Bone-Chilling: A Starvation Case that Will Make You Cry
Crime Rant is back. And madder than hell.
Every now and then the most repugnant stories surface in the media that I can barely contain my rage. There is such a tale making the news around the Puget Sound area right now.
I’m giving you some major snips here from the Everett Herald newspaper, because you’ll need to know the facts as they are playing out here.
EVERETT – When police came for his son, an Everett man reportedly tried to keep the boy behind closed doors.
He attempted to slip a shirt over the child’s bony body, police reported.
He couldn’t camouflage the 4-year-old boy’s skeletal frame and other evidence of what authorities say was punishment by slow starvation.
At a reported 22 pounds, the boy weighed only as much as a typical 11-month-old child. He was too weak to hold up his emaciated body. He had so little body fat that he was dangerously cold. He was marked by bruises and infected sores.
Even so, the child was unfailingly polite to the strangers who showed up to help him, police said.
Paramedics told investigators it was “the worst case of neglect they had ever seen,” according to a police affidavit.
The boy’s mom, Kristine Addington, 25, said she saw her son Saturday for the first time in three years. That’s how long it has been since he was taken from her by state child welfare workers.
She said she didn’t recognize the boy, who was once nicknamed “Tank.”
“He literally is a skeleton,” Addington said. “He has the waist of my 1-year-old daughter. He’s going to be in the hospital for a very long time.”
On Monday, the boy’s father, Danny Jay Abegg, 27, appeared in Everett District Court, where he was ordered jailed on $250,000 bail. He was arrested Friday for investigation of first-degree criminal mistreatment.
Abegg allegedly told police he deprived the boy of food as a way to punish him, according to court records.
The man has only had custody of the boy for about a year.
“He told detectives he never felt or developed a parental connection with the child,” Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.
The defendant’s mother, Vicki Abegg of Southern California, on Monday said her son told her that her hospitalized grandson had been “sneaking into food and getting food when he wasn’t supposed to.”
Police called the grandmother Monday and told her that the child was in protective custody, she said.
Abegg’s oldest boy, 7, moved to Southern California in late October to live with Vicki Abegg in a town south of Riverside, Calif., she said. Her own son was having “problems” with the older boy, she said, declining to elaborate.
“I wouldn’t even suspect my son of starving him,” the grandmother said of Danny Abegg. “My son is a good man.”
Prosecutors expect to file charges against Danny Abegg by the end of today, said Joan Cavagnaro, Snohomish County chief criminal deputy prosecutor.
Abegg’s live-in girlfriend, 22, also was arrested for investigation of criminal mistreatment. She was released Sunday.
Abegg reportedly ordered her not to feed his son. The woman denied that she complied with his orders, Hover said.
The couple have a 14-month-old daughter. The girl appeared healthy and well fed. She also was removed from the apartment and placed in a foster home, said Kathy Spears, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Social Services.
Child Protective Services has a long history with the family, court records show.
This stuns me. Those who live in Washington state, know that our CPS folks have a long history of not checking in on children in their charge. Other states do, too. Florida comes to mind. Remember the case of the dead girl who had been “visted” regularly by caseworkers? Understaffing, undertraining — excuses.
And if you really want to know what makes me sick? The girlfriend who made sure her baby was well fed. How in the world can anyone sit by and watch a child starve? She was released over the weekend. I don’t know her name, but if I did, I’d put it right here.
Shame on her.
But there’s more:
“The deputies immediately observed (the boy) was in a severe state of malnutrition and had several marks and bruises.
“The deputies further noted it appeared one or some of these injuries appeared to be infected,” Ferreira wrote.
The child told deputies he’d only had water and popcorn to eat that day.
The child had hypothermia, a dangerously low body temperature, because he lacked body fat for insulation. He also had anemia and muscle degeneration, court papers said.
Abegg told detectives that his son always had been skinny. He later allegedly admitted to investigators that he knew his son was too thin, but he feared he would “lose everything” if he brought the boy to see a doctor, according to court records.
Child welfare workers in Washington and California have been monitoring Abegg’s on-again, off-again relationship with his children pretty much continuously for the past five years, court records show.
In 2002, California authorities took steps to protect Abegg’s eldest son, then 2, out of concern that the boy was in a dangerous home. Abegg at the time had recently served a stretch in jail for domestic violence involving Addington, the child’s mother.
Abegg also tested positive for methamphetamine and told state workers he was essentially homeless, court papers show.
His second son – the 4-year-old – did not wind up in his care until January 2006.
The child was born in October 2002 to Addington. She lost custody of her sons in 2004 after she allegedly left the children in the care of friends in Forks, on the Olympic Peninsula.
In court papers, the Forks couple said they were particularly close to the child who is now hospitalized, raising him as their grandchild, even though they are not relatives. The arrangement was monitored by Child Protective Services in this state.
Three years ago, the couple petitioned for non-parental custody. Addington resisted. She and her sons are of American Indian heritage, and a tribal court had ruled Abegg should not have custody, she said Monday.
The Forks couple in September 2004 told a Pierce County Superior Court judge that Abegg was “in full support” of their gaining custody of his sons. At the time, the youngest boy had been living with the couple in Forks for more than a year, the eldest son about four months. State child welfare workers were monitoring the arrangement.
The placement with the Forks couple did not work out for a number of reasons. A Pierce County judge on Jan. 27, 2006, awarded Abegg full custody of his boys.
As part of the order, Addington was banned from having contact with her sons. She declined to discuss allegations of neglect and other reasons detailed in court papers.
Addington, 25, said she wants to bring her son home, and she wants to hold the boy’s father accountable.
“What kind of parent starves their child as punishment?” she asked.
All right. Fair question. But I heard the woman on the news today talking about her own troubled past, her problems (vaguely) that kept her away from her son by a court-order. All I can say that I hope God watches out for that little boy makes sure he’s never near the likes of either of his parents.
And yes, I hope, the girlfriend thinks about the boy she watched melt to near death everytime she puts a fork in her own mouth.
March 13th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
I don’t get it. Some people need to be sterilized!! Couldn’t he put the boy up for adoption? Was the GF afraid of the boyfriend if she did feed the boy? Stray animals are more monitored closely….
March 13th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
I cannot believe these people. I wouldn’t call them parents…. that’s for sure. Parents are supposed to love and protect their young. NEVER would a parent let their child starve to death. This is so wrong on so many levels.
And to think there was another person that could have saved this child – just by giving him something to eat. Instead, she watched him waste away while her own child eat quite well. This has literally made me sick to my stomach. WHY? HOW? That’s all that keeps running throught my head…. Why would they do this…. And how could they do this?
It’s just pure evil……..
March 13th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
What a horrific story. I think measures should be taken to that the father can never have any more children. I have an idea or two of how to ensure that!
March 13th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Why did the father have to appear in District Court? For crying out loud! Shouldn’t the allegations and potential charges be a felony and therefore Superior Court?
I hope they prosecute this lousy excuse of a father for attempted murder and that the girlfriend is also held accountable for her lack of intervention and any other role she played in this child’s abuse.
The only good news in this tragic story is that the boy was rescued from certain death. It may have only been weeks or days away.
March 13th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Unbelievable. I’m with Anna. Some people should NOT have children. And that girlfriend sitting by and enabling the abuse! She’s as accountable as the “father” (he doesn’t deserve the word!)
Has anyone read “A Child Called It” by Dave Pelzer? He was horrifically abused by his mother (one of the worst cases in California history), but he lived to tell the tale:
http://tinyurl.com/yu7p3m
Heartwrenching. But his courage and strength, despite all hell, are inspiring.
March 14th, 2007 at 1:45 am
Well just maybe the father needs to not have any food for awhile. This is terriable. I hope he gets the book thrown at him but good.
Halo that man wrote about 3 or 4 books. Its a series on all the abuse he went through.
March 14th, 2007 at 4:58 am
I have read the 4 books that Dave Pelzer wrote and it is unbelievable that a mother could single out only ONE of her four (or five) children and treat them so badly while everyone [including his father] looked on and said and did nothing. The above case resembles Pelzer’s past but hopefully this little boy won’t have to suffer quite as long as Dave did. PURE EVIL is the only way to put it, Halo. If I remember correctly, nothing happened to Dave’s mother either. Maybe tha will not be the case here. And as for the GF, I don’t care if her child was well fed, she shouldn’t get her daughter back either. I could not watch anyone starve to death, much less an innocent child.
March 14th, 2007 at 5:42 am
This just turns my stomach and breaks my heart.
March 14th, 2007 at 5:51 am
Here’s the thing. The girlfriend will not feel remorse every time she takes a bite of food. People like her have no sorrow for others. Only themselves. To me she is just as bad if not worse then the father. She had a child that was fed. She as a mother should have felt compassion and anger. Like the father said he did not have a bond with his child.(of course in that case he never should have had him) Still as a mother I couldn’t look on at other children in need and do nothing.
March 14th, 2007 at 6:11 am
Monsters, that’s what they are, friggin freaks of nature. I don’t think anything makes me more crazy or sad than the abuse of a child.
Definately a case where the punishment should fit the crime. Throw both him and the girlfriend in prison and STARVE their sorry asses. Excuse the French, but I’m about to rocket through the ceiling.
I feel the need to fast today.
March 14th, 2007 at 6:17 am
TXMichelle is right. The girlfriend could give to frigs about the kid. She fended for her own to stay healthy. I wish more people would step up to be Guardian Ad Litems (sp?) in WA and FL which happen to be the 2 states most in the news for neglect. My dad does it for GA and I have considered doing it here in NC.
March 14th, 2007 at 6:18 am
Disgusting. Why on earth did he take custody of him in the first place if he really didnt want him. I hope he goes to jail for attempted murder.
March 14th, 2007 at 6:25 am
Attempted murder charges sound good to me on this one. How could they do this to a small child? I bet starvation wasn’t the only punishment this little boy got either. May they put him with a loving family who can begin to heal the emotional wounding this boy has gone through as well as the physical ones.
March 14th, 2007 at 6:39 am
Unbelievable. Mandatory sterilization and loss of parental rights is only a start – the father and his girlfriend need to be put on the “popcorn diet” for a few years. Ugggh.
March 14th, 2007 at 6:40 am
Yeah, why doesn’t the law work like that? If it were an adult who was treated this way they would have charged him with attempted murder. Since it is just a child it is negligence. BS is what I say. A child has no way out of the situation, at least an adult could run or get out or even feed themselves. I don’t get it…
March 14th, 2007 at 7:04 am
There are SO many things to condemn in this case! But the bottom line is that this poor child was never really protected by anyone who was supposed to be looking out for him. He would probably have been better off in a foster home or orphanage.
I think that along with the so-called father and his girlfriend, the CPS worker(s) should also go down for this. I don’t know how any of them can look at themselves in the mirror.
The tragic–and angering–factor of cases like this is that the stop gap that is supposed to prevent the abuse is allegedly in place (aka CPS)…yet children still go unprotected.
Above all, it breaks my heart to think of the permanent damage done to this innocent child when there are SO many people who wish they could have children but are physically unable.
March 14th, 2007 at 7:09 am
I too thought of Dave Pelzer after reading this entry.
This guy and his girlfriend should be locked in a room, made to eat their own shit while acid slowly drips into their open wounds… okay, I’m going overboard here.
Anyone who stands by and watches is just as responsible. How is it possible to direct such hatred to a child? I just don’t understand that part and probably never will.
March 14th, 2007 at 8:03 am
I couldn’t read the whole article, it was so dreadful. I agree with you, Anna, some people should be sterilized. It’s always the nicest people find they are infertile and would so love a child which the other people, who give birth to shoals of kids, treat them with such appalling brutality.
March 14th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Why was he taken from his Mom?
March 14th, 2007 at 8:55 am
I just hugged my daughter.
It is unbelievable that people–er, trash like this treat their children, their flesh and blood in this way. This poor child–I feel so bad for him. I always ask myself, why? Why do people look the other way? I don’t know how evil you have to be to just sit and watch a child practically starve to death. I don’t know how anyone can just sit and watch it happening while you are feeding your face and feeding your child. It’s absolutely disgusting.
March 14th, 2007 at 9:26 am
“Child Protective Services has a long history with the family, court records show.”
??? Okay, this is baffling – CPS has a long history with the family, yet left a child in the care of this unfit, piss-poor excuse of a parent anyway?? And, it does seem to me that this guy WANTED the boy to die, so attempted murder would be fitting.
March 14th, 2007 at 10:17 am
Gregg Said: “The girlfriend who made sure her baby was well fed. How in the world can anyone sit by and watch a child starve? She was released over the weekend. I don’t know her name, but if I did, I’d put it right here.”
Be careful what you wish for grasshopper. I am the Secret Squirrel and I bring you my nuts…er, I mean, exclusive CR info.
The girlfriend looks to be Katie L. DeCoteau. This is based on DeCoteau using the same address that Abegg was arrested at as well as having a prior Lynwood, WA address in common with him.
Both Katie and a relative named Nancy, who might be her sister, are/were the Court Clerks for the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe
In June 2006 Everett Community College photographed Katie and her then 2-year old daughter salsa dancing for an article. The quote in the EVCC publication was “EVCC business administration student Katie DeCoteau (above) salsa dances with her daughter Eden, 2, at EvCC’s Cinco de Mayo celebration. DeCoteau is taking a salsa dancing class through EvCC’s Continuing Education Department.
“Recently Katie sent the following letter to Trinity Consluting Services after purchasing their manuals on becoming financially secure.
My name is Katie L. DeCoteau. I’m 21. I purchased the manuals last year. I’m writing to thank all of you at Trinity Consulting Services for this great opportunity. I have to say I have spent money on real estate training before and even with places that offer mentoring, but they were not as available or as interested in helping me succeed as you are here at Trinity Consulting. The educational material that was sent is great! They’re so easy to understand and the testimonials are motivating. When I did not have time to read the books, the tapes are a wonderful backup when I’m on the road. Also, I just registered on the Trinity Consulting Services website and it is so easy to navigate and find people to talk to about my questions and concerns. Though I am new at this, I feel confident that I can make my dream of financial security come true!
Thank you Trinity Consulting!
Sincerely,
Katie L. DeCoteau”
March 14th, 2007 at 10:31 am
hehheheh good show SS
March 14th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Perhaps part of the financial security plan was to save money on food by starving children.
Horrible crime. That poor child. Disgusting people. ARG!
March 14th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Secret Squirrel, great investigation skills there. One comment….when you copied the information about KLD salsa dancing you also quoted her child’s name. In my humble opinion you should have left out the child’s name, as she is an innocent party in all of this.
March 14th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Thank you Secret Squirrel! And Jeanne NJ is pretty damn bad too. We had the same thing happen here, only they didnt just pick out one kid.
March 14th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Sibby from Maryland Says:
[...]In my humble opinion you should have left out the child’s name [...]
Sibby if the information wasn’t already on the public Internet I would have pulled the child’s name out. However since everyone with a computer can get the exact same article through Google there seemes to be little point in it.
March 14th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
This is beyond evil……..
March 14th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
I would never even send my children to bed without their dinner when they were younger, the guilt was too overwhelming.
This case is truly one of the worst I have read about. Gregg, thank you for bringing it to our attention. I’m not surprise you were mad!
Take care
Millie
March 14th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Shane’s name was reported by the media on Monday. His picture has been running in today’s papers.
March 14th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Sickening.
March 14th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
What could a child possibly do so bad to be punished like this? Nothing. I am glad the police got to him. What a shame.
March 14th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
I hate what people do to children and think nothing of it. Calling that punishment is disgusting. There is nothing that I can think of to do to these kind of people that would be bad enough.
March 14th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
On Tuesday, Danny Jay Abegg, was charged with first-degree criminal mistreatment.
“Under state law, the standard sentence for someone convicted of first-degree criminal mistreatment is six months to a year in jail, deputy prosecutor Ed Stemler said.”
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/03/14/100loc_a1abuse001.cfm
GRRRRRRR
March 14th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
I just finished reading the same article and was about to rant on the very same thing. Can you believe this? Six months to a year? That is a joke of a sentence for the slow torment that this child has endured. We can only hope and pray that they file additional charges….
Here’s another snip from that same article:
“We are looking at other possibilities,” (deputy prosecutor Ed) Stemler said.
That could mean more charges or adding special circumstances that would allow a judge to hand down a longer sentence once a conviction is won, Stemler said.
March 14th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Only six months to one freaking year for nearly *intentionally* killing a child? That’s unreal.
I keep going back to the part of the story where Abegg says he never bonded with the child. Well then, why did he undertake the ‘raise’ the child? And wasn’t his lack of affection and bonding with the child obvious to social workers? No, never mind…the child’s starvation obviously was not apparent to social workers so why should the lack of bonding? It makes me wonder if Washington’s CPS people are blind.
These cases just make me feel so totally disgusted and angry that I can’t see straight.
March 14th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Six months to one year for all the suffering that child endured?? I suppose with good time off for behavior he can be out after serving six weeks. Unbelievable. People get longer sentences for animal cruelty. I am outraged. They sure as hell need to be looking for other charges.
March 14th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Right! Totally bogus. Amazing how people who inflict cruelty to animals get the same if not stiffer sentences then those who abuse a child! Either crime is unacceptable, but if we had a choice….
March 14th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
After reading the probable cause statement it says that Danny told LE the name of his live-in girlfriend ~ The name he gave is **Marliea Mitchell**.
Here’s the link:
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/03/13/abeggprobablecause.pdf
March 14th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
So is the bitch Marliea or Katie?
March 14th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
I too was going to say that posting the childs name shouldn’t matter since it has been public knowledge all over the place.
March 14th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Decoteau and Abegg have the Gibson address he was arrested at in common, all the way down to the Apt. number.
Decoteau, Abegg and Mitchell all have the Gibson address in common, all the way down to the Apt. number
Decoteau and Abegg also have a prior Lynwood, WA address in common.
The MSM reported that the girlfriend is of American Indian heritage. Decoteau has an address traceable to tribal land, Mitchell does not appear to have same.
There certainly appears to be a connection between Abegg and Decoteau.
So if there is an error, it seems a reasonable error based on the information available that links Decoteau and Abegg together.
March 14th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
I forgot to mention that Mitchell and Abegg also have a prior Lynnwood, WA address in common (just like Abegg and Decoteau do, albeit a different address). Also, the identifying information linked to Mitchell indicates that she should be 24 at the youngest, not 22. Decoteau appears to be the 22 year old.
March 14th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
You’ve got me thinking about the addresses being the same for these three people. There is the possibility that Abegg and Mitchell were staying with the Decoteau woman…?? Abegg said that he “told state workers he was essentially homeless” in a statement to LE. Wouldn’t that explain the same addresses?
Don’t get me wrong, I could be completely off base here, but what I don’t get is why he would tell LE that his girlfriend was Mitchell if in fact it was really Decoteau….
March 14th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
With the common elements between all of them it is begining to look like there could be another layer to this story.
It certainly seems like both women lived at the same Everett location with Abegg, and both women have children of their own.
Also, I was mistaken, it wasn’t the girlfriend that was ID’d by the MSM as Indian it was Abegg. However, that still links in to Decoteau’s tribal affiliation.
March 14th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Unfortunately the “dad” will be feed 3 meals a day in jail. Maybe someone will do jail justice.!
March 15th, 2007 at 4:49 am
Maybe one of the cooks could add a little exlax to every meal. That ought to keep his intestines in a wad.
March 15th, 2007 at 6:24 am
There are no words to describe such appalling acts.
And, doesn’t this say multitudes about child services?
March 15th, 2007 at 6:53 am
ExLax…how about a little anti-freeze…or rat poison…
People who mistreat animals get more of a punishment. Sickening. Our justice system leaves A LOT to be desired.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:03 am
The shame here is that if this hadn’t been caught when it was, this poor baby would have died. Then it would have been murder, and maybe he would have gotten 5 years. Our justice system enrages me, especially when it comes to crimes against our children. These heinous acts need to be treated differently, IMO. Laws need to be changed.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:48 am
Sort of on the level with Eli Stutzman and the guy who served 11 months for raping a day old baby. All those people that could have spoken up sooner and you hear it so many times in child abuse cases. There is no excuse for this. As a nation we have almost resorted back to the 1800’s when it comes to the mind your business mentality.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:57 am
TXMichelle brought something to my attention the other day. In AZ (I think) there was a man who had a porn collection. In that collection he had approx. 20 pieces of child porn ~ mind you, he didn’t take the pics himself, they were just in his possesion. He was arrested and charged with the 20 pictures he had, and was sentenced to 10 YEARS for EACH PICTURE… 200 years in jail just for having child porn.
In the article the reporter was whining that the man received way too much time for those pics. I say, the rest of the U.S. needs to catch up to this law. When it comes to our children, the laws need to be much more strict than they are today. This case is a perfect example of that – don’t ya think?
March 15th, 2007 at 9:04 am
Yepper Nik,
I agree absolutely. The fact that he did not take the pictures is irrelevant. If he and others weren’t looking for them there would be no demand, and it would not lead to more abductions of children for blackmarket products.
It is the same for this instance. All of the bystanders should be charge with neglegence and the father should be tried for attempted homicide.
March 15th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
We have a sad case here in San Antonio, but unfortunately 2 children were murdered and placed in trash bags under their home. The parents continued to live there, telling neighbors that a dead animal was the cause of the horrible smell. The children were 18 mos. and 4 mos. old! The parents have been captured, after being on the run for 3 days. The eldest child was actually killed on Christmas Eve, the youngest 2 weeks ago. Thank God the boy in WA was found alive, although barely, before his father could conceal his body! Just makes me want to cry while I load my gun!
March 15th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Load it Jeanie!! I have one we can hunt together!
March 15th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
I think it might be a Federal sentencing standard that pervs get X number of years for each child porn photo on their computer.
I know of a case where a guy used to be into child porn but after a time realized that he had problems. He went into treatment for it and stopped collecting it. He thought he’d deleted all of it off of his computer. BUT one of his sons found a few pics remaining on the computer and turned him into the police.
He not only got sentenced for the pics his son found but he also got sentenced for those that he’d deleted but remained on his hard drive. I don’t sympathize with child molesters or anyone involved with child pornography. But I almost had to feel sorry for this particular guy because he *was* getting psychiatric help and thought he’d gotten rid of all of it.
Jeanne, that sounds like a horrible case.
March 15th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Secret Squirrel, thanks for your update. I fully understand.
I am aghast at the possibility of such a small sentence for the amount of cruelty that was exacted on this small boy.
March 16th, 2007 at 3:21 am
Hey these people are so popular that they should know better than to drink cheap booze in the sunshine.
SabraUltra is now waiting to see how long before this post will google.
March 16th, 2007 at 10:38 am
I am a mother of two children. My youngest is two years old and she is a product of……I had a fosterchild who became pregnant (after) she left our home and she was not able to care for the child so I offered to help. This was supposed to be until she got on her feet! Well, The baby is two now and the mother is off smoking crack somewhere and occasionally calls em to say….”Oh when I get the baby back…..stories”. Ok now I have taken full custody of the baby ( i made that move when mother was in jail) …but here is why I tell you this…… Even after all of the stuff she has done, I wouldnt be a bit surprised that if she gets an inkling to straighten herself up for a few days that the “system” souldnt return her right back to her!! You would not believe the homes children are returned to. As a former fosterparent, I could tell you stories that would make your hair stand up on your neck. But I left the Agency quietly for fear they would try to take my kids! I am a good, responsible stay at home mom….and I was in fear of retribution if I made waves at the Foster Agency. This system that is SUPPOSEDLY IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILD….is a farce. Understaffed, not the agency I was with. They created positions for nonsense and when I alerted them that I felt my child was being given excessive meds (hello, she would literally pass out) They wrote me up for non compliance because I gave her half-doses over the weekend (after talking to the pharmacist that told me the dose she was on was potenitally “lethal”). Of course I saved my foster-daughters life, but got wrote up! Im telling oyu, that is one story of many.
People that abuse children should have NO RIGHTS. It discusts me that the Biological parents have to always have their rights considered when no one cares enough to protect a baby! And furthermore—–did no one in the world not notice that this baby was so tinY??? For God sake people, Get Involved. If your not part of the solution then YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM !!
March 16th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Michelle, I hear ya. My former husband was a social worker with the Missouri Div. of Family Services and worked with foster children. I try not to recall being married to the moron, but I do remember his and his co-workers’ arrogant attitudes any time a foster parent would dare question anything the agency deemed appropriate.
March 16th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Michelle,
Kudos to you for taking the matter in hand. I don’t work with foster children, but I do run an inhome daycare. I am fortunate with the children and parents I have now. Previously I had seen many horrors and just recently wound up in the middle of a seperated couples he said/she said about which one was sexually molesting their children. It turned out to be the mother’s girlfriend with the mother’s knowledge. Here is the worst part though…They both ran a daycare of their own prior to their divorce and bringing the children to us. It just pisses ya off to no end doesn’t it.
March 17th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Looks like the girlfriend, is charged, too.
http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=6239518&nav=menu484_2_10
Charges filed in Everett against father, girlfriend
EVERETT, Wash. Prosecutors filed charges in Everett today against a man and his live-in girlfriend, accusing them of deliberately withholding food from the man’s 4-year-old son.
27-year-old Danny Jay Abegg and 22-year-old Marilea Rose Mitchell, of Everett, were charged in Snohomish County Superior Court with first-degree criminal mistreatment.
Prosecutors allege that the couple deprived Abegg’s son … Shayne … food until the boy weighed a mere 22 pounds, about half the weight of a healthy child age.
In charging papers, prosecutors say Abegg allegedly told detectives he didn’t feed his son as a way to punish the boy.
Someone called Child Protective Services on March 7th to report possible child abuse involving the boy.
At Children’s Hospital in Seattle, the boy was diagnosed with severe malnutrition.
March 17th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Since they were in Everett and Lynnwood I hope to god they never took him to Steven’s. If they did, that may be how they got away with it for so long. That hospital should be closed.
March 17th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Why do you say that Jeanne? I’ve never heard anything bad about Stevens Memorial Hospital. I’ve known several people that have obtained medical services at SMH successfully.
March 18th, 2007 at 2:59 am
because 7 years ago this May a surgeon was doing an everyday surgery on me (removing my gall bladder) and somehow nicked my liver. For the next 4 months I was in and out of that place with bile leaking into my abdomen and the worst bedside manner I have ever dealt with. They had to do 8 procedures before they fixed it and by that time I had been fired from my job. The last round of it I got an infection somehow and the doctor said “if there WAS infection in there there isn’t anymore.”
The IV people were horrible! I had a nurse that made my husband sit there on the bed and hold my hand while she changed the iv when he doesn’t like the site of blood. He wasn’t even my husband at the time.
After my I believe in the end it was about 30 days in the hospital overall, suddenly I was hearing other bad stories about the place. I’m glad I at least lived. At one point they had me in the ICU.
I say it was horrible because they tricked me to admit me to the hospital. The doctor would call the ER and ask them to admit me and then would have me going to the ER thinking he was just going to check things there.
Since this experience I have had HORRIBLE anxiety towards hospitals, ivs, and ERs. They didn’t know how to do an endoscopy without stopping and then doing it at a later time knocked out.
Anytime I have to have an endoscopy or colonoscopy now I have to be put under heavy sedation by anest. I just had to have one of each in the last week.
All I know is after those situations I would drive out of my way not to go to that hospital.
Anyway, this is getting off topic so I’m going to stop.
March 18th, 2007 at 6:52 am
My adopted son started out in life like this boy.
This child may survive the starvation, but his problems will be lifelong. My son has learning disabilities and is still very tiny for his age. School is a nightmare….He looks like everyone else (other than being small), but the struggle to keep up just breaks my heart.
March 18th, 2007 at 11:24 am
Mary L I can’t even imagine what you and your son are going through.
My niece was born 8 weeks preemie and was 2 pounds 3 ounces. She just turned 5 and while still a little on the small side she is doing great.
I hope your son is able to do the same!
March 18th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Why do so many of these severe child abuse cases take place in Everett, WA? Matthew Parsons and Eli Creekmoore come quickly to mind when I think of past child abuse victims in Everett. I realize that child abuse is nationwide, however… it’s beginning to seem like Everett, WA has more than it’s fair share of children who make national headlines.
March 18th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
Everett is the child abuse area and Tacoma and surrounding area is the big meth area. I am not sure about Everett. To me it comes across as a nice area. I lived very close to it and went there all the time.
March 19th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
ok speaking of child abuse- how bout the 6 year old that brought a rock of crack cocaine in for show and tell on Friday in Shreveport, LA? The mom got charged with improper watching of child or something lame and was out with under $1000 bond the same day.
Grandma was refused custody so the kid is in a foster home where he won’t see people smoking crack in the house and be able to find a rock of crack “In the cup holder in mommies car.”
March 20th, 2007 at 7:30 am
This one should warm your hearts. 6 year old girl gets hit in the head with a curling iron by mom. Dad takes her to the hospital and nobody questions it.
2 days later the kid is still pissed apparently because she calls the cops to tell them mommy is selling cocaine. NOW they pay attention. Bitch was caught with over 200 bags of cocaine. Plus FINALLY was charged with child abuse.
Kudos to this little girl.
March 20th, 2007 at 10:47 am
lord almighty. Very true Melissa. Very courageous of her. I’m glad she stuck with it. Hopefully she will be placed with someone much better for her.
April 16th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I came across this and was instantly horrified. The parents should be hung! What really gets me, is that they’re only serving 8 years! That and the fact that this case did not seem to make national headlines…. What is with people? A case like this should be plastered everywhere so other people like the young lady who repeatedly reported the abuse will know that it’s ok to report crap like this… that if nothing happens they should keep trying and keep trying! Stuff like this should automatically be nation-wide news! And the flipping CPS should be shot in these cases. It sickens me that we put people in this position to help kids and they don’t even give a crap!
This little boy will be in my thoughts, hoping that he recovers and is able to someday put all this behind him.
September 3rd, 2008 at 4:01 pm
my brother did not do any thing and he should not be prosucuted for these alleged chares!
November 5th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
How do you know your brother didnt do anything? Were you there when the child was starving? If you ever saw this poor boy, you knew something was wrong! Hell, you are just as guilty then!!! How could you stand by and watch him starve this child? This boy is part of your family too. Why are you willing to defend a grown man who happens to be your brother, but not an innocent 4yr child who happens to be your NEPHEW!! Is the whole family messed up. Damn you people!!!!
January 15th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
danny didnt do this and you do not have any proof other than knowing that shayne was starved and mal nuturished what other evidence do you have. my whole family is not messed up and at the time of his starvation i was merily i child myself and what about her biological mother i mean where is she had a whole 1 year that can mean onlyone thing the did it and my brother was faulsly accused
January 16th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Dannny didnt do anything so shutup because you dont even know him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! shove it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 9th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
hey kendal, SHUT UP ABOUT DANNY yu dont even know him!!!!!! SHUVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 15th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
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June 3rd, 2010 at 1:46 pm
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