It really amazes me how stupid some folks are..

[Steff]

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13536701.htm

 

 

Mother charged in boy's scalding death

A 3-year-old boy died New Year's Day after investigators said his mother intentionally scalded him with hot water. The mother -- and the boy's grandmother who had custody -- have been charged.

BY AMY SHERMAN, JERRY BERRIOS AND DIANA [email protected]

 

Three-year-old Jaquez Mason wasn't supposed to be anywhere near his mother because of a court order forbidding contact.

But on Christmas Day, his grandmother Annie Williams, who had custody, allowed the child to go with the mother to her Coral Springs apartment.

Sometime during that day, the mother, Valerie Kennedy, held her son in a tub of scalding water, giving him third-degree burns -- the most severe kind -- over 50 percent of his body, according to Broward Sheriff's investigators. She was punishing the child, but it was unclear why, investigators say.

When Kennedy, 30, turned Jaquez over to his grandmother on Christmas night, she said that he had gotten burned, according to BSO.

Over the next seven days, Williams, 51, applied powder and ointment to the burns over the lower half of the child's body in her Deerfield Beach home, but never sought medical treatment, investigators said.

On Sunday, someone in the grandmother's home called 911.

By the time BSO deputies arrived at 9:44 a.m., Jaquez, who would have turned 4 in February, was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at Broward General Medical Center a half hour later.

''Certainly he should have been taken to a hospital and he wasn't,'' BSO spokesman Jim Leljedal said. ``Certainly, people do survive severe burns, but they need to get to a burn center. In this case that care was deliberately denied.''

Kennedy is charged with murder. She was being at a Broward County Jail late Monday.

Williams, facing manslaughter charges, posted bail and bonded out around 9:30 p.m. Monday, according to jail officials. Williams told investigators she didn't seek medical care for Jaquez because she feared she and her daughter would get into trouble, Leljedal said.

Williams' husband, Charles, defended his wife Monday.

''She is a good grandmother,'' he said, before leaving the couple's Deerfield Beach home with his pastor. ``She was helping that baby.''

An official at Broward County's ChildNet -- the county's private foster care agency -- says he thinks Valerie Kennedy had eight children, including Jaquez.

A ninth child died previously, but Leljedal had no details on the circumstances.

Kennedy was ordered by the court not to have any contact with the children, but it was unclear Monday why the court order was issued.

The children ranged in age from 1 to teens, Leljedal said.

Williams had custody of five of her daughter's children, including Jaquez. Three others lived elsewhere, according to BSO.

ChildNet intends to ask a judge in a court hearing today to officially remove the children from Williams' care, said Peter Balitsaris, the agency's head.

''We will do within 24 hours a complete report on the history of the case and records,'' Balitsaris said.

But Kennedy's mother-in-law, Julie Mathews of Lauderhill, disputed the claim that the mother could not see the children.

Valerie Kennedy often had contact with her children, Mathews said. Two lived with Kennedy and her husband, Ellis Kennedy, in Coral Springs, including a 1-year-old son the couple has together, and a little girl, who is Kennedy's daughter from another relationship, Mathews said.

The Kennedys married about two years ago. Ellis Kennedy, an employee at the Big Tomato Market Grill restaurant at the Coral Square Mall, is not Jaquez's father.

''My son called me last night crying so hard I could not understand what was happening,'' Mathews said. ``He said the police came and took the kids, took Valerie. . . . When he called me, he was hysterical. They didn't even tell him that the child was dead.''

Mathews reacted with disbelief when told about BSO's charge that Kennedy burned her son.

``That's not true! Oh my God. Who would say something like that? Oh my God! Are they crazy? The girl would never do that!''

Mathews said that a few days before Christmas, she and Kennedy took the children, including Jaquez, to Coral Square Mall. The young boy was happy as the children ate at the food court, she said.

He asked, ''Can you be our grandma?'' Mathews said. ``He was just kind of teasing.''

On Christmas night, Mathews said, she visited her son's Coral Springs apartment bearing presents. Jaquez was not there and Valerie Kennedy was sleeping. Valerie woke up, and Mathews left Christmas presents for the couple and her grandson.

She described Kennedy as a good mother: ``She takes very good care of her children that I know of.''

Annie Williams' neighbors in Deerfield Beach were shocked when they heard the news about Jaquez.

''It hurts my heart right now to know something like that happened,'' neighbor Gail Jenkins told Miami Herald news partner CBS 4.

On Monday, authorities removed a hot water heater from Kennedy's apartment, according to CBS 4.

Kennedy has an arrest record. In 2003, she was arrested for violating a domestic violence injunction, a misdemeanor. She served 12 days in jail.

Records show she has been arrested several other times for offenses that include resisting arrest and failure to appear in court. The status of the charges was unknown Monday.

The Williams family provided a short written statement Monday:

``The tragic death of little Jaquez Mason has left the Williams family overwhelmed with grief and sadness. The family is struggling together to deal with the loss of a little boy who was so loved by family and friends.''

 

 

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.a...storyId=1139481

 

 

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A woman charged with killing her 3-year-old son on Christmas Day by scalding him with hot water as punishment for soiling his diaper has been investigated at least six times for abuse allegations since 1997, records show.

 

Valerie Love Kennedy, 30, was accused Oct. 12 of using drugs in front of two of her other children, a 10-month-old and a 2-year-old, according to a report from ChildNet, the private agency supervising state child placements in Broward County.

 

More Stories About...

Phillippa Hitchins

Both of the children showed signs of physical abuse when a doctor examined them this week, prosecutor Phillippa Hitchins said Tuesday in court. Kennedy has had 10 children, with two dying at birth. It was unclear if any children remained in her custody before her arrest.

[AnthraxFan93]

I get yelled at when I make the request that if you want to ask for public aid, women must get their tubes tied..People like this furhter prove how it is needed.

[The Critic]

I think Mommy and Gramma need to relax.

You know what would help them relax?

A nice HOT bath of their own.

[Steff]

I think Mommy and Gramma need to relax.

You know what would help them relax?

A nice HOT bath of their own.

 

 

Gramps, too.

[mreye]

I think Mommy and Gramma need to relax.

You know what would help them relax?

A nice HOT bath of their own.

[Iwritecode]

I get yelled at when I make the request that if you want to ask for public aid, women must get their tubes tied..People like this furhter prove how it is needed.

 

:finger :finger :finger

 

I had my first child when I was 17. My wife (we weren't married at the time) and I lived with my parents and did receive some public aid. Mostly WIC to help with the baby formula, milk, cereal, ect...

 

Today I have three kids, a house of my own, a college education and a career. Hell, I had half of that before I turned 21.

 

The government has no right to tell me my 2nd two kids shouldn't have been born just because I asked for a little assitance with my first one.

[kapkomet]

:finger  :finger  :finger

 

I had my first child when I was 17. My wife (we weren't married at the time) and I lived with my parents and did receive some public aid. Mostly WIC to help with the baby formula, milk, cereal, ect...

 

Today I have three kids, a house of my own, a college education and a career. Hell, I had half of that before I turned 21.

 

The government has no right to tell me my 2nd two kids shouldn't have been born just because I asked for a little assitance with my first one.

I'm glad the system worked for you - and I wish it was more that way. Unfortunately, more often then not, people take advantage of it.

[Iwritecode]

I'm glad the system worked for you - and I wish it was more that way.  Unfortunately, more often then not, people take advantage of it.

 

That's true. I know people who have been living on unemployment for half their lives and refuse to find a job because they keep getting "free" money.

 

There's no fast and easy fix-all...