Sad news story
There’s a very sad story dominating the local news, and I can’t get it out of my head.
An 8 year old boy is dead. His father, and the father’s fiancée, are charged with the boy’s murder.
The father, Michael, is an NYPD police officer. He and his three sons were living with his fiancee, Angela, and her three daughters. But their life was nothing like The Brady Bunch.
Eight year old Thomas and his ten year old brother were autistic, and were being abused by Michael and Angela. There are records from the boys’ school to substantiate this.
Child Protective Services became involved with the family in 2018, even supervised the family for a year.
The boys’ mother, Justyna, hadn’t seen her sons in 2 years. Prior to that, she documented what she considered evidence that Michael was abusing the boys. She even told a judge that she was convinced her sons would die in Michael’s custody.
The system failed. Big time.
Last week, EMS were summoned to the family home, that Thomas had fallen in the driveway while waiting for the school bus. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The truth was much more sinister.
The night before Thomas died, Michael beat him, then sent Thomas to sleep in the unheated garage. The temperature that night was 19 degrees. The hospital measured the boy’s body temperature at 76 degrees.
There were surveillance cameras throughout the house, so much of what happened has been preserved. One camera, showing the garage, was labeled “kids’ room”...apparently Thomas and his older brother had been sent to sleep in the garage many times.
How any parent can do that to a child ...
My God.... that's terrible... I can't envision ever doing that to another person, and certainly not my own flesh and blood... I hope they throw the book at them.
ReplyDeleteUGH!!! I read that earlier...makes me so mad and sad. I hope the book gets thrown at them.
ReplyDeleteAs you may know, I have a brother in law who has autism. I also have a first cousin once removed who is autistic. Can I even begin to imagine how someone could do this, even to have a surveillance camera in the garage where this boy was tortured? We humans are capable of such cruelty. I hope those parents are put in a place where they can never harm a child again. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThey’re both in jail, held without bail because the judge thought they’d be a flight risk. Jail is not a good place to be if you’re a police officer. Somehow I can’t muster any sympathy for him.
ReplyDeleteHow did the father get custody? It's so sad that women aren't believed, especially in court. Nope, the cop must be a good guy...
ReplyDelete