NE - Gary Malm for starving, neglecting 1yo son, Omaha, 2004

[Casshew]

I'd love to cuddle the little peanut myself!!

Aww shucks LP... thanks, but you are not my type

 

[Brefie]

No, Brefie, I haven't read them. I don't think I could handle it. I cry just reading these little snippets we have here on WS. I don't understand the singling out of one child either. Maybe when I get some time, I'll do some research on this topic and see what I can dig up.

I'll keep it in mind and try to dig up something, too. Let's keep each other posted. It's an interesting topic.
Those books are terrible, so very sad. Thank God he came out okay and is doing what he can for others.

 

[Doyle]

another person to read in this area is Torey Hayden..

she has written about some heartbreaking stories.
One Child, Murphy's Boy, Tiger's child, Just Another Kid.

 

[seamless]

I'll keep it in mind and try to dig up something, too. Let's keep each other posted. It's an interesting topic.
Those books are terrible, so very sad. Thank God he came out okay and is doing what he can for others.

I have a thought about that. I have three children and after all three had postpartum depression. The last time was the worst. Thank God!!!! for my wonderful family. I did not love my baby when he was born. I took care of him because I knew I should and because my family was there constantly the first few months. They also made sure I talked to my doctor about it. I really thought it was okay that I didn't love him. I thougth that if he died I wouldn't even shed a tear. It is almost sickening to think about now that my mind is working correctly. I don't know about men but I think that some of the time things like this happen it must be a mental illness. If I had been living a less stable life and didn't have the support I did who knows what would have happened? Of course now he is part of my heart and soul and I would just be lost without him.

I don't necessarily view it as an excuse but I think it is sad that the state of families in this country has allowed people who are mentally ill to function alone. Any person with a history of depression should not be left alone after such a life changing event to take care of children, especially a baby that is not at all able to care for itself.

 

[sariebell]

Brefie, those books you are talking about are "A child called It" and the following 2 or 3 books, I think. That is exactly what came to my mind when I read this thread. I read those books at the suggestion of my aunt a few years ago. Many people that I know who are teachers and social workers read those books to get a handle on just how horrible child abuse can get without the perps being held accountable. I would really suggest that everyone on these forums get those books and read them immediately, for I feel we are all child and victim advocates here.

This story cut me to the quick. I realize that Malm is mentally unstable, but there is no excuse for having kids and then leaving them to die! No excuse! There are just too many people out there willing to adopt and foster them. Better yet...DON'T HAVE KIDS IF YOU DON'T INTEND TO LOVE THEM FOREVER!

 

[Brefie]

Sariebell, those are exactly the books I mean.
I know what you are saying about adoption and fostering, but those situations also have a not too happy ending. We frequently read stories of child abuse at the hands of a foster / adopted parent. It also happens in those books.
There does need to be a huge reform on CPS. If I was a wealthy person, I would devote my life to it.

 

[LovelyPigeon]

A child ignored

'The system' didn't fail Devon. Those supposed to protect him were failures.

What can be said about Child Protective Services, which did not protect 14-month-old Devon Malm despite receiving repeated calls from people worried about his well-being?

"The system failed." No. The "system" didn't fail. The state employees who took at least four calls about filth, about bruises and a black eye, about possible drug use, about the deteriorating situation in the south Omaha home: They failed.

"A new system is in place to handle abuse calls." Oh? The calls to the state about little Devon began last fall. The new and improved system, designed to see that legitimate abuse reports don't tumble down a random rathole, was in place when most of the calls were received.

The child was rescued five months after the first call. He was so malnourished that he had to be rushed to a hospital. He had a gaping hole in his back from being left in his crib for a month. Exactly what did the new-and-improved system accomplish? "The governor and a task force that studied the 33 child abuse deaths since 1998 are pressing for more changes." Right. Bills are pending in the Legislature. The operative word is "pending."

Gov. Mike Johanns wants to spend $10.5 million over two years for more caseworkers, child-advocacy-center coordinators and attorneys to prosecute cases involving abuse, neglect and parental rights. The operative word is "wants."

"Well, the callers should have called back. More calls get more attention." We won't dignify that with a response.

The ordeal of Devon Malm was sickening. What is there worth saying about the people who might have done something about it?

Not much.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=608&u_sid=1048749

 

[GaGirl]

I can't even explain the feeling I get from reading this. I have an 11 month old and he is the most perfect, precious person in the world to me. I would gladly give my life to spare him pain. I don't understand how a "parent" could do this to a child. I hope this gets what he deserves and that this little angel is placed in a home that values each and every life.

 

[Babcat]

I can't even explain the feeling I get from reading this. I have an 11 month old and he is the most perfect, precious person in the world to me. I would gladly give my life to spare him pain. I don't understand how a "parent" could do this to a child. I hope this gets what he deserves and that this little angel is placed in a home that values each and every life.

GaGirl:
Amen to that! This man must have been terribly disturbed mentally. My youngest is nine, but I have no trouble remembering all my girls as babies.

I remember one time when it was terribly hot in the late summer, and the metal latch part on my daughter's baby carseat got very hot while we were shopping in Wal Mart. The other parts were cloth, (like canvas) and rubber/plastic, and when I went to put her in the seat they did not feel overly hot to the touch, so I had no clue the metal latch was burning hot. She was way too young to talk, about 4 months I guess. I pulled the harness thing over her head and went about adjusting the shoulder part "just so" and she started screaming. I had no idea why. I thought she was sitting on something sharp, or her skin was pinched, or a bee was in the seat and stung her. I was frantic... checking her all over... and she quieted to wimper after I got the harness all buckled down so I knew whatever it was it wasn't still hurting her. She was asleep by the time we got home, and when I went to put her in her crib I saw a blister on her thigh in the exact shape of that latch! Then of course I realized what happened and why she had screamed. I was so overcome with guilt that I cried for a half hour while she slept like nothing was wrong whatsoever. Even though I knew I had not caused her pain purposely, I just beat myself up over it wondering how I could have been so stupid and never thought of that. :doh:

When I read this story, that memory was the first thing I thought of... and that was in 1990! HOW on earth could someone knowingly and willingly hurt any baby, let alone their own baby? You would have to be either a total sociopath or mentally incapacitated.

 

[mommyd]

Babcat, I so understand that guilt! When my baby Audra got burned not too long ago, I felt so guilty......if I had only opened the curtain to the bathroom, and if I had only closed the gate.......but hind sight is 20/20 as they say. I still feel guilt to this day over it and I will probably for the rest of my life. I don't understand how parent's can abuse their children. It just isn't logical to me. I would lay down and die for any one of mine, in a second, without a thought.

I hope this man is sentenced to the full extent the law will allow.

God Bless that poor baby.

d

 

[PrayersForMaura]

I read those books about a boy called It ... man, heart-wrenching ....
I cannot believe how much abuse that poor boy suffered.

If you can stomach it, it's worth reading. Makes you appreciate your life a little more.

 

[Brefie]

eyespy....agree 100%.

Sickening abuse.

 

[Belinda]

Gary A. Malm

Location: Community Corrections - Omaha
Sentence Date: 11/02/2004

Offense: Felony Child Abuse
Sentence: 10 - 15 years

Projected Release Date: 03/02/2011

 

[Belinda]

Malm Sentenced in Child Abuse Case - According to court documents, Gary Malm, Jr. left his one-year-old son, Devon, behind the bars of a crib for so long that maggots had infested the gaping wound in the toddler’s back. Devon was unable to straighten his legs or escape in any way from the urine and feces that had piled up in his crib. In October, Douglas County District Judge Gerald Moran sentenced Malm to 10 to 14 years in prison. Under state sentencing guidelines, Malm will be eligible for parole in five years and must be released in seven years.

BBM
http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/12/15/41c054f90e739

 

[cocolafay]

Malm Sentenced in Child Abuse Case - According to court documents, Gary Malm, Jr. left his one-year-old son, Devon, behind the bars of a crib for so long that maggots had infested the gaping wound in the toddler’s back. Devon was unable to straighten his legs or escape in any way from the urine and feces that had piled up in his crib. In October, Douglas County District Judge Gerald Moran sentenced Malm to 10 to 14 years in prison. Under state sentencing guidelines, Malm will be eligible for parole in five years and must be released in seven years.

BBM
http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/12/15/41c054f90e739

IMO if this is the full extent of the sentencing that the law allows in a case like this, then the law needs to be changed immediately and retroactively! The sentencing guidelines are disgraceful and insulting to all caring people. I just don't understand how child abuse is always downplayed in the law.

 

[kbl8201]

bet he used the whole 'i was beaten as a kid its not my fault' bs at his sentencing.

nevermind he had 2 kids he DIDNT abuse

 

[2goldfish]

Malm Sentenced in Child Abuse Case - According to court documents, Gary Malm, Jr. left his one-year-old son, Devon, behind the bars of a crib for so long that maggots had infested the gaping wound in the toddler’s back. Devon was unable to straighten his legs or escape in any way from the urine and feces that had piled up in his crib. In October, Douglas County District Judge Gerald Moran sentenced Malm to 10 to 14 years in prison. Under state sentencing guidelines, Malm will be eligible for parole in five years and must be released in seven years.

BBM
http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/12/15/41c054f90e739

I do wish someone could explain to me why a 14 year sentence given means one MUST be released in 7?

belinda when you post these updates I am very trepidatious, because if they all got minimun 15 years in most cases I would feel okay but too often it turns out they didnt get anything at all. when I saw the 15 I was almost happy enough then I saw the rls date. :furious:


all else I can say is I truly hope it's the truth that other prisoners make a living hell of the lives of inmates convicted of crimes against children.

 

[Belinda]

I know. It makes it feel so much worse when they don't get a long enough sentence, but that is precisely why I do this. We need to know what is going on with these people and when they will be out among us again. Our minds assume, when we read these awful stories, that the perps will be buried for years to come, and that too often isn't the case.

ETA: I find it frightening that this guy will be released less than a year from now. How can that be? Why is this allowed? I suppose I could go on forever, but I know everyone else feels the same way.

 

[PMLsmom]

Tried to type some kind of comforting words, but I am running out...the Word has it, it's gonna get worse...God help us all.