MS - Austin 'AJ' Watkins, 4, starved to death, Ludlow, 9 Nov 2008

Grandmother, aunt charged in child's starvation death
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881113021


This baby was 4 years old and weighed 19 pounds! Bless his little heart, his short time here on earth was horrible! Taken away from his drug addicted Mother and placed with these heartless cowards. His Daddy is in jail.

Followups:
Other arrests likely in starvation of boy, 4

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881114036

Relatives charged in death

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008811140358
An autopsy showed Austin James Watkins, who was buried Thursday, weighed only 19 pounds when he died Sunday, Sheriff Mike Lee said.
"When you take a look at pictures of the Holocaust where the Jews had been starved by the Nazis ... this is what this child looked like," Lee said.

Questions mounting in boy's starvation
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008811150357
In October, administrators at the boy's school noticed he looked unhealthy, Lee said.
The child's grandmother, who had custody by then, pulled him and another sibling from the school after administrators began asking questions, Lee added.
Midway Odom Head Start owner Mabel Odom, who runs the boy's former school, would not comment. "I don't want to get involved in this," she said:furious:

"I don't want to get involved in this" :furious: Well, isn't that nice? That seems to be the big problem with these poor children. No one wants to get involved. Must be nice to live with your head in the sand!

BeavisMom62 said:

"I don't want to get involved in this" :furious: Well, isn't that nice? That seems to be the big problem with these poor children. No one wants to get involved. Must be nice to live with your head in the sand!

Click to expand...

ARGHHHHHHHHHH Sickening!

ugh, makes me ill. I say they are thrown in jail and starved to death too. monsters.

and how can these people sit back and watch this obvious abuse and say they don't want to get involved? Throw them in jail too for a while I say.

I really take exception when children are victims of child abuse and starvation and then "when questions" are asked, the "caregiver/parent suddenly "home schools the child.

Where is the oversight.....

I am just at a total loss for words. Supposedly the other 3 weren't malnourished. What on earth could this 4 year old have done to have brought on his grandmother's and aunt's wrath such that they singled him out for starvation? I know, nothing: for some inexplicable reason he was singled out.

It sounds like this 1 poor child was singled out for abuse, the article states the other children seemed fine. So sad and tragic!

VB

snip

Last Sunday the Scott County Sheriff's Department was called to the house of Janice Mowdy and Stephanie Bell, caregivers for Austin. He had died at home, appeared to have been sick and looked much younger than four years old according to to Sheriff Lee. As a matter of fact he was only 19 pounds when he died from starvation. The police think that it had been at least two weeks since he was given anything to eat besides water and his organs just shut down as a result. Three other children also live in the home and they were all removed on Sunday by MDHS.

In addition to the awful crime of starving a child, tacked to a wall in their trailer was a $10,000 life insurance policy on Austin. It may or may not have been a motive in the death of the little boy but right now police are treating it as part of the investigation.

Janice Mowdy, 43 and Stephanie Bell, 22 have both been charged with Murder and Felony Child Abuse and are being held without bond at the Scott County Detention Center. Of course both of the women deny having done anything wrong.

snip

Updated 9/29/09 - Janice Mowdy and Stephanie Bell both pleaded guilty to Capital Murder in the case against them and they have been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Both of the women offered nothing but sorry excuses for their behavior right up until sentencing but at least they pleaded guilty.

http://www.shadowscope.com/archives/2008/11/janice_mowdy_and_stephanie_bell_starved_austin_wat.php

=========================================

Janice Mowdy

Housed: CMCF - Women's
Entry Date: Not Stated

Offense: Capital Murder
Sentence: LWOP

==========================================

Stephanie Bell

Housed: CMCF - Women's
Entry Date: 10/01/2009

Offense: Capital Murder
Sentence: LWOP

an insurance policy was 'takced to the wall,' but they couldnt figure out if that was motive or not? did they need a slide rule to figure it out?

how is it these two get capital murder but all the other starvation cases seem to get a slap on the wrist? glad this court got it right.