WV WV - Hevin Jenkins, 2, Cabell County, 15 December 2005

[mjak]

This is such a sad story, all the way around. It's conceivable that the aunt, who is a single mother, simply was overwhelmed and didn't know how to care for this child and this all snowballed and she panicked.

I can feel some empathy for everyone involved in this story - the boy's mother who passed this child around, the aunt who was neglectful with a child she maybe had no idea how to care for, and especially for the little boy himself who is now gone. .

Nope, sorry I do not agree with this. I am an aunt of two autistic little boys. It is my responsibility to make sure I am prepared and capable of carring for them before they are left in my care. When I watch them for a weekend. I have a whole document my sister fills out. Its a full schedule of there activites, meals, medications. Then there is the page with all the important phone numbers I might need from pediatrician to posin control. I inisist my sister fills this info out. As when I take on the responsiblity to care for these children I better be darn sure I know what I am doing. We live in this amazing counrty that has more police, stations, mental health emergency numbers, and hospitals to get help if you are overwhelemed. When your an adult and take on the responsiblity of a child getting overwhelmed at times is part of the deal. You had better as heck make sure you know how to handle your own overwhelmenss. Children are totatly dependant on the adults whos care they are left in. Its the adults respondiblity and yes obligation to keep them safe and cared for. Something went very wrong here and I do not feel empathy for the adults involved in this story. My heart breaks for the little boy who they victimized.

mjak

 

[mysteriew]

I think that when they find his body, they will find more than that they didn't get him medical treatment. If it was just that, they could have still called after he died and claimed he died suddenly. But no they felt they had to dispose of his body. There is more to the story than this.

 

[Amraann]

I am moving this to the crimes in the news forum as I feel its more appropriate there.

 

[concernedperson]

This is someone with responsibility for a child that had special needs and got rid of them. IMO. It makes me sick.

 

[KatherineQ]

Nope, sorry I do not agree with this. I am an aunt of two autistic little boys. It is my responsibility to make sure I am prepared and capable of carring for them before they are left in my care. When I watch them for a weekend. I have a whole document my sister fills out. Its a full schedule of there activites, meals, medications. Then there is the page with all the important phone numbers I might need from pediatrician to posin control. I inisist my sister fills this info out. As when I take on the responsiblity to care for these children I better be darn sure I know what I am doing. We live in this amazing counrty that has more police, stations, mental health emergency numbers, and hospitals to get help if you are overwhelemed. When your an adult and take on the responsiblity of a child getting overwhelmed at times is part of the deal. You had better as heck make sure you know how to handle your own overwhelmenss. Children are totatly dependant on the adults whos care they are left in. Its the adults respondiblity and yes obligation to keep them safe and cared for. Something went very wrong here and I do not feel empathy for the adults involved in this story. My heart breaks for the little boy who they victimized.

mjak

Mjak - it's good that you do this voluntarily, and that you have the ability to take care of special needs children when your sister very carefully leaves them in your arms. Your sister sounds like a totally devoted mother who is watchful for her children and makes sure everything is in place before she leaves her children.

Can you imagine your sister passing her kids around, and leaving them for indefinite periods of time, including Christmas, without any support from her?

*the bump in the road feels different depending on whether you're riding in the front or the back of the bus*

Kudos to you for helping out with your nephews. It's not clear that this woman had any prior training or even a heads-up on how to take care of this boy, when she herself is a single mother with a child. She may not have normal intelligence, and may have never meant any harm, but simply panicked and didn't know what else to do.

I could be wrong. I guess it's time to wait for the autopsy for further info.

 

[Amraann]

I agree with Mjak...


I have no compassion for the mother or the aunt only this 2 year old.
Noone told either of them to throw their legs up in the air and become single mothers.
Furthermore I seriously doubt the aunt had no idea what she was getting into.
The very moment it became difficult she could have called the mother.
She didn't know not to seek medical help?? She didn't know to call the mother??

Yet she knew enough to pretend to leave the child in the car and claim it was an abduction? Also I am sure someone asked where this child was since the 15th therefore she knew enough to lie about him as well.
When someone only knows enough to cover their own a$$ it means they knew enough all along they just did not care.

 

[Linda7NJ]

There is no way I am buying this poor baby had a seizure and she simply did nothing. IMO she beat or shook him to death. I just hope they find him soon enough to prove it.

 

[KatherineQ]

I agree with Mjak...


I have no compassion for the mother or the aunt only this 2 year old.
Noone told either of them to throw their legs up in the air and become single mothers.
Furthermore I seriously doubt the aunt had no idea what she was getting into.
The very moment it became difficult she could have called the mother.
She didn't know not to seek medical help?? She didn't know to call the mother??

Yet she knew enough to pretend to leave the child in the car and claim it was an abduction? Also I am sure someone asked where this child was since the 15th therefore she knew enough to lie about him as well.
When someone only knows enough to cover their own a$$ it means they knew enough all along they just did not care.

I'm not them. I don't know. My family never behaves this way, nor would I ever, so I don't know what it would feel like to have a significantly disabled child dumped off in my house.

I think it's fairly clear she didn't know how to contact the mother. Otherwise, the child wouldn't still be there for weeks on end with no contact, as was stated in the news articles. No one had contacted them for weeks. After a disabled child was dumped in her lap.

I'm a little hesitant to judge her. I've never walked in her shoes, and God willing, I never will.

 

[Amraann]

Katherine I am not attacking you personally but I want to address this statement.....


"Can you imagine your sister passing her kids around, and leaving them for indefinite periods of time, including Christmas, without any support from her?"

I have not read that the mother left the child without any help from her.
also the child was not just left... the aunt had to agree to take him.
I am more inclined with only the info we have to date tha possibly the mother even has a very valid reason for leaving the child. YET under no circumstance can I see someone killing or neglecting a child to the point they die and then being ok with that.

Lets say for the sake of arguement the mother is out dumping her kids off for the hell of it.. Why did the aunt not call DCF?

 

[KatherineQ]

Katherine I am not attacking you personally but I want to address this statement.....


"Can you imagine your sister passing her kids around, and leaving them for indefinite periods of time, including Christmas, without any support from her?"

I have not read that the mother left the child without any help from her.
also the child was not just left... the aunt had to agree to take him.
I am more inclined with only the info we have to date tha possibly the mother even has a very valid reason for leaving the child. YET under no circumstance can I see someone killing or neglecting a child to the point they die and then being ok with that.

Lets say for the sake of arguement the mother is out dumping her kids off for the hell of it.. Why did the aunt not call DCF?

Amraann - we only have news articles to go by, no one here knows these people.

The news articles state she often passed this boy to the grandmother and the Aunt, and no one had interacted with the aunt since Dec. 15. It's not clear anyone had agreed to "take" him. It seems in families like this it's "tag you're it" and mothers pass around children they refuse to take care of to others who seem a little more willing.

What seems to me to have happened is this boy had a massive seizure and died as a result of it, stemming from his disability. In a panic, the aunt dumped the body and concocted a story.

I could be wrong. That's how it appears to me.

God rest his soul.

 

[Amraann]

I would Judge any adult who would let harm come to a child.

As an adult regardless of reason if a child is in your care it is your responsibility to take care of the child or turn them over to those who can and will.
NO exuse. Anything less is criminal and neglect if not worse.

Trust me in that more then most I KNOW what it is to have a disabled child to care for ...
And there is no exuse and the child being disabled doesn't justify it.

Maybe the mother is away at basic training?? Maybe she was doing something to improve her future and that of her child?
But like I said even if she wasn't the aunt took responsiblity when she agreed to keep the child so from that point on the responsibilty falls on her and NOTHING is going to justify neglect to the point of death regardless of wheather it was the mother or the aunt.

 

[Amraann]

LOL katherine I think we are replying at the same time.

I would ask you if the child had a disabilty and a seizure led to his death,
why would one choose to dump the child unless they had some part in it?

A reasonable person would be calling 911 immediatly... Unless she left the child unattended in a crib and did not check on him for hours.

 

[KatherineQ]

I would Judge any adult who would let harm come to a child.

As an adult regardless of reason if a child is in your care it is your responsibility to take care of the child or turn them over to those who can and will.
NO exuse. Anything less is criminal and neglect if not worse.

Trust me in that more then most I KNOW what it is to have a disabled child to care for ...
And there is no exuse and the child being disabled doesn't justify it.

Maybe the mother is away at basic training?? Maybe she was doing something to improve her future and that of her child?
But like I said even if she wasn't the aunt took responsiblity when she agreed to keep the child so from that point on the responsibilty falls on her and NOTHING is going to justify neglect to the point of death regardless of wheather it was the mother or the aunt.

Amraann - I don't want this to turn into an ugly fight. If the mother is away at "basic training" it seems to me to say a single mother shouldn't join the military. Period. Those who think she shouldn't have flung her legs in the air to conceive, I say maybe she shouldn't place herself in the position to dump her baby off on someone.

It's not clear to me what happened. It's not even clear any neglect was involved, it's possible this child had a massive seizure (which is in the news articles) and died.

Peace.

 

[Amraann]

NO fight at all Katherine.
Just the two of us debating different sides of the issue.

I respect your right do disagree and take absolutely no offense to it.
Just posting the otherside of the coin so to speak.

I would concede that the mother should not do anything that required her to leave the child for an extended period of time.
As a mother I can only presume if this mother wasn't a crackwhore and had valid reason then she did so with an understanding with the aunt that he would be ok.
But eitherway..

If the child simply died due to a medical condition and the AUnt covered it up??
Why? That would not be a persons first reaction IMO. I would think the first reaction would be to seek medical help and if she did not IMO its neglectful and possibly indicitive of guilt of something. Wheather it be guilt of not watching him? or guilt of something more sinister.
I cannot imagine the first reaction would be to cover up a death.

 

[concernedperson]

My heartfelt response. I cannot imagine someone covering up a death. But I know it to be true. Some families will do this. OMG, some families will do this.

 

[mysteriew]

Why would you not call paramedics if you saw a child in your care was ill? That is what they call neglect. But most neglectful people will then try to cover up by saying it was something that happened 'really quick', they 'didn't realize he was sick' and etc. But most will not hide the body. The only reason to try to hide the body is because the body will give evidence against someone. Neglect? Possible, but like I said people who neglect usually will try to explain/excuse their way out of it. Usually the only reason to hide the body is because it shows clear signs of a homocide. ie something done physically to the child. The aunt, the boyfriend- who knows which one. IMO they are both guilty of murder. LE is searching the Ohio river. The chances that this boy will be found are very slim. Many bodies are dumped in the Ohio, and only a fraction are found- some of those months and years will go by- and they are only found if they happen to get caught on something and don't float down to the Mississippi and on out to the gulf.
At this point without knowing more about the mother and her circumstances, I am not going to discuss her. She left the child with someone to care for him. From the articles I read, she left him there this month. I haven't seen anything to say that this was a regular event for her. She has a disabled child, who knows what her circumstances were. Was she overwhelmed and trying to get help from family to recover? I couldn't blame her for that. Even the best of us could get overwhelmed under those circumstances. Until more info comes out about the mother, I will not even attempt to judge her. She could have had surgery, been ill, been in the military, be suffering from exhaustion, caring for an ill family memeber- who knows what is with her.
I don't know if she is a single mother or married. But if you are a parent of a disabled child- where do you turn if you become ill? To family of course. Which is what she did.
Now the aunt and the bf- if they became overwhelmed, why didn't they call the mother. Or DCF. They had options too. They didn't choose to take advantage of those options and a helpless little boy paid the price.
He did not have any other options.
IMO, there is a reason why the child can't be found. IMO, if they do find him, they will also find signs of physical violence.

 

[OneLostGrl]

A bit off topic but-- Today I had to go to the Post Office and as I was sitting in the car waiting for my mother to finish up her transaction inside the building-
I notice this woman with 2 small (probably 3 and 1 yr old) children getting out of her vehicle turning back toward the kids and says "behave out here, I'll be right back".
Then she walked away from her car toward the post office and nosey me said (In a loud enough voice so I could be SURE she'd hear me) "That woman is leaving those 2 babies in the car alone! That's against the law, Give me the cell phone so I can call 911!"

Well, the mother came running back to the car, staring at me the entire time, and took her babies out of their car seats and brought them into the Post Office with her!
I felt I had a right to be angry and upset with this womans actions. I almost never pre-judge anyone but in an instant I judged this "mother"

Being a mother myself, I understand it's a pain to have to take the child out of the car seat, walk with the child inside of the building, wait in a line with a fussy child.
I do remember these days and things took longer to get done with a child in toe.

But by taking that extra time bringing your child with you, you KNOW your child is safe.

IMO Leaving a child alone in a car is neglect!

 

[Linda7NJ]

A bit off topic but-- Today I had to go to the Post Office and as I was sitting in the car waiting for my mother to finish up her transaction inside the building-
I notice this woman with 2 small (probably 3 and 1 yr old) children getting out of her vehicle turning back toward the kids and says "behave out here, I'll be right back".
Then she walked away from her car toward the post office and nosey me said (In a loud enough voice so I could be SURE she'd hear me) "That woman is leaving those 2 babies in the car alone! That's against the law, Give me the cell phone so I can call 911!"

Well, the mother came running back to the car, staring at me the entire time, and took her babies out of their car seats and brought them into the Post Office with her!
I felt I had a right to be angry and upset with this womans actions. I almost never pre-judge anyone but in an instant I judged this "mother"

Being a mother myself, I understand it's a pain to have to take the child out of the car seat, walk with the child inside of the building, wait in a line with a fussy child.
I do remember these days and things took longer to get done with a child in toe.

But by taking that extra time bringing your child with you, you KNOW your child is safe.

IMO Leaving a child alone in a car is neglect!

What annoys the crap outta me is these are the same parents that would never leave their purse out in the open in the car!:loser:

 

[Amraann]

Mysteriew and OneLostGirl :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:


OnelostGirl maybe that mother will think twice in the future.
I have been known myself to announce in the grocery store when a YOUNG child is left alone but parent is half way up the ilse so close enough to hear me to announce "Gee thats some good parenting skills, nice way to get your kid abducted"

 

[OneLostGrl]

What annoys the crap outta me is these are the same parents that would never leave their purse out in the open in the car!:loser:

so true! and she's got her little car alarm on her key chain so in her head the kids will be fine.
I wanted to get out of my car and punch the woman in the face... she's staring at me like I'm a crazy person who outta be minding 'er own business.
As far as I'm concerned SHE made it my business by neglecting them in front of me! and Trust me when I say, had she NOT come back to get them... I WOULD have called 911! !BEITCH!