Recent local childrens’ deaths were preventable

June 23, 2008 - 8:58PM

Reeling from sadness about the news over the past several weeks of the wholly unnecessary deaths of three Rio Grande Valley youngsters, we have to raise the question: Who's minding the kids?

Unfortunately, the answer — at least in these three cases — apparently was: Nobody.

If you've ever questioned whether there are holes in the network of the family members and the public and private agencies we traditionally think of as being there to help protect children, any lingering doubts should now be erased. The holes in the child protective net are all too real.

Let us review these shockingly sad events.

First, on May 29, McAllen police officers launched an effort to find 15-day-old Gabriela Yamileth Corona after her mother, 19-year-old Angelica Maria Gutierrez Acosta, reported the infant had been abducted from her aunt's arms in front of the McAllen Women, Infants and Children clinic. Police spent hours searching for the alleged abductor until Acosta, under questioning, finally confessed to killing her infant daughter. She is now in jail on charges of capital murder.

Next, on June 14, 2-year-old Isaias Alvarez — who at the time was supposed to be in the care of his grandmother and a babysitter — died after his mother, 30-year-old Maria Almaguer, allegedly kicked him in the stomach while left alone with him. Almaquer is now in jail facing capital murder charges.

Then, on June 18, 5-year-old Pablo Lopez was mauled to death by one of his uncle's pitbull dogs. The dog, which was agitated by another dog passing outside his fenced yard, tackled Pablo, tore at his throat and torso, quickly killing the youngster. Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Terviño ruled Pablo's death a "tragic accident" and has said that no charges will be filed.

Were these deaths preventable?

We believe so, but somewhere along the way, the care systems that might have played a hand in saving their lives failed these youngsters.

In the death of Gabriella Corona, the key to her mother's defense is likely to be a claim the she was suffering post partum depression when she stabbed the infant. If, in deed, Maria Acosta was that deeply mired in depression, how did it go unnoticed by other family members or even by staffers at the hospital where the infant had been until just days before her death?

As bad as that case is, the deaths of Isaias Alvarez and Pablo Lopez are even more disturbing because the state agency responsible for looking out for the welfare of children — the Texas Department of Family and Proctective Services' division of Child Protective Services — had previously intervened in the lives of both.

Isaias, who had been subjected to prior injuries by his mom, he was not supposed to be left by himself with her, according to an agreement reached between the state and the mother. Despite that admittedly non-legally binding agreement, the grandma and Isaias' babysitter left the toddler in his mom's care. Hours later, he was dead.

In the case of Pablo Lopez, the state had intervened to investigate charges of negligence against his mother, who now lives in Washington state. No charges came out of that investigation because the boy, whose father lives in Mexico, supposedly was being raised by his grandmother, who lives with his aunt and uncle in the house guarded by pitbulls, a breed of dog known for displaying violent tendencies.

Why did family members or hospital staffers who might have been able to raise concerns to proper authorites regarding the state of mind of Gariella Corona's mother not do so? In the cases of Isaias Alvarez and Pablo Lopez, why did the state agency that had taken some initial steps to protect them fail to be more proactive, perhaps moving both youngsters into state custody?

The answers to those questions should haunt us all.

No Charges Expected In Deadly Texas Pit Bull Attack

(June 20, 2008)--The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office says it won't pursue charges against a man whose pit bull mauled his 5-year-old nephew to death.

Investigators say they found no signs of negligence.

Sheriff Lupe Trevino told The Monitor in McAllen that the death appears to have been a tragic accident.

Witnesses say the pit bull, named "Greco," flew into a rage at a dog that was walking past the family's house Wednesday night and then tackled Pablo Lopez.

The pit bull’s owner, Isaac Hernandez, said the dog in has been nice in the past.

Authorities also seized another dog the family owns that is part pit bull.

Hernandez and his wife had been caring for five children, including Pablo, at the family's home north of Weslaco.
Family members and neighbors had said the boy's last name was Hernandez, but his surname on official documents is Lopez.

http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/deaths_13535___article.html/past_systems.html

Emphasis added by H4K Editor