GUILTY CA - Serenity Gandara, 3, beaten to death in Bakersfield foster home, 18 Jul 2010

Murder arrest warrants have been issued for the foster parents of a 3-year-old girl found dead Sunday, Bakersfield Police Department Sgt. Mary DeGeare said. She said the death of Serenity Gandara has been ruled a homicide.
Meantime, there are serious accusations against Child Protective Services. Serenity’s maternal grandmother, Maria Garcia, said CPS retaliated against her after she criticized a social worker for allegedly ignoring reports that Serenity and her brother, 4-year-old Isaiah, were being abused at their foster home.
"You needed to take care of thing when I told you what happened with my kids the other kids. You never listen to me," Maria Garcia said she told the social worker.

http://www.kget.com/news/local/stor...er-child-said-CPS/e8uKKWdXIkmjzNOqZw81yg.cspx
 
If he did it and she just allowed it she is guilty of murder too, or vice versa.
Somehow I think they are both involved. If one saw the abuse happen they should have reported it asap. Personally they both make me sick.
Oh I completely agree they're equally responsible. I just noticed the comment that seems to indicate she has a short fuse, and noticed the eldest boy isn't Albert's son, so I would think if he were the primary abuser that boy would also be abused. I just pray wherever the three kids are now they are not being harmed. MOO
 
I just so despise people that use children as punching bags. All this little boy and girl wanted was love and look what they got. I will never understand the cruelty of people.
 
I remember reading in one of the news articles that someone said (I thought it was Carla's mother said but I am not so sure) that they have no relatives in Mexico.

Another or same article said that Carla came to US with her mother 25 years ago. That puts her to the age of 1. She has a sister, too. But that sister may have been born in the US. She looked younger than Carla to me.

And Albert is from California the same article said according to the birth papers of the kids....

Oh and there was a very nice grey truck by the curb in front of the house. One reporter was around earlier today and told us that the truck belonged to Carla's sister and the doors were unlocked, window down. It was sitting there since Sunday.
Where is the sister? If she came there with the truck, how did she go back?
Did the police possess her? If they did, they did not let her go yet, so she could come and collect her truck?
Sister is the first person police got the news from in the first place because Carla called her. Reporters interviewed lots of people. Nobody mentioned sister's name or interviewed her. Is she still held by the police?.....................
Did she call the police the minute Carla called her or did she wait for them to cross the border?

[BBM]

welcome to WS nymphet

your last sentence here really stood out to me

either way, it was cruel of Carla to send her sister into that house and speaks to her selfishness IMO

she could've just called LE or had someone call LE (unless her sister was there earlier & more involved than we know)
 
nymphet comments that Carla had related that the children saw the spirit of a 5 yr old little boy at their previous address, and that is why they left that residence.

I certainly hope that there is not another child who is not accounted for in this tragedy.
 
What I cant understand is why foster them in the first place.....and then put in to adopt them........would it be for money? (fostering)........otherwise why have children that you obviously dont love and cant handle, around.........

I bet the abuse was common and at the particular dinner time while being pushed around, the little girl hit her head on the coffee table........as Nymphet advised that had been taken.......

I would say that they were being treated badly by both the mum and the dad.....
 
I bet the abuse was common and at the particular dinner time while being pushed around, the little girl hit her head on the coffee table........as Nymphet advised that had been taken.......

I would not have realized that the coffee table was missing if the neigbor lady didn't mention it.
The neighbor did not see inside the house. We basically did not let anyone in. (Neigbors were rushing inlike voulchers when they saw us around. Some wanted something that belonged to them and some basically wanted free stuff. We said we ar enot allowed to touch any of their blongings. Only here to clear out the perishable food items.)
While talking about the nice decoration and furniture they had, she said "And theyhad this big coffee table that I told her might be dangerous for children"... or something along those lines. I did get the impression that she thought it wasn't suitbale around little children and then remembered that there was no coffee table inside anymore...

Where the coffee table would be in front of the sofa, close to the sofa, was the dust police sprinkled and even closer to the sofa, the spilled remains of the food....

Very possible that this happened now I think of it.

There wasn't enough room at the kitchen table to have all the kids sit down and eat is another observation I had...
 
nymphet comments that Carla had related that the children saw the spirit of a 5 yr old little boy at their previous address, and that is why they left that residence.

I certainly hope that there is not another child who is not accounted for in this tragedy.

Oh, I don't think so. She said she heard that ther elived a couple where a guy abused his wife or girlfriend and possibly the child was theirs or something like that... It might have been a sketchy part of town where who knows what has happened at one point...
The neighbors treated the family badly there because they are hispanic.
Also the houe was just too small for 7 individuals.
That's why they left.
Carla said she never saw or sensed the spirit directly, but her kids did and her husband used to ask why the kids run in the hallway at night when they were in the livingroom watching TV. She was like, all the kids are in bed sleeping, but the guy kept sensing a child run in the hallway.
Her kids have seen the spirit at night by their beds and got very scared. I think the 5-year-old boy's spirit was trying to play with the other kids.
So the kids were not getting restful sleeps in that house...
Which improved the minute they moved into our house.
I am going to try to bring in my physhic into our house when I can, so she can clear the it from the bad emotions they left behind and possibly the spirit of the 3-year-old to go to the peaceful side she now belongs.
 
[BBM]

welcome to WS nymphet

your last sentence here really stood out to me

either way, it was cruel of Carla to send her sister into that house and speaks to her selfishness IMO

she could've just called LE or had someone call LE (unless her sister was there earlier & more involved than we know)

My husband thinks that Carla's sister is locke dup by the police. I don't why that would be.
Could that be possible?
Is that's the case yes it was very very selfish of her.
Well, it was very selfish of her to begin with to leave a dead childs body behind with her brother...
 
I got to meet the 4 year old brother of Serenity while in Bakersfield on Sunday evening. He was covered in scars and cuts and bruses, he is adorable.

Is this right?
I mean I don't want to sound like I am doubting your observations, but I am having hard time interpreting this.
She sounded like a good mum. She had her husband sound like an "angel dad".
But I did not live close to her family life. I only talked ot her and was quite fond of her to allow her into my own house while I wasn't home at all and sometimes while my husband's child was home alone for over a year.
She was cute but straigforward. Did not seem like she is hiding anything or looking for more...
None of the neighbors said they heard anything bad from them towards kids. The kids appeared to be very well taken care of, fed and entertained.
The only person complaining is the kids' grandma...

Did this child's bruises and scars look like he has been abused or from simply being a child playing around?
I'd love to hear some clarification on this.
I still can't believe they were abusing. Yet, then I can be naive at times..........
 
Is this right?
I mean I don't want to sound like I am doubting your observations, but I am having hard time interpreting this.
She sounded like a good mum. She had her husband sound like an "angel dad".
But I did not live close to her family life. I only talked ot her and was quite fond of her to allow her into my own house while I wasn't home at all and sometimes while my husband's child was home alone for over a year.
She was cute but straigforward. Did not seem like she is hiding anything or looking for more...
None of the neighbors said they heard anything bad from them towards kids. The kids appeared to be very well taken care of, fed and entertained.
The only person complaining is the kids' grandma...

Did this child's bruises and scars look like he has been abused or from simply being a child playing around?
I'd love to hear some clarification on this.
I still can't believe they were abusing. Yet, then I can be naive at times..........

bbm

Investigators have confirmed the boy and girl had "scars and marks in various stages of healing, including recent injuries," said Bakersfield Police Sgt. Mary DeGeare..

http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/BreakingNewsTeam/59143


The police would know the difference because medical attention would have been sought for the boy.

I think the fact that one is dead and the other has signs of injuries spells out child abuse.

It is not only the grandma saying this. LE is saying it as well. Children can appear to be looked after while the whole time abuse is going on.

They are both on the run, they are both involved. moo
 
I was at the facility where the boy was taken after he was picked up , picking up my own run away daughter. The boy had a pair of underwear on a t-shirt and a pair of sandles. I could see most of his body and he had bruses from head to toe and a large welt on his left forehead and multiple bruses and small cuts on his face. He seemed happy and was asking me what I was eating, I was chewing gum. He sat on the sofa next to me and held my hand. We were told the story of the little boy and his poor sister after they took him away.
Yes, he was abused. The marks he had on him were not typical bumps and bruses from a child falling while playing. I have 6 kids and I would know what it looks like.

Just because you think you know someone does not mean you really do.

Is this right?
I mean I don't want to sound like I am doubting your observations, but I am having hard time interpreting this.
She sounded like a good mum. She had her husband sound like an "angel dad".
But I did not live close to her family life. I only talked ot her and was quite fond of her to allow her into my own house while I wasn't home at all and sometimes while my husband's child was home alone for over a year.
She was cute but straigforward. Did not seem like she is hiding anything or looking for more...
None of the neighbors said they heard anything bad from them towards kids. The kids appeared to be very well taken care of, fed and entertained.
The only person complaining is the kids' grandma...

Did this child's bruises and scars look like he has been abused or from simply being a child playing around?
I'd love to hear some clarification on this.
I still can't believe they were abusing. Yet, then I can be naive at times..........
 
I was at the facility where the boy was taken after he was picked up , picking up my own run away daughter. The boy had a pair of underwear on a t-shirt and a pair of sandles. I could see most of his body and he had bruses from head to toe and a large welt on his left forehead and multiple bruses and small cuts on his face. He seemed happy and was asking me what I was eating, I was chewing gum. He sat on the sofa next to me and held my hand. We were told the story of the little boy and his poor sister after they took him away.
Yes, he was abused. The marks he had on him were not typical bumps and bruses from a child falling while playing. I have 6 kids and I would know what it looks like.

Just because you think you know someone does not mean you really do.

First let me say it gave me a small comfort to read that you had been able to hold his little hand kentuckybound. I can't explain why, it just did.

As for the part of your post I respectfully bolded: truer words were never spoken.
 
He is a sweet , sweet little man. He walked right up to me and put his hand out for me to hold, then a few minutes later climbed up on the sofa right next to me and just talked to me. He had a subway sandwich lunch bag with a bottle of chocolate milk and he sure was proud of that chocolate milk.
I think with his age he might forget all that has happened, in time. He has known love, you can tell. I wanted to take him home and just love on him.

First let me say it gave me a small comfort to read that you had been able to hold his little hand kentuckybound. I can't explain why, it just did.

As for the part of your post I respectfully bolded: truer words were never spoken.
 
I was at the facility where the boy was taken after he was picked up , picking up my own run away daughter. The boy had a pair of underwear on a t-shirt and a pair of sandles. I could see most of his body and he had bruses from head to toe and a large welt on his left forehead and multiple bruses and small cuts on his face. He seemed happy and was asking me what I was eating, I was chewing gum. He sat on the sofa next to me and held my hand. We were told the story of the little boy and his poor sister after they took him away.
Yes, he was abused. The marks he had on him were not typical bumps and bruses from a child falling while playing. I have 6 kids and I would know what it looks like.

Just because you think you know someone does not mean you really do.

He is a sweet , sweet little man. He walked right up to me and put his hand out for me to hold, then a few minutes later climbed up on the sofa right next to me and just talked to me. He had a subway sandwich lunch bag with a bottle of chocolate milk and he sure was proud of that chocolate milk.
I think with his age he might forget all that has happened, in time. He has known love, you can tell. I wanted to take him home and just love on him.

Thank you so much for replying... I needed to hear all this...
It is good that he is SOMEWHAT saved at this point. Poor child. Terrible faith. Just we thought that he was being taken care of what his mother and father could not do, their aunt and uncle did even worse...

I can never claim that I knew Carla well. It just never seemed that she could harm a child. Your post brought tears into my eyes. I am trying to stay calm and rational as much as possible. It is so hard not to be tied up emotionally...
We posted an eviction notice on the house. We'll have someone box up all their belongings, make a list and store them for a month then auction off. Meanwhile my husband thought we definitely should save the family pictures and give them to relatives. I don't know how to get a hold of the relatives, though...... :(

I read that their youngest sibling at the age of 1 has been taken from the grandmother with no explanation and then given back to her... What is CPS doing? Are they panicking?

"Maria says the CPS worker went to her home while she was at the coroner’s office making arrangements to get Serenity’s body. She said Serenity’s younger sister, Juliana, 1, was safe at the home with her uncle and several children, but after Maria retuned and then criticized the worker for Serenity’s death, the CPS employee took Juliana, and told Maria it was because she left the toddler at home, albeit with family.
“Why you take away my baby she is fine?” Maria said she asked the CPS employee.
Hours after 17 News called CPS Monday, and asked a spokeswoman why they took Juliana, the little girl was returned, with no explanation from authorities. The CPS spokeswoman told us they are not legally allowed to comment on the case." Ref: http://protectingourchildrenfrombei...d-foster-child-said-cps-wrongly-took-sibling/
 
This evening Carla's sister showed up at our house my parents (they are our house guests, came to visit from overseas just 1 week before the sad news...) and husband said. I was still at work.
she and her older sister wanted to take the belongings from our house, but attorney advised not to.
They are not ours and they are not theirs either...
I'd much rather have them take them rather than us pay someone else to box and pay the storage place to keep and auction...
Legal stuff sucks......... but I guess necessary.........
 
This evening Carla's sister showed up at our house my parents (they are our house guests, came to visit from overseas just 1 week before the sad news...) and husband said. I was still at work.
she and her older sister wanted to take the belongings from our house, but attorney advised not to.
They are not ours and they are not theirs either...
I'd much rather have them take them rather than us pay someone else to box and pay the storage place to keep and auction...
Legal stuff sucks......... but I guess necessary.........

Hugs and warm thoughts. What a sad sad mess.
 

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