Image from inForney.com.
Excerpts:
One adult is in custody on charges of possession of child pornography from a home in Forney where an infant foster child died unexpectedly December 29.
Christian S. Richmond, 19, was booked into the Kaufman County jail on possession of child pornography where he awaits arraignment according to jail records.
Law enforcement officials confirm to inForney.com that his address is the same home where an infant in CPS foster care died unexpectedly.
Elizabeth Henson of McKinney was only five months old when she was found dead at the foster home. She had been in CPS custody since she was only five days old. The cause of her death is still unknown.
While law enforcement officials have not released the name of the infant, inForney.com has confirmed with the family and Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office the identity of the deceased infant.
Records released by the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO), reveal a 911 call was made at 9:01 AM on Saturday, December 29 reporting a death in the 2000 block of Chisolm Trail, a home in the Amber Fields addition of the Windmill Farms community. Deputies and emergency medical personnel responded to find baby Elizabeth dead and 4 other foster children in the home.
The infant’s mother, Brittany Gastineau is desperate for information surrounding her daughter’s death and she says she is not getting answers from CPS.
In a series of exclusive telephone interviews with inForney.com, Gastineau says she first learned of her daughter’s death late Saturday afternoon after being contacted by her CPS case worker’s supervisor.
She says that both of her children, Elizabeth and an older son, had both been in Denton County CPS custody since the baby was born in July.
The mother says CPS took her children after Elizabeth tested positive for marijuana at birth. Her son was first sent to a group home while awaiting his sister to be discharged from the hospital and a foster family was located that would accommodate both children she says.
Gastineau says she has never met the foster parent responsible for her children’s care, but she has had concerns with their safety since the beginning and says she has made numerous complaints to Denton County CPS officials about the conditions and the other people living in the home.
“Since the very first day that my kids were there, there has been problems,” Gastineau tells inForney.com. “I have complained every single week since they took my kids.
My daughter slept in a car seat. She didn’t have a bed. My son got picked on by 17 and 18-year old. It was not a safe environment for my kids.
My son has not been comfortable the whole time he has been there and has told me so. My daughter couldn’t tell me that.”
CPS caseworkers and her son’s court appointed attorney all dismissed or minimized her concerns and complaints, ensuring her and her husband that the children were “safe” she says.
Officials who responded to the home reported, while the living room and entry was clean and orderly, other parts of the home was described as “filth and squalor.”
In addition to 5 foster children, there were also two teenage biological family members also living in the home with the foster mother whose identity has not yet been confirmed. The foster mother’s brother, an unidentified adult male, also allegedly lived in the home.
Neighbors say the home is a Section 8 rental property and the owners live in Collin county.
Gastineau says she last saw her children alive on Friday, December 28, the day before her daughter’s death. She said she was able to visit with them and exchange Christmas presents. She has not been able to see her daughter since her passing and she said she doesn’t know where she is.
“They (CPS) want me to make funeral arrangements. How can I make funeral arrangements when I haven’t seen her? I don’t know where she is.” Gastineau said. “This can’t be fair!”
A Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office representative said the infant’s autopsy is complete and the report is currently pending. Her body remains in the medical examiner’s custody.
Marissa Gonzalez a spokesperson for CPS says that the four other foster children have been removed from the home and CPS would not be providing any additional information on the case.
Read the full story at inForney.com
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