Baby Dies After Siblings, 3, Put Her in Oven, Turn It On

[mick silver]

Newser) – An absolutely awful story out of Houston, where police say four children were left alone Monday night and their mother came home to find one of them dead. The two 3-year-old siblings of the 19-month-old little girl who died, J'Zyra Thompson, told authorities that one of them put the baby in the oven and the other one turned it on and made it "hot," ABC 13 (http://abc13.com/news/dad-looking-for-kids-left-home-alone-when-toddler-died/1091992/) reports. J'Zyra, they said, kicked the oven door while she was trapped inside. The oldest sibling, 5, was apparently asleep at the time, Click2Houston (http://www.click2houston.com/news/children-removed-from-home-after-baby-burned-to-death/36522670) reports. When Racquel Thompson, the children's mother, returned home from going out with her boyfriend to get takeout pizza and pick up a prescription, she attempted CPR, but it was too late. J'Zyra died of multiple burns. Police say Racquel Thompson had left the children without informing a grandmother who also lived at the apartment complex. The three surviving children are in foster care, as CPS could not find suitable relatives to care for them. Criminal charges are expected, though none have yet been filed. (In Kentucky, an arrest has been made (http://www.newser.com/story/216407/arrest-made-in-murder-of-7-year-old-kentucky-girl.html) in the killing of a girl who went missing at a football game.)

[mick silver]

Children removed from home after baby burned to death Author: Courtney Gilmore (http://www.click2houston.com/Reporter/2831902), Reporter, cgilmore@kprc.com
Cathy Hernandez (http://www.click2houston.com/Reporter/33955306), Reporter

Published On: Nov 18 2015 11:49:45 AM CST Updated On: Nov 18 2015 06:29:45 PM CST


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Children removed from home after baby burned to death
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EARLY NEXT YEAR. MORE BREAKING NEWS WE ARE FOLLOWING. A JUDGE RULED THE THREE SIBLINGS OF A 19 MONTH OLD BABY BURNED TO DEATH WILL STAY IN FOSTER CARE. CATH YEAR HERNANDEZ WAS INSIDE THE COURTROOM FOR THE HEARING. WHAT ELSE ARE WE LEARNING FROM THAT? Reporter: CPS CALLED THIS EMERGENCY HEARING TODAY AFTER THEY BELIEVE THAT THOSE CHILDREN ARE IN DANGER. AND THOSE CHILDREN SHOULD NOT BE IN THE CUSTODY OF THEIR PARENTS. SO TODAY THAT JUDGE AGREED. TODAY IN A HEARING A JUDGE ORDERED A FIVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND HER THREE-YEAR-OLD BROTHER AND SISTER TO STAY IN FOSTER CARE. WHILE THEY WERE HOME ALONE MONDAY NIGHT, THEIR 19-MONTHS-OLD SISTER MANAGEELED TO GET INSIDE THE OVEN AND IT WAS TURNED ON. SHE DIED FROM SEVERE BURNS. CPS TOLD THE JUDGE THE FIVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL HAS GONE BACK AND FORTH, BUT CLAIMS TO HAVE BEEN SLEEPING WHEN IT ALL HAPPENED. THE CASE WORKER ALSO SAYS ONE OF THE THREE-YEAR-OLDS TOOK RESPONSIBILITY FOR PUTTING THE BABY IN THE OVEN. CPS SAYS IT WILL CONTINUE TALKING WITH THE THREE CHILDREN. WE'RE STILL GOING TO BE WORKING WITH THE CHILDREN. PART OF THAT'S GOING TO BE THE COUNSELING TO SEE IF WE CAN HELP THEM DEALING WITH THOSE MEMORIES AND WHAT HAPPENED. Reporter: INVESTIGATORS SAY THE MOTHER WAS AT WORK MONDAY NIGHT AND LEFT THE FOUR CHILDREN WITH HER BOYFRIEND. POLICE QUESTIONED THE MOTHER, WHO HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF PREVIOUS CPS CASES, ALONG WITH HER BOYFRIEND. IT'S UNCLEAR IF THEY'LL FACE CHARGES. THE ATTORNEY FOR THE CHILDREN SAYS BOTH THREE-YEAR-OLDS ARE IN ONE HOME AND THE FIVE-YEAR-OLD IS IN ANOTHER. THE NEXT HEARING TO TALK ABOUT THE CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN IS DECEMBER 2. REPORTING LIVE IN DOWNTOWN



HOUSTON - Three siblings of a 19-month-old girl who was burned to death (http://www.click2houston.com/news/1yearold-burned-to-death-in-northeast-police-investigate/36491634) inside a northeast Houston apartment on Monday will be placed in foster care.
Case workers from Child Protective Services filed an emergency hearing to take custody of the three children. According to CPS, there have been previous reports made concerning the mother.

According to homicide detectives from the Houston Police Department, the mother was at work and left her three children with her boyfriend at the Angel Ridge Apartments off the 8600 block of Sterlingshire Street.

The children -- a 5-year-old, two 3-year-olds and a 19-month-old girl -- were home alone when they started to play with the oven. Emergency crews arrived after midnight, but there was nothing they could do to save the baby, J'zyra Thompson.

"Upon their arrival they found a deceased 1-year-old," HPD homicide detective Ronda Pemberton said. "We found the baby next to the oven. It appears to be accidental."

On Wednesday, authorities focused on her three siblings who were a 5-year-old girl, 3-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy.

"The court found that there was an immediate danger to those three children and granted us emergency custody," said County Attorney Amy Strickland.

"Both of them had left the children home alone. What was reported was that they had left to get a pizza. The children were left at home for an extended amount of time and that's when obviously the child somehow managed to be inside an oven," said Estella Olguin with CPS.


"She was a sweet baby," said Gina Dennis, the child's grandmother. "This is unexplainable. I have no words."

CPS told the judge the 5-year-old girl claims to have been sleeping when it happened. The case worker also said one of the 3-year-old children took responsibility for putting the baby in the oven.

"We're still going to be working with the children. Part of that is going to be counseling to see if we can help them deal with those memories and what happened," said Strickland.

The children's attorney said the 5-year-old was in one home and the other two children were in another home.

Police questioned the mother and her boyfriend. It's unclear if they'll face charges.

The next hearing was set for Dec. 2.



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[midnight rambler]

Oops! Looks like she's gonna lose those welfare checks from the state.

[brosil]

First off, bad mom. Second, it's not accidental. I read a study some time ago where a doctor had looked into similar "accidental" deaths. He found the siblings knew precisely what they were doing. They wanted their brother/sister dead. Mom wasn't paying them as much attention as she used to or the baby made to much noise so they took care of the problem. That's why you have to watch kids all the time.

[madfranks]

First off, bad mom. Second, it's not accidental. I read a study some time ago where a doctor had looked into similar "accidental" deaths. He found the siblings knew precisely what they were doing. They wanted their brother/sister dead. Mom wasn't paying them as much attention as she used to or the baby made to much noise so they took care of the problem. That's why you have to watch kids all the time.Wow, good point and I didn't even think about that. Kids that age don't understand the full consequences of life/death, they just know they want their little sister gone.