neveah with mom when she knew who mom was hanging with. I also suspect gm was aware that mom wasn't the greatest babysitter.

I can tell you this is not the case in Monroe COunty.

 

[amysmom]

I have seen several sources saying she did 9-11 months but according to the link above the offense was in 8-2006, she was sentenced in 12-2006, 2 year minimum, released 01-26-09. So she missed two plus years of with Neveah? And was home for a 120 days before her daughter was dead? And GK says they have known each other for two years, but she was in jail two years ago so how did they meet at the parole office? I am confused, again, or still.

Bold by me

I'm very confused by this also & IIRC she's said the same thing so what gives?

 

[not_my_kids]

I haven't heard the father say this. Was this on NG? Is there a link? Is there something definitive that states that CPS was involved? I haven't read that on any of the news sites. I vaguely remember a talking head on NG saying that, but then there was a reason that it made no sense at the time. I remember us discussing it here as it was happening. Was it on the night that her body was found? (just trying to jog my own memory).

I've been reading transcripts looking for the quote, and haven't found it. I think it was an article. The quote I remember would have been from the day that they found Nevaeh's body, and her father said something along the lines of how hard he had fought for custody followed by a comment about how he and the state both tried to save her, but no one listened.

Then I see all the social worker talk and people blaming the state...So if anyone else has a link, could you post it? I am going to find this article if it kills me.

 

[Scarlett]

Okay...here we go. I could not walk down the embankment. I was in a suit and heels, but even if I were in something more appropriate, there is no way I could have done it without something to rappel me down. All the pics are from above.

view from behind my car as I parked and walked toward the site:

 

[Scarlett]

looking back at the road as I was walking to the site:

walking up to the drop...you can see from this picture that it is steep by the fact that you can't see anything past the dirt except for the water below:

Looking down the path...very deceiving. This picture makes it look walkable...it is not. Notice, though, the rocks and vines in the path. The crushed grass on the left is from LE, ME and now visitors:

 

[Scarlett]

close up of memorial where Nevaeh was found:

long shot of memorial from above:

close up of path leading down to site:

 

[Scarlett]

another of the memorial

looking down on the memorial (the left)

another distance shot

that is about all. the rest are duplicates. I am going to work up to going back and trying to get down to the actual site. I will need hubby to go with me and I will need to get up the nerve.

 

[eyes4crime]

Scarlett - THANKS SO MUCH! You are a real trooper and your photography is fantastic. I had no idea it was on such a deep slope - can't imagine how anybody would get a body, cement, water, and a shovel down there. Looks like a boat could get real close - maybe that's how it all came bout. Thanks again!

 

[momtective]

I can't see any bond whatsoever between Nevaeh and her mother Jennifer. The rumor that Jennifer committed a robbery while 4 month old Nevaeh was left unattended in the get away vehicle say's a lot. The fact that Jennifer was incarcerated most of Nevaeh's life say's even more. I'm just guessing here but I think the relationship between the two at the time of Nevaeh's disappearance was simply a baby-sitter type relationship. Jennifer simply earned her keep at Sherry & Nevaeh's apartment, babysitting Nevaeh while Sherry worked to support all three of them. JMHO of course.
I suspect she was the type of horrible baby-sitter we all fear, self-serving, irresponsible and neglectful.
Sherry was the one who had the mother-daughter bond with little Nevaeh and my heart hurts deeply for this lady.

 

[doobiedoo52]

Thanks for the pictures Scarlett. If you actually go down to the site, it would be nice to know how much of a drop to the edge of the water or is it right up to bank?

 

[Scarlett]

Thanks for the pictures Scarlett. If you actually go down to the site, it would be nice to know how much of a drop to the edge of the water or is it right up to bank?

I have been up too long. I don't understand the question, and that is all me. Are you asking how close NB was to the water, or how steep the drop is?

 

[kiki the parrot]

Listen, I am not trying to pick a fight with you. If I misunderstood your post, I apologize. My understanding is based on the following portion of your post:


This is not the first time in this thread or the previous threads on this topic that I have seen someone make the inference that JB couldn't be around NB. That is what I am getting from your post and, I admit, there have been several that have flat out asked "didn't CPS know she was with NB? Did anyone call CPS and tell them that JB was around NB? etc"

I am sorry if you don't like legalistic points of view. However,I think that a legalistic view is much more helpful than an overly emotional one. While I have many emotions about this case, I try very hard to separate those emotions when I am reviewing the facts of the case. And when I see something being misunderstood or repetitively mis-stated, I speak up. I am sorry that you are the one I chose to speak up with, as you are certainly not the first one to infer or state that JB couldn't be around NB.

I apolgize to all for the detour. I will stay on topic from now on.

I've explained my position which you seem to still be mischaracterizing. There is a difference between legal, and legalistic. A "legal" point of view is one w which both the law, and I, are concerned--protecting the child's overall welfare, including their emotional, moral, physical and material best interests. "Legalistic" refers to an overpreoccupation w whether a given behavior or activity is technically illegal--regardless of those factors. My position is passionate but based upon principles and hardly clouded by excessive emotion. It seems the focus of your attack is misdirected, as *I* actually never said once (much less "repetitively misstated") that JB was prohibited, legally or otherwise, from merely "being around" her daughter. I said that her mother no longer had custody; and that her further choice to expose her daughter to sex offenders while in her care was what jeopardized her daughter's safety. I stand by that position and hope others will feel equally strongly re any parent or guardian's ultimate responsibility to be the primary protector of their child.


arrot:

 

[momtective]

Okay...here we go. I could not walk down the embankment. I was in a suit and heels, but even if I were in something more appropriate, there is no way I could have done it without something to repel me down. All the pics are from above.

Thank you so much Scarlett for such a wonderful contribution to this forum. Do you think it would have been possible to wheel a cooler down that incline? I'm guessing not but I'd like to know your opinion. TIA

 

[Scarlett]

Thank you so much Scarlett for such a wonderful contribution to this forum. Do you think it would have been possible to wheel a cooler down that incline? I'm guessing not but I'd like to know your opinion. TIA

you could potentially drag it behind you if you could manage down the path on foot. It would bump around a lot bc of the rocks and roots. if you rappelled down the path you would have to strap it to you somehow. If it was light enough he could have tossed it. it could have landed on the bank, but more likely would have gone into the water. it would have floated in the water for a minute before it sank, so maybe he would have had time to get down there after tossing it.

I don't know. just looking at it today it seemed impossible to do what we all know he somehow managed to do.

 

[not_my_kids]

you could potentially drag it behind you if you could manage down the path on foot. It would bump around a lot bc of the rocks and roots. if you repelled down the path you would have to strap it to you somehow. If it was light enough he could have tossed it. it could have landed on the bank if, but more likely would have gone into the water. it would have floated in the water for a minute before it sank, so maybe he would have had time to get down there after tossing it.

I don't know. just looking at it today it seemed impossible to do what we all know he somehow managed to do.

Would it have been possible if she were tied into a wheelbarrow or wrapped in something and just kind of thrown over the drop? God, these are hard questions.

 

[momtective]

Could a cooler such as this one have been taken down that slope?
Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Disposal of Naveah's body: Theories

 

[Scarlett]

Would it have been possible if she were tied into a wheelbarrow or wrapped in something and just kind of thrown over the drop? God, these are hard questions.

he could have put her in a wheelbarrow and pushed her down, but it would be difficult with that type of momentum to keep it from going into the water. he could throw her over the drop, but again...she would hit the water. And I am assuming that he is doing this in the dead of night. There are no street lights out there. it is very rural. He would have to have brought some type of light with him to do what he had to do.

I am thinking maybe I should take my camcorder out there and post the video. If I did that, how could I post it here?