GUILTY WA - Jeffrey & Rebecca Trebilcock for abusing 5 adopted children, Longview, 2011

[Belinda]

These people have a lot of damn nerve. I also wonder about their directives being followed by the court. What is that all about? Funny how all of the family is overweight except the adopted children, who were all extremely underweight. You don't get that underweight from the flu. Is the court really buying this crap?

 

[Missizzy]

That's exactly what rankles me, Belinda. If you read the articles upthread, the court has bent over backwards for this couple. Who made them special? They obviously have deep seated control issues and I cannot figure out why the courts will bow to them. This is most definitely NOT the way the courts typically rule.

I consider the children to still be very much at risk. These kids need to move on, IMO. They need a loving home in which to heal and they need closure from this nightmare. They do NOT deserve to be jerked around by these crazy parents. Facing an abusive parent in court is brutal for children. As long as the parents are calling the shots, the children will have no stability nor peace. They can't simply be "just kids" as they'll be looking over their shoulder waiting for these folks to swoop back in.

To refer to the children (including a 49 lb. teen!!) as "healthy and thriving" is outrageous IMO. I hope they each have strong advocates and caseworkers.

 

[Rayemonde]

July 2012 - trial:

The couple have denied starving or abusing the adopted children. Their defense attorneys, Kevin Blondin and Ted DeBray, said this week that other health problems may have caused the kids to be underweight. Blondin and DeBray have sought during cross-examination to discredit the children by suggesting they were known as liars in the home. The defense attorneys also have encouraged the children to discuss on the stand times when they were well-fed or went on family vacations.

http://tdn.com/news/local/trebilcoc...cle_65a14ab8-d09c-11e1-b78d-0019bb2963f4.html

 

[Rayemonde]

The boy said his parents taped his mouth shut as a punishment. He was a teenager, but his parents forced him to wear diapers in public because they were afraid he’d wet himself. His brothers and his father once made him wear a helmet and garbage bag and used him for target practice with paintball guns, he said in court Monday.

The boy said he wasn’t allowed to use the bathroom at night, so he resorted to urinating in a cup in his bedroom. He said that if his parents found the cup of urine, they made him drink it...

On Monday, Smith showed a photo of the boy sitting in his hospital bed last year, grinning awkwardly, his face sunken, a bony arm poking out from a hospital gown.

Perched on the boy’s nose were a pair of bent and taped bifocals which, Smith said, the boy was forced to wear even though he didn’t need them and they made his vision worse.

Doctors testified Monday that the boy had wasted away so badly that his condition was consistent with terminal cancer patients.

http://tdn.com/news/local/adopted-s...cle_214d5c1c-cfd4-11e1-b979-0019bb2963f4.html

 

[Rayemonde]

July 18th 2012:

Deputy Prosecutor James Smith noted Wednesday that Shane Trebilcock told a detective last year that he was worried about the boy, then 13. Smith said Shane Trebilcock also said it was obvious the boy had not been eating properly and that he wanted the boy to come live with him so that he would be safe. He also said his parents treated the adopted girls better than the boy.

In court Wednesday, however, Shane Trebilcock backed away from those statements. He said sheriff's investigators lied to him about his parents' treatment of the adopted children. He also said he spoke out in anger during his interview with the detective because he was frustrated that he learned about boy's hospitalization from a family friend, not his parents

http://tdn.com/news/local/oldest-so...cle_0a4b1b54-d172-11e1-8d47-001a4bcf887a.html

 

[Rayemonde]

July 20th 2012:

Dr. Thomas Dalvano, medical director of the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect program at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, saw the Trebilcock's adopted son at Doernbecher in March 2011...

"We were looking at an extremely malnourished child," he said, adding that he found no underlying medical condition.

"In my opinion, he was being neglected because he wasn't being given enough to eat," Dalvano said.

http://tdn.com/news/local/child-abu...cle_f4879f6a-d2cd-11e1-aadd-001a4bcf887a.html

July 21st 2012:

Doctors, nurses and specialists testified last week that the alleged abuse was discovered after Rebecca Trebilcock brought her sick adopted son to the Pediatric Clinic, 748 14th Ave. in Longview March 1...

When [Dr. Danielle] Parrott told Rebecca Trebilcock that the boy's condition was life-threatening and that he needed to go to PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center immediately, the mother protested, Parrott testified.

"She seemed pretty angry," Parrott said. "She said that she couldn't go, that she was in pain and had surgery and got on the phone and started making calls."...

It was decided the boy should be sent to Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, he said.

Yet, again Rebecca Trebilcock protested, Tredennick said. "She didn't want him to be transferred initially," he said, adding that Rebecca Trebilcock explained that "she was sick herself and, because of some other obligations with her family, she couldn't visit him in Portland."

http://tdn.com/mobile/article_24371c3a-d3b0-11e1-b542-0019bb2963f4.html

 

[Rayemonde]

July 25th 2012:

Jeffery Trebilcock took the stand in his own defense Wednesday afternoon, contradicting much of the testimony Judge Michael Evans heard from Trebilcock's adopted son...

Trebilcock said the boy ate more at dinner than anyone else in the family. Nevertheless, the boy would sneak into the cupboard and eat dog and goat food, Trebilcock said...

He said the boy often vomited after meals. (Dr. Steven Gabaeff, who testified Tuesday, said he believed the boy had bulemia.)...

Trebilcock said he and his wife were worried that the boy was not growing taller, but he said he never noticed how extremely thin the child was...

Trebilcock said he and his wife took the boy to Dr. Blaine Tolby in 2008 because they were worried about his lack of growth.

He said other than having him examined at Legacy Emanuel Hospital that year, neither he nor his wife took the boy to the doctor again until 2011.

http://tdn.com/news/local/father-te...cle_250c93d8-d6cb-11e1-b576-001a4bcf887a.html

 

[Rayemonde]

July 26th 2012:

"Why did you adopt five children?" asked defense attorney Ted DeBray.
"We had the room in our home and in our hearts," Rebecca Trebilcock said. "When God has given a lot, he requires a lot, and I felt he had given us a lot."

"We can clearly break down the growth charts to before Trebilcock, during Trebilcock and after Trebilcock," [Deputy prosecutor James Smith] said. "At the Trebilcocks, they slide off the growth scale. They're not gaining weight. After the Trebilcocks, all the children gain weight and height. They become much healthier. Why?

"The answer is clear. The common denominator is the people caring for these children."...

DeBray, who represents Rebecca Trebilcock, noted that in their first interview with authorities, the girls said their brother had plenty to eat. One of the girls said her brother had a reputation for not telling the truth, Debray said.

He said there are other possible medical reasons for the boy's condition such as rickets, reactive attachment disorder or pyschosocial dwarfism.

http://tdn.com/mobile/article_f81b1170-d7a5-11e1-8cf9-0019bb2963f4.html

 

[Rayemonde]

July 31st 2012:

Rebecca Trebilcock sobbed Tuesday as a Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge convicted her and her husband of starving two of their five adopted children...

Prosecutors alleged that the Trebilcocks also denied food to three other adopted girls, all originally from Haiti. Evans, however, ruled there is not enough evidence to prove the girls had been criminally mistreated and acquitted the Trebilcocks of those charges. All five of the children are now in foster homes....

Evans said that after reviewing the evidence he believes the Trebilcocks were reckless and criminally negligent, but did not act in malice. "I think the Trebilcocks love their children. I don't think there's any question of that," Evans said.
But the judge said Rebecca and Jeffrey Trebilcock, both of whom have struggled with obesity, appear to have developed a "warped" and "twisted" view of food.

"Food was used as a carrot and also a punishment," Evans said. "This combination of food and punishment and accidents and disobedience all got wrapped up together."...

Evans addressed several but not all of the allegations Tuesday, saying some sounded credible while dismissing others. The judge sometimes took a sympathetic tone. He said the Trebilcocks "ran an orderly home," which is necessary when "you have a large family." In addition, Evans said, the boy probably suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome and "reactive attachment disorder," which made him sometimes obstinate and difficult to handle.

What was particularly damning, though, were growth charts, some of them kept in a journal by Rebecca Trebilcock, which Evans said showed both a fixation on food and that the boy and his sister were underweight. For example, Evans noted the 12-year-old girl gained only 11 pounds between 2004 and 2011 — the seven years she lived with the Trebilcocks. She gained 25 pounds last year in just five months after she was placed in a foster home, he said.

http://tdn.com/mobile/article_570d0fd8-db4f-11e1-88b2-001a4bcf887a.html

 

[Rayemonde]

August 23rd 2012:

Rebecca Trebilcock, 45, was sentenced to 8½ years, three years more than her 46-year-old husband, because she “was the parent with the children the vast majority of the day,” Cowlitz Superior Court Judge Michael Evans said. “She had the greater opportunity to see (her son) writhe in pain from five broken ribs ... and see peach fuzz growing on the face and chest of a 13-year-old boy trying to warm himself.”

He quoted from Rebecca Trebilcocks’ testimony on the last day of the two-week bench trial.

“Mrs. Trebilcock mentioned, ‘Where much is given, much is required,’ ” he said. “I completely agree. Much was given. Five beautiful, precious children were given to a family. Displaced, without a home, they wanted to be loved and gently cared for. ... That great gift was recklessly squandered.”

http://tdn.com/news/local/trebilcoc...cle_22e5695a-edb8-11e1-946f-0019bb2963f4.html

 

[pappa rob]

It sounds like they did have room in their home but none in their hearts.. I hope that they're never allowed to adopt another child, ever.

 

[Rayemonde]

Court opinion from an appeal here, but I can't open it for some reason.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...ggqMAQ&usg=AFQjCNEP7defEnCPps-HnLgymn0IuWZkxg

 

[Rayemonde]

August 2012:

Whittington said that, when he was around 10 or 11, before his family fell apart, he took care of the boy and girl. "I fed us, clothed us," he said. "I changed their diapers. I taught both of them how to walk."

Whittington, who has no children of his own, said he began reading about the abuse case in the newspaper after the Trebilcocks were arrested in May 2011. He didn't realize the children involved where his half-siblings until representatives of a an organization called the Court Appointed Special Advocate Association contacted him and explained that something had gone wrong with their adoption. The organization's representatives weren't specific, but Whittington said he and his wife put two and two together...

Whittington said he will ask the court to grant him temporary custody during a hearing next week while he pursues the adoption process.

He pointed out that the girl has been in five foster homes since she was taken from the Trebilcocks. The boy has been in at least two, he said.

"That's not stability," Whittington said. "That's not a chance to get loved. That's just going around from home to home, just getting by."

http://tdn.com/news/local/abused-ch...cle_f550f2c6-e34d-11e1-9ac9-001a4bcf887a.html


September 2012:

Durng a civil trial in Cowlitz County Juvenile Court last week, state lawyers once again alleged that the Trebilcocks abused and starved all five of the children. The trial, intended to determine whether the children would continue to be wards of the state, was called off on its second day, Sept. 18, after the Trebilcocks agreed the children should remain in foster care, said Assistant Attorney General Dana Gigler, who is representing the Children’s Administration in the matter.

The court also last week authorized Children’s Administration officials to seek termination of the Trebilcock’s parenting rights for one of the children...

Gigler said permanently removing the boy from the Trebilcocks’ care will involve a separate trial...

For now, the court has denied a petition by Deric Whittington, the adult, biological brother of the 13-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister, to adopt those two children...

The couple were also barred during the criminal proceedings from having contact with the victims for 10 years.

http://tdn.com/news/local/trebilcoc...cle_63f6a0b4-06d4-11e2-9dfc-0019bb2963f4.html

 

[wendybtn]

This case is deplorable. I hurt so badly when adoptive parents fail at the task gifted to them. It's clear that the adopted children were singled out for abuse and neglect. Sadly this will have a lifelong effect on the biological children's attainment of empathy. Food is a major issue with challenging kids (and over 85% of the children in the system have some level of challenge) but starvation is not the answer. Some of these children were adopted from Haiti and that tells me that they would receive no adoption assistance nor medical card. Children from Haiti present their own special challenges and a family would need an active support system to parent them. I have no doubt that the family started out with good intentions, as the neighbors say, but things took a turn somewhere along the line. Many special needs families use alarms and "systems" to deal with behaviors but there is NO excuse for a child starving. Many special needs kids will get into animal food and eat strange things. That's not the issue. The issue is that the children were starving. The parents are to blame but where was the community, the doctors, the educators? The dad works in the school system?? We've got a whole long list of mandated reporters who seem to have dropped the ball. My prayers go out to those children. I'm very hopeful that they are in highly experienced and loving homes today.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/122282554.html


"A Longview couple was arrested Thursday after a two month investigation found they were severely neglecting and starving their five adopted children, according to the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office. Jeffrey and Rebecca Trebilcock were booked into jail without bail. A spokesman for the sheriff’s office confirmed Thursday night that Jeffrey Trebilcock works for the Longview School District.

In the first week of March, the couple's 13-year-old adopted boy was treated at Doernbecher Children's Hospital for several broken ribs, severe malnutrition, hypothermia and other ailments. He was placed into protective custody. Police said the boy was only 4 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 49 pounds...."

and

"...The parents are well-nourished and so are three other biological children in the home..."

and

"....In 2008, a doctor warned the parents that a medical condition the boy had was nearly life-threatening...."

more at link


Why oh why, did the doctor in 2008 not report this issue to DHS?

Because they were white Christians taking on the challenge of 5 kids out of the goodness of their hearts. An argument against mixed race adoptions. And I am a white Christian, but I see what I see. JMO. Plus how many of us could actually take on 5 kids from a different culture with different problems when we already have 3 kids of our own? I know some could easily, but not a majority by any means.

 

[wendybtn]

My guess is this is a mostly 7th Day Adventist town, most of the power players belong to this church. Nothing against 7th Day Adventists, I don't pretend to have any real knowledge of their religion, but I have worked or been friends with some 7th Day followers and they have a lot of what I call strange rules or practices around food. I don't know if that is typical, I can only speak for people I have known in Georgia and Tennessee.