Officer said injuries merited kids' removal
By Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published January 31, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.
A Denver police officer who did a welfare check on Chandler Grafner last January said she thought he and his brother needed to be removed from their parents' home.
Officials at Holm Elementary School had notified social services after 7-year-old Chandler came to school Jan. 17, 2007, with an injured ear and bump on his head.
Officer Carrie Maestas said Wednesday that after her welfare check on Jan. 20, 2007, she took the children to the Family Crisis Center for evaluation by Denver social services. The agency determined that the reported abuse was unfounded and allowed the two boys to be returned to Sarah Berry and Jon Phillips.
Chandler died May 6 from starvation after being locked in a small closet, according to police reports.
Maestas testified in a motions hearing for Phillips and Berry, who face charges of first-degree murder and child abuse in Chandler's death.
Maestas said that after talking to the boys, she decided to take them from the home. "I thought it was best to remove (them)," she said.
Featured
-
DNC in Denver
Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
-
The Crevasse
A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.
-
Deadly denial
Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.
-
Final Salute
The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.
-
'Colorado's burning'
Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.
-
Columbine shootings
Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.
-
The Crossing
Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.
-
Osveli's journey
Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.
-
Wake for an Indian warrior
Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.
February 5, 2008
11:30 a.m.
Suggest removal
annie143 writes:
Every thing I read about the missteps surrounding this child just makes me more and more angry and primarily with the CPS! They need to be held accountable for this childs misery and death, the same as Phillips and Berry. And then, to think, all the reviews just say..."we are not responsible...." It makes me wonder what the human race is coming to.