http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/092006/tp1ch5.htm?date=092006&story=tp1ch5.htm
Following a five-hour hearing, officials from the Department of Children and Families returned the two Fullwood girls, ages 12 and 9, and boys, 10 and 4, to their grandparents. The judge told the grandparents to cooperate with DCF and law enforcement officials in order to let the children stay with them in their home.
The children's parents, Dale and Ellenbeth Fullwood, were allowed supervised visits with the children as long as at least one grandparent is present at all times. The judge also told them not to talk to the children about Coralrose's disappearance or death.
The children are not to be brought back to the North Port home.
After hours of testimony, Circuit Court Judge Rick DeFuria called the home where the family had lived for only six weeks "deplorable."
Ellenbeth bowed her head numerous times during testimony from North Port police detective Brian Chippendale. She cried some of the time.
Chippendale explained when he arrived at the Fullwood home Sunday morning at about 9 a.m. he saw two small children lying on the floor. He immediately noticed roaches crawling throughout the house. Later he saw roaches coming out of the refrigerator. He saw cat feces in the laundry room near a litter box and some in the toilet bowl and the bath tub.
"I jumped over piles of clothing," he said. "There was a TV and mattress on the floor, but there was no bedding. There was a cardboard box. There were markings on the floor."
Chippendale said the smell of urine was so strong he had to leave the house after 10 minutes.
"I got sick to my stomach," said Chippendale, who was the school resource officer at Heron Creek Middle School for the years. "There were dishes piled in the sink and rotting food. There was rotting food in the refrigerator."
Chipendale said the couple did not seem "frantic" when reporting their daughter missing, however they did cooperate with police investigators. Dale said he voluntarily gave his clothing to officers. He asked if he needed to do a DNA test, but the police told him it was "unnecessary."
Chippendale said the department is required to fill out paperwork and provide it to the DCF anytime a child is reported hurt. The DCF can decide to get involved after reading the police report.
DeFuria read from a DCF report that said feces were stuck to a comforter and there were roaches in the family vehicle.
"I'm not sure how the home got in this condition in only six weeks," DeFuria said about the Fullwood's relocation to their new North Port home. "It is unacceptable for you to not to have set up the children's beds during this time. I understand you are both exceptionally overworked."
Ellenbeth explained she had worked and been awake for 36 hours over the weekend. She also said two of her children are autistic. Dale testified to working a 14-hour shift the night before Coralrose died.
"I am a lousy housekeeper," she told the judge, adding she hurt her back on Friday at work. She said she could barely move.
The couple's attorney John Coleman said it's "not a crime" to have dirty dishes in the sink or laundry piled up. While the judge agreed, he said one of the reasons he would not return the children to the home was because of the deplorable situation. He ordered that the family create a plan and clean the home.
Because the children were at the grandparents' home Tuesday, DCF investigators went there to inquire about the children. The Fullwoods were not there when the two investigators arrived. They were meeting with attorney Coleman at the time. The investigators talked to their grandmother, Doreen VanderWoulde. When she was told the children would be removed from her home, she strongly objected. The investigators called police. The two DCF employees secured a court order to seize the four children.
During the hearing, DCF officials told the family the reason the children were removed is because the state officers thought the children might be in danger.
Kim Poke, a DCF investigator in Sarasota, explained during the hearing there were several reasons the children were removed. First, one of the children had died under suspicious circumstances. Also there had been six prior DCF inquires at the Fullwoods' previous home in Cape Coral. Five of the reports were for having an unclean home and one for allegedly having medication in reach of small children. The family was cleared.
"We now have two investigations going on," Poke said. "The first is for Coralrose and the second is for the safety of the four siblings."
Coleman argued the state had "woefully insufficient evidence." He said they were using old and biased information not relevant to the grandparents having temporary custody of the children.
Ellenbeth explained to the judge one of the most important reasons she wanted her children returned was because the family had not begun the mourning process. She explained in the Jewish religion, mourning doesn't occur until the body is buried, "my children need to throw dirt, on the coffin, the need to begin mourning so they can begin healing."
