GUILTY NY - Marchella Pierce, 4, disabled, starved to death, Brooklyn, 2 Sept 2010

KaylynnCouture

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A severely malnourished 4-year-old girl was found dead in a filthy Brooklyn apartment Thursday - and cops said there was evidence she was bound to her bed at some point.

Marchella Pierce weighed only 15 lbs. when police found her dead in her mother's apartment on Madison St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant about 7:30 a.m., police said.

Marchella's body, which was in her mother's bed, had bruises that were consistent with trauma, police sources said.

Inside the mother's bedroom was also a small bed for Marchella, who was born with underdeveloped lungs and breathed through a trachea tube connected to an oxygen tank, police said.

The bed had rails at its head and foot, and attached to each rail were two lengths of twine, police said.

"There were marks on each of the child's ankles consistent with her being tied up with that twine," a police source said.

The girl's mother, Carlotta Pierce, 30, was being questioned at the 81st Precinct stationhouse.

She told police she checked on her daughter about 4 a.m. and she was fine, the sources said.

The mother of three, who calls herself "a proud parent" on her MySpace page, claims she checked on her again at 6 a.m. and found her unresponsive, with cold hands.

Pierce said the reason she waited 90 minutes before calling 911 was because she was trying to revive her daughter.

The city Administration for Children's Services has previously investigated at least two complaints involving Marchella, the sources said.

The first case involved allegations Pierce had marijuana in her system when Marchella was born prematurely. The second case remains open, and no details were available, sources said.

A spokeswoman for ACS said the agency is investigating Marchella's death, but refused to comment further.

Pierce has two sons - a 5-year-old and a 9-month-old. Both children, who are healthy, were in the apartment when police arrived. Pierce's mother was there, too, and is being questioned by cops.

Snipped from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...tied_to_crib_in_mothers_brooklyn_apartme.html
 
...aaaand it gets worse. :(

An ailing four-year-old girl -- who weighed only about 15 pounds and was punished by being tied to her bed with twine -- was found dead in her Brooklyn home this morning, cops said.

Police are now questioning the mother and other relatives of Marchella Pierce, who has suffered from respiratory problems since birth and had a tracheotomy, law enforcement sources said.

Detectives are also investigating whether Marchella had trauma to her arms, wrists and ankles. They found food in the refrigerator at the girl's Bedford Stuyvesant home at 823 Madison Street and two other children who appeared to be healthy -- a five-year-old boy and a 9-month-old boy.

It looked like the little girl had been starving to death -- but law enforcement sources cautioned that she could have grown thin because of her illness.

"We don't know if it's because of a medical condition or lack of food," said one law enforcement source.

When police saw the twine in the bed, the mother, Carlotta Pierce, admitted that she had used it to tie the girl to her bed as punishment, sources said.

Outside the police station, the little girl's father, Tyrone Pierce, 30, said his daughter "had trouble breathing."

"She'd usually eat through the feeding tube," he told NBCNewYork. "This is the first time I'm hearing about her being restrained. Every time I'm here [at the home] she's running around playing with her siblings."

In July, Marchella's tracheotomy tube fell out and her mother took her to the hospital to get it re-inserted, sources said.. However the mother, 30, allegedly refused to undergo training suggested by the hospital in administering the device, said sources.

Detectives are awaiting an official cause of death from the Medical Examiner's office but sources said the little girl looked severely malnourished, with painfully thin legs and her ribs visible.

The mother said that Marchella had fallen down the stairs yesterday, when asked about signs of apparent trauma to the little girl's body, sources said. Carlotta Pierce also insisted that she had been taking proper care of Marchella and feeding her, the sources said. An oxygen tank had been installed in the little girl's room.

Snipped from http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Girl-4-Found-Dead-in-Brooklyn-Apartment-102088893.html
 
Oh, how tragic. I have an open mind but this is not sounding right. We had a case very similar to this last year, didn't we?

Why were there no in-home support services for this child? She was obviously disabled and would have qualified for early intervention services through the local school district and Child Find. She should have had a medical case manager--especially when her mother refused medical training. My heart just breaks as she must have struggled for breath.

Rest peacefully, little Marchella. Great big breaths when you run and play.
 
Oh, how tragic. I have an open mind but this is not sounding right. We had a case very similar to this last year, didn't we?

Why were there no in-home support services for this child? She was obviously disabled and would have qualified for early intervention services through the local school district and Child Find. She should have had a medical case manager--especially when her mother refused medical training. My heart just breaks as she must have struggled for breath.

Rest peacefully, little Marchella. Great big breaths when you run and play.

It appears that the city's Administration for Children's Services had been monitoring Marchella since birth, sources said. The agency last visited the home about two months ago and apparently did not raise any red flags then, sources said.


from the NBC link above

This is outrageous!!!
 
It appears that the city's Administration for Children's Services had been monitoring Marchella since birth, sources said. The agency last visited the home about two months ago and apparently did not raise any red flags then, sources said.


from the NBC link above

This is outrageous!!!

I can find about a million red flags, just from the articles I read. This is disgusting, sickening, shocking, and sad.
 
tied to a crib with twine? Words fail.
 
:( Words often fail me in alleged starvation cases. Even if her death was simply due to her medical condition the parents should have known she was growing increasingly ill. Fifteen pounds at four? She had to look like a skeleton (sorry for the visual). She deserved nothing less than the very best care.

RIP sweet angel. If what we believe is true, I hope those responsible all have to pay a hefty price.
 
Why was she tied to the bed?
RED FLAG!
15 lb and so severly weak, and sick; where would she get the strength to even sit up??????
 
My heart just breaks for this poor child. She never stood a chance and never had much of a life. She had to depend on this poor excuse for a human being for her care, and the result was no care or comfort.

May Marchella rest in heavenly peace.
 
how can a 4 yr old who only weighs 15lbs walk, let alone run about w/ her siblings? fishy. even if it is medical/illness, please explain why one would have to restrain her w/ twine??
 
The first article states that the mother of Carlotta Pierce was in the home and was also questioned by police. I wonder if she lived with them as well. As the grandmother of a four year old I believe I would have enough common sense to know that this child was starving to death. Also, the father said that every time he saw her she was "running around playing". I do NOT believe this. Not at fifteen pounds. This poor child was unable to run and play and I believe all of the adults in her life should be charged and tried for her death. There are no excuses for the way this child was treated. I'm happy she can now run and play to her heart's content.
 
TY charok and joes-you voiced what I had been thinking...how was she capable of running around and playing with her siblings much less so mobile she had to be restrained with twine..

Anyone want to guess she was having seizures, perhaps from dehydration or injury?
 
Speaks volumes that the mother didn't want to learn how to reinsert that trach.
 
Speaks volumes that the mother didn't want to learn how to reinsert that trach.

Agree, agree, agree. What I find incredible to believe is that the HOSPITAL allowed this little girl to go home with a caregiver who was not trained to reinsert her trach. I worked for one of the top 10 pediatric hospitals in this country for close to a decade. This little girl would have never ever been allowed to go home with a so called caregiver, can't even use the word mom, without proper training. That trach was her life line. Her airway. This little girl was failed by many. IMO.
 
Why would you leave the twine there and why use twine at all? There's things much softer that could have been used. No injuries, no evidence. Not making sense at all.
 
Many people don't realize that there are instances when some form of tethering is absolutely necessary. Our son had a central line in place for several months when he was 10 years old and was also highly suicidal. We were trained in how to gently tether his hands at night. We had to check on him every hour and had in-home support nurses in every couple of days. One of the most challenging things I ever learned to do was to cleanse and change the central line.

His tethers were loaned to us by the State Hospital and DHS was well aware of what we were doing as well as the school, the therapists, and all the doctors. So tethering does not have to be abuse.

This was abuse.
 
how can a 4 yr old who only weighs 15lbs walk, let alone run about w/ her siblings? fishy. even if it is medical/illness, please explain why one would have to restrain her w/ twine??

I have to wonder when was the last time dad saw her? I agree with you and everyone else that is say at 15 pounds - walking would be difficult, let alone running and playing. Maybe dad had not actually seen her in the last 6 months or so?

Salem
 
Cops were questioning the girl's mother, Carlotta Pierce, 30, her father, Tyrone Pierce, 30, and her grandmother, Loretta Brett.

Police sources said narcotics were found in the Madison St. apartment, but charges had yet to be filed. The NYPD's top spokesman, Paul Browne, said investigators are awaiting results of an autopsy, scheduled for Friday.

"My wife is a wonderful mother. I've never seen her hurt her kids," said Tyrone Pierce, who is separated.

Snipped from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...tied_to_crib_in_mothers_brooklyn_apartme.html

(Photos of the parents at the link as well)
 

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