WI - Anastasia Vang, 6 wks, beaten to death, Madison, 11 July 2007

[Hopeful One]

A six-week-old infant died of blunt-force trauma. Police have a person of interest in the case and say "she is cooperating and answering questions".

http://www.channel3000.com/news/13673061/detail.html

 

[Hopeful One]

Mother has tentatively been charged with physical abuse.

http://www.madison.com/bn/index.php?action=this&bn_id=0-201262

 

[mssheila]

Good God. I saw this on the news this morning. I'm so sad for ALL these innocent babies.

 

[zadari]

omg she is only a little older than my kika bird (my nickname for kiera) her hair looks like a bird crest LOL . im sooo glad i dont live in madison right now ..

 

[Hopeful One]

http://wkow.madison.com/News/index.php?ID=13257

I think child protective services should be held partially responsible for this. This child was obviously being abused and they still sent her home to be killed!!!

 

[Hopeful One]

Another article: http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/local/index.php?ntid=201737

 

[Reannan]

I watched the video of her court appearance. She is a bit@& and the other family that were living in the home were stupid. I mean, come on!! How can you live in a home where an infant is being tortured like that and not freaking KNOW!!!!!:banghead: The baby had to be screaming when she was being pinched. The father says the hospital should have told him his wife was the suspected abuser when little Anastasia was sent home with instructions for two adults to constantly supervise her due to living in unsafe conditions. Well, who the He!! did he THINK the abuser was? I am disgusted.:furious:

 

[Reannan]

From the second link posted by Shamrock:

I guess the dad is saying he wasn't at the hospital when the child was initially evaluated and determined to be at risk:

"Vang said he was not at the hospital when the social worker spoke with his family members. He questions whether the social worker was clear with his family about the abuse allegations.
"They didn't know anything about the abuse," Vang said. "I think there must have been some misunderstanding between my family and the social worker. They didn't understand this 24-hour rule that we are hearing about now"

I don't understand why the hospital let the child go. One of the physicians suspected the Mother was abusing the little girl while she was in the hospital:

"Meanwhile, a forensic pediatrician reported that more bruises appeared on Anastasia between June 27 and 28 -- a time when the infant was left alone overnight in her hospital room for periods with her mother. The bruises were "highly suspicious of inflicted injury," the doctor wrote in her notes."

The mother's claim of "feeling inadequate", and "not having enough love for a second child" are ridiculous in my opinion. Feeling in adequate and not having enough love, may arguably be reason for someone to abandon or ignore a child, but you have totally crossed over the line when you intentionally harm and even TORTURE the child. That crosses the line to hate.

"She told investigators that ever since she came to live with her in-laws, she has felt inadequate in caring for her family, according to the criminal complaint. She allegedly confessed to pinching Anastasia continuously, hitting her with a fly swatter and biting her leg."

 

[southcitymom]

This is so sad. My prayers for this family.

 

[Truthful Lies]

Ya know.... It's stupid to ask this question...but WHY? If you don't want the kid or can't/won't be at least a DECENT parent, give them to someone who WILL! I don't even think I want kids...yet if I were handed a baby I needed to take care of, I certainly WOULD. I think anybody would. How could her own mother do that? How could someone do anything to an infant..... Even if I hated it, even if it was awful...I would give a baby the best of everything....feelings aside...simply because it's the RIGHT thing to do. What a selfish, horrible birthing vestibule.

 

[Hopeful One]

That's what I don't understand. How could the dad not know???????

 

[sherri79]

let me see if i understand this load the dcf is trying to sell. hospital call dcf and says we have a tiny 4week old that is being abused. case worker shows up and talk to the mother and grandmother. case worker now knows the doctors think it is the mom because fresh injuries happened when the mom was alone with the baby in the hospital. the case worker knows the first injuries happened when the child was with the mom in a house full of people.

now the case worker thinks it is safe to send the 4week old right back into the house with the mother because the same people who didnt protect the child the first time are still living there?

2 weeks later we have a 6week old beat to death. perhaps this case worker made a error.

 

[Reannan]

let me see if i understand this load the dcf is trying to sell. hospital call dcf and says we have a tiny 4week old that is being abused. case worker shows up and talk to the mother and grandmother. case worker now knows the doctors think it is the mom because fresh injuries happened when the mom was alone with the baby in the hospital. the case worker knows the first injuries happened when the child was with the mom in a house full of people.

now the case worker thinks it is safe to send the 4week old right back into the house with the mother because the same people who didnt protect the child the first time are still living there?

2 weeks later we have a 6week old beat to death. perhaps this case worker made a error.

Perhaps the case worker is lazy and uncaring. I can guarantee you they are going to say "they were following policy", and "they are overworked". I don't care. The Mother is primarily responsible for the death of the innocent little girl who never harmed anyone, but I also think there are several other people who share the guilt, and will hopefully, be haunted by their part in the baby's death.

 

[zadari]

so very sad

 

[Rayemonde]

June 2008:

But even though police officials said Lee confessed to the abuse, Lee may file a lawsuit against Dane County over what happened. Lee's attorney, Richard Auerbach told 27 News if a lawsuit is filed, the actions of Dane County Human Service workers could be put on trial...

"We concluded the child would be safe at home because there were several additional family members living in the home, the family agreed to the terms of the safety plan and assured us that two adults would always attend to the baby," Dane County Human Services Director Lynn Green told reporters in July.

In the notice of claim, Auerbach stated the child's safety plan was never written down; was created with minimal knowledge of the Lee family; and involved woefully inadequate follow up.

Auerbach stated Lee's behaviors had become "erratic and bizarre," were consistent with postpartum psychosis and would have been discovered if social workers had done more extensive family interviews. Lee also has a two year old son. Authorities alleged Lee explained her fatally abusive actions as part of an inability to love more than one child.

http://www.wkow.com/story/8476916/ee-lee-may-sue-dane-county

 

[Rayemonde]

August 2008:

A 24-year-old mother charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of her infant daughter was ordered Thursday to undergo yet another mental evaluation after a psychiatrist with the Wisconsin Forensic Unit was unable to determine if she is competent to stand trial...

She was found incompetent to stand trial in November and was ordered to undergo treatment at Winnebago Mental Health Institute. On June 6, [Judge] Moeser ruled Lee was competent to stand trial, but a month later he ordered another evaluation after Assistant Public Defender Ellen Berz said Lee was unable to understand her plea options and was incapable of assisting in her own defense.

http://m.host.madison.com/news/loca...cle_ff7f9d7e-8520-5900-a029-c7d508426fdb.html

 

[Rayemonde]

October 2008:

A first-degree murder case against a woman alleged to have killed her infant daughter last year will likely never be prosecuted, after psychologists determined that the woman is mentally retarded.

Ee Lee, 24, of Madison, whose suspected abuse of her daughter, Anastasia, is alleged to have caused the girl's death on July 11, 2007, was treated successfully for psychosis, but psychologists at Winnebago Mental Health Institute determined that underneath that illness lay mental retardation and the intellect of an 8-year-old, Lee's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Ellen Berz, said after a hearing Oct. 6.

http://m.host.madison.com/news/moth...cle_973a208d-66f4-5641-9760-9d6af64bfe5d.html


November 2008:

"She functions at the level of an 8 year old," says her attorney, Ellen Berz.

In June of 2007, Ee Lee was charged with killing her six week-old daughter by slamming her head against a table.

Berz says mental competency evaluation needed to break through a language barrier to discover multiple problems. "We already know that they found her to have a mental disease, but that's been treated. She also has a mental disability-retardation. Which as we all know cannot be treated."

Ee Lee will not be tried for the murder of her daughter. She is in the process of being committed to the custody of Dane County Human Services "She could end up in a hospital, in a home, with a family member," says Berz.

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/34475859.html?device=phone&c=y

December 2008:

In October, the case against Lee was put on what appeared to be permanent hold after a report by Dr. Tracy Luchetta disclosed that Lee has profound mental deficits and functions at the intellectual level of an 8-year-old child.

Last month, prosecutors were back in court with another report, this one by Dr. Gary Maier. It stated that Lee, who is Hmong, speaks English, could follow a schedule of programs and exhibited future-oriented thinking, and is competent to assist in her defense.

Dane County Circuit Judge Daniel Moeser ordered another competency evaluation for Lee. It was completed and received by the court on Friday but is being kept sealed.

Hurley is asking that Moeser reconsider his decision ordering that evaluation.

In court papers filed Friday, Hurley wrote that prosecutors had improperly obtained treatment documents from the director of the Mendota Mental Health Institute, Dr. Gregory Van Rybroek, in violation of Lee's right to privacy.

http://m.host.madison.com/news/loca...cle_bb8031d3-5dbb-5045-bd75-7064a358c1dd.html

 

[Rayemonde]

April 2009:

Dane County prosecutors must surrender medical records that won them another competency evaluation for Ee Lee, who is charged with the child abuse death of her infant daughter, because of a defective subpoena, a judge ruled Tuesday.

But the ruling by Circuit Judge Daniel Moeser won't stop the new evaluation for Lee, 25, who is charged with first-degree intentional homicide for the July 2007 death of her 6-week-old daughter, Anastasia Vang.

The decision is the latest twist in Lee's case, which has seen one reversal after another on the issue of Lee's competency - her ability to assist in her defense.

http://m.host.madison.com/news/loca...cle_9390c0d0-40f2-5f9b-9d95-c223dc984dc8.html

 

[Rayemonde]

January 2010:

A woman charged with killing her 6-week-old daughter in 2007 was again found to be incompetent to stand trial on a first-degree intentional homicide charge.

The case against Ee Lee, 26, whose alleged abuse caused the death of Anastasia Vang, will remain suspended indefinitely, Dane County Circuit Judge Daniel Moeser said.

http://m.host.madison.com/wsj/news/...cle_63b75cb4-0629-11df-aed2-001cc4c03286.html

 

[Rayemonde]

The case is currently listed as "Open - Case suspended".

Case number: 2007DA009690

January 2010:

Court finds the def is presently not competent to proceed in this case and she is not likely to become competent within the statutory commitment period. Ct ordered def shall be released from custody; the DA's office shall inform the court of the def's legal and mental status every 12 mos.; This court reserves jurisdiction to impose reasonable nonmonetary conditions which will protect the public and enable the court and the DA to discover whether the def subsequently becomes competent (def's custody conds shall remain as they existed on 1-20-10 until further order of the court).

https://wcca.wicourts.gov/simpleCaseSearch.xsl;jsessionid=43271C8EED1AA6139573B2055521B57A.render6