GUILTY MA - Jason & Holli Strickland for attempted murder of 11yo child, Westfield, 2005

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PrayersForMaura

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WESTFIELD, Mass. Dec 5, 2005 — Photos hanging on Allison Avrett's living room wall show her daughter Haleigh as a smiling little girl with brown bangs hanging over her squinting eyes.

Most of the pictures were taken before Avrett gave Haleigh up for adoption five years ago and long before the alleged beating that landed the 11-year-old in a hospital attached to the ventilator and feeding tube that keep her alive.

Now, with Haleigh's doctors saying she will never recover from her vegetative state, the child is at the center of a right-to-die legal struggle.

The state Department of Social Services, which has had custody of Haleigh since she was hospitalized Sept. 11, wants to remove her from life support.

Her stepfather, Jason Strickland, who is charged in her beating and could be tried for murder if she dies, wants to keep her alive. Strickland is free on bail while awaiting trial.

A juvenile court judge has ruled that Haleigh should be allowed to die. Strickland has appealed, and the state's highest court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case Tuesday.

Avrett, who gave up her parental rights when she let her sister Holli adopt Haleigh in 2000, says her daughter should not suffer anymore.

"They say the most she might ever do is open her eyes," said Avrett, a 29-year-old stay-at-home mom with two other children. "I don't want her to sit there longer than she needs to."

Police say the injuries that left Haleigh with severe brain stem injuries came at the hands of Strickland and his wife Holli Allison Avrett's sister.


More... http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/wireStory?id=1373187&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
 
A Massachusetts juvenile court judge has ruled the girl should be allowed to die. And the state Department of Social Services wants to remove her from the ventilator and feeding tube that are keeping her alive.

Strickland's lawyer has filed a legal brief asking that Strickland be named the girl's de facto parent.
http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4201380&nav=5kZQ
 
I don't like his attorney at all. The man who put her in this state should be named her de facto parent? No way!
 
SewingDeb said:
I don't like his attorney at all. The man who put her in this state should be named her de facto parent? No way!
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The only reason he wants her alive is because he doesn't want to be charged with her murder. A$$hole, should rott for what he did to her:furious: God bless her little soul.
 
Amen. I agree completely.
 
I have searched the forums and threads and can't find any references to this case. We sometimes get the New York Times national edition here and I happened to read about this case there. A full page article appeared in the front section. The case is in Boston. It's about the abuse suffered by this little girl, who is now in a vegatative state, and the step-father wants to keep her on life support. She was adopted by her aunt, who after the incidents that took her to the hospital the last time, either killed herself and her grandmother or vice-verse. The step-father was not on the adoption papers and is not a legal guardian, the state is at this time. The state would like to take her off life support.

Here is the google page I found, full of links:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=haleigh+poutre&btnG=Google+Search

Anyone in that area got anything on this case, or point me to the forum and thread here?
 
Just reading this lets me know these are a sick bunch. This man doesn't want her to be taken off life support because he knows he will be charged with murder. I hope they do what is best for Haleigh. And I hope they put that creep under the jail. :furious: I wonder if he had anything to do with the death of the aunt and grandmother?



Her stepfather, Jason Strickland, who is charged with beating her and who could face a murder charge if she dies, wants to keep her alive.

A Juvenile Court judge has already ruled that Haleigh should be allowed to die. Strickland appealed, and the state's highest court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case tomorrow. It will be the first time DSS has argued such a case before the Supreme Judicial Court.

Concern for daughter

Avrett, who gave up her parental rights when she let her sister adopt Haleigh in 2000, says her daughter shouldn't suffer anymore.

"They say the most she might ever do is open her eyes," said Avrett, a 29-year-old stay-at-home mom with two other children. "I don't want her to sit there longer than she needs to."

Police say the injuries that left Haleigh with severe brain stem injuries came at the hands of Strickland and his wife, Holli, Avrett's sister. Within two weeks of the couple pleading innocent to the beating, Holli Strickland was dead, fatally shot in her grandmother's West Springfield apartment. The body of her 71-year-old grandmother, Constance Young, was beside her. The possible murder-suicide is still under investigation.
 
Horrible Story :(

BOSTON - A man accused of beating his stepdaughter tried Tuesday to convince skeptical justices on the state’s highest court that he should have a say in whether the comatose 11-year-old is removed from life support. Jason Strickland, who could face a murder charge if Haleigh Poutre dies, wants the seven-member Supreme Judicial Court to overturn a juvenile court judge’s decision that he has no parental rights over the girl, who is now in state custody.

“Without intervention from this court, this child will die,” said John Egan, one of Strickland’s lawyers.

Haleigh’s mother, Allison Avrett, gave up her parental rights when she let her sister Holli adopt Haleigh in 2000. Avrett says her daughter should not suffer anymore.

“They say the most she might ever do is open her eyes,” said Avrett, a 29-year-old stay-at-home mom with two other children. “I don’t want her to sit there longer than she needs to.”

Haleigh was hospitalized in September with severe brain injuries. Police say her stepfather and his wife Holli kicked her and beat her nearly to death with a baseball bat.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10349294/
 
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The state's highest court ruled Tuesday that the state can withdraw life support from an 11-year-old girl who was badly beaten, allegedly by her adoptive mother and stepfather.
Haleigh Poutre, of Westfield, was hospitalized in September after she was allegedly kicked and beaten nearly to death with a baseball bat.

The girl's stepfather, Jason Strickland, asked the Supreme Judicial Court last month to block the state from taking her off life support, arguing that he was the girl's "de facto" parent. He is already charged in her beating and if she dies, could face a murder charge.

The adoptive mother, Holli Strickland, who was also Haleigh's aunt, was also charged in the beating and was found dead alongside her grandmother in a possible murder-suicide less than two weeks later.

The state Department of Social Services has custody of the girl and wants to remove her from life support, citing opinions from her doctors that the girl is in a permanent vegetative state.

A juvenile court judge granted the state's request to disconnect Haleigh's feeding tube and ventilator, prompting Jason Strickland to appeal to the SJC. Doctors had said Haleigh would die within a few days without the feeding tube.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060117/ap_on_re_us/life_support_struggle;_ylt=AlvvbtzNZfXtEThScTViQN.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MjBwMWtkBHNlYwM3MTg-
................................
:( This poor sweetheart suffered so much .All this cares about is when she dies he will get DP :behindbar I hope he rots in hell.
 
Girl in coma shows possible signs of life
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. A comatose girl in Massachusetts who was set to be taken off life support is responding to stimuli.

A spokeswoman for the state's Department of Social Services says, "There's a possible change in her condition." More tests are planned tomorrow.

More: http://www.khnl.com/Global/story.asp?S=4381177&nav=0bov2QvD
 
I'll give up hoping the SOB will be charged with 1st degree, if she can recover.
Prayers.
 
A comatose girl in Massachusetts who was set to be taken off life support is responding to stimuli.

More tests are planned for Wednesday.

Massachusetts has custody of the young girl and got a ruling Tuesday from the state's highest court allowing removal of her ventilator and feeding tube.

But state officials ordered more testing before actually going through with the removals. http://www.wmtw.com/news/6229953/detail.html
 
I can't get this little peanut off my mind, please let her get better.
 
Excuse me, Mr. Congressman, but where are all of you who were willing to pass a bill about Terri Schaivo in Florida? Excuse me, all of the people who protested in FL, where are all of you standing up for this little girl?

Terri was an adult, and had a mom and dad and family to push for her not to be taken off life support. This little 11 year old has a bio-mom who gave her away (and not when she was young and might have been adopted by a decent, screened family), a step-dad who is responsible for her condition, and no one to fight for her. And nobody is.
 
Does anyone have an update on Haleigh? Is she still alive? We have seen too many similar cases as of late! God bless her.


Scandi
 
Haleigh Poutre’s prospects for recovery from brain injury remain unclear, but her age and the cause of her injury may better her odds.

Children have an advantage because they have greater brain “plasticity,” said Dr. Douglas Katz, associate professor of neurology at the Boston University School of Medicine and director of brain injury at Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital. Undamaged parts of their brain are more likely to take over for damaged parts, he said.

If the brain damage is due to trauma, as in Haleigh’s case, the chances of recovery are also better than if the damage is the result of oxygen deprivation, Katz said.
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=122296
 
BOSTON DSS has been under fire lately after an 11-year-old girl was beaten into a coma while she was in a foster home.

Now, the agency's director is firing back.

Commissioner Harry Spence says his staff and several health professionals believed Haleigh Poutre's injuries were self-inflicted.
http://cbs4boston.com/local/local_story_021180050.html

Huhhhh????

Ok, better article. They also have an update on her condition.
The Department of Social Services defends their actions surrounding a comatose Westfield girl at the center of a life support case.

Commissioner Harry Spence says DSS staff and Haleigh Poutre's doctors all thought her initial injuries were a case of self-abuse. Spence says Haleigh would actually tell doctors that she injured herself.

http://www.wrgb.com/news/regional/regional.asp?selection=article_46293
 
mysteriew said:
Commissioner Harry Spence says his staff and several health professionals believed Haleigh Poutre's injuries were self-inflicted.
http://cbs4boston.com/local/local_story_021180050.html

Huhhhh????
Click to expand...
Depends on what the previous injuries were - I can think back to my own kids, and number 2 son (turning 19 this week) was, and remains, exceedingly accident prone. He's never had a good sense of balance or body space, and the number of bruises and scrapes on that kid often had me worried that someone would report us. Even a teacher commented that she had been concerned - until she witnessed him miss a turn and slam into the corner of a cement block wall. I picked him up that day from school complete with a goose egg and an icepack - by the next day the blood had drained down, and he went to school with two black eyes. <sigh>

I even recall dressing him for church in long pants and sleeves - on a 90 degree summer day. Couldn't bear for the neighbours to see the mess he'd made of himself. Even today, he's always bruised... graceful, he's not. Luckily, he is stoical and rarely complains. Even the time he gashed his knee - he only called me because he couldn't get the bleeding to stop. No wonder, as he had exposed the entire kneecap and required major stitching to close it. Did I mention the scars?

All this to say that it's not always easy to tell from external examination whether a child is abused. The killer injuries, like closed head injuries and abdominal injuries that compromise the liver or spleen, are often invisible until after the fact. It's not an easy call at the time, although hindsight is always 20/20.

Jackie
 
Thanks Mysteriew for the updates. How could anyone in their right mind think an injury to the brain due to trauma could be self induced by a girl of this age? Incredible! Shades of the welfare case workers in Florida, right? At least here they know where she is located!

I am thankful she is alive. The poor little girl lived such a demeaning life due to her sick parents. I can see why she was afraid to say anything about the abuse, for fear there would be retaliation and then she would get slammed even worse. It could be better for her to say she caused her own problems.

Doesn't it make you think of all the little children out there right now who are in similar circumstances. Makes you want to :sick: to even think about it. There are some real crazies out there. God bless the children and keep them safe from harm.

Saying a prayer for Haleigh. She is down deep a very strong person I think, and think she has a good chance of coming back to cognisance. I wish there could be someone at her side to talk to her and keep her brain busy ~ also so that she knows there really are people who care in this world, because there is a good possibility that as she gets better she will hear everything that is said around her. That part of her healing is so important.

Hi Jacklad, Nice to meet you. I am glad you love your son so much even though he has problems getting around safely. Keep him close.


Scandi
 
scandi said:
Hi Jacklad, Nice to meet you. I amn glad you love your son so much even though he has problems getting around safely. Keep him close.
[colo9r=crimson]Scandi[/color]
Click to expand...
Oh, I do - he's a big bear of a boy, and with a heart to match. Just no sense of balance at all.

And I agree about the injuries that hospitalized her - but I think the article is badly written. I believe he was referring to previous injuries and why she wasn't removed then, not questioning the injuries that landed her in the coma.

It's a real difficulty for the people dealing with these cases - you can have internal injuries that leave no external marks, and external marks that are entirely self-inflicted (expecially among the accident prone). Workers are in a real dilemma - and there are errors both ways (failing to remove a child who's at risk as well as removing children who aren't).

Frankly, I wouldn't want to be in their shoes, and I'm glad that mine are now all old enough that worrying about having Children's Aid on my doorstep is a thing of the past. I can just call Number 2 son a klutz and no one (especially him) would deny it. God forbid any of his kids inherit that gene! I'll have to warn his wife. :doh:

Jackie
 
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