Found Deceased NC - Mariah Woods, 3, Onslow County, 27 Nov 2017 #2

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Amonet said:
It's an interview with the bio dad and his fiancee. Near the end of it they explain how they've been having trouble getting access, they've been fighting for custody but couldn't afford all the lawyers fees. They said that they felt the children were better off with them than with bio mom, and they said that in the bio mom's care the children had all sorts of abuse....physical, emotional, and sexual. They were crying and upset all through the interview, but they broke down even more when they spoke of these things.
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oceanblueeyes said:
If all of these abuse allegations were true, and validated by CPS when she was taken out of her home to live with her dad how in the world was she returned to her home in just one month's time? That makes no sense to me even for CPS.

I know CPS can be lax at times but if there was sexual abuse happening to Mariah there would be evidence of that for the doctor to see who surely examined her along with the physical abuse when she was removed from her home for a month.

And if it was happening surely CPS would make sure whoever was abusing her or enabling the abuser wouldn't be allowed to be around her.

Also if there was proof of sexual assault and physical abuse wouldn't CPS be obligated by law to contact LE so criminal charges could be filed against the perpetrator/s and all involved?

IMO
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Tiny Sherin Mathews had 5 LARGE broken bones in 15 months.
(Femur, tibia, elbow and upper arms.)
CPS investigated but couldn't determine which parent was abusing her. So nothing was done.
Now she's dead.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ews-3-Richardson-7-Oct-2017-*Arrests*-8/page4

I don't have the answers but I'm certainly tired of the failures of our system...
Both removing kids who are safe and not removing kids that are in danger.
Convicting innocent people and letting guilty ones get away with murder. :tantrum:
 
MzOpinion8d said:
It really doesn't make him look good to say he knew every type of abuse was happening to all 3 of his children, but he hasn't seen them in a year because "lawyer's fees".

You can represent yourself in court to enforce visitation orders. I feel bad for him, but he failed her. CPS also failed her.
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It sounds like he did represent himself. And he fought. But no one believed him is what he said. And at a certain point many people have no idea what to do next. His statements indicated he talked to several lawyers but lacked the funds necessary to hire them.

The court system is very complex. And can be extremely intimidating. Depending on personality or education level or sophistication, some people are able to represent themselves and some have no idea how to start or what to do or how to find out what to do. I represent a lot of dads who were in his position. And also many come to me hopeless and believe that they have no rights. And won't get any relief from the courts. They assume that mom's will always prevail. This dad seems to have a similar attitude.

From what I've seen in the business I don't blame this man at all.
 
Not necessarily, unfortunately. It can be very difficult to get enforcement of those custody court orders. Look up the case of Carlo & Evan Brewer (warning - it's awful). While I agree with you that we need to use caution any time an involved party says something and we don't have LE or court confirmation, and that there's very likely more to this story than we're aware, it is my opinion that this case is going to be a similar type of situation.

Busylady said:
There have been so many rumors swirling around in this case that I think even though we know they are just rumors it can still cloud our thinking. Once you hear it you can't forget the information.

I also am taking what the BIO dad states with a grain of salt. Unless you read the court records you cannot really know what is true or not. Is he the one that made the CPS report? If the court awarded weekend visitation to him, that does not take lawyers and alot of money to enforce. Has he been paying his child support if required to do so? If you are trying to see your children would you not make sure the mother had a current phone number to contact you. Has he mailed birthday cards, has he gone to school events to see his children participate? The video interview of him is heartbreaking and I am sure he is very worried and heartbroken about Mariah but I am not ready to believe all the abuse allegations just yet. He should voice every one of his concerns to LE, but going to media throwing it out there is not gonna help find Mariah.

Hopefully there will be answers today on what has happened to this precious girl.
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gitana1 said:
It sounds like he did represent himself. And he fought. But no one believed him is what he said. And at a certain point Mann people have no idea what to do next. His statements indicated he talked to several lawyers but lacked the funds necessary to hire them.

The court system is very complex. And can be extremely intimidating. Depending on personality or education level or sophistication, some people are able to represent themselves and some have no idea how to start or what to do or how to find out what to do. I represent a lot of dads who were in his position. And also many come to me hopeless and believe that they have no rights. And won't get any relief from the courts. They assume that mom's will always prevail. This dad seems to have a similar attitude.

From what I've seen in the business I don't blame this man at all.
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Thank you for this. I felt that was pretty harsh on the father. I am well educated but would be lost if I attempted to represent myself. It's clear that he reported the issues and actually had temporary custody. It can be really difficult to prove sexual and other abuse if you don't have access to the children in order to get them to a doctor. And look at all the evidence of abuse on Sherin Mathews, and yet she was never removed from the home.

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Since LE has specified they are looking for information from people who have seen the family Sunday/Monday, that may mean they have confirmation that someone saw Mariah on Saturday. Family, friends, even the brothers. If they spoke to the brothers, they would not make that public at this point in time since they are minors.
 
Any idea what those packages are they're taking out of cars and handing out?
 
gitana1 said:
It sounds like he did represent himself. And he fought. But no one believed him is what he said. And at a certain point Mann people have no idea what to do next. His statements indicated he talked to several lawyers but lacked the funds necessary to hire them.

The court system is very complex. And can be extremely intimidating. Depending on personality or education level or sophistication, some people are able to represent themselves and some have no idea how to start or what to do or how to find out what to do. I represent a lot of dads who were in his position. And also many come to me hopeless and believe that they have no rights. And won't get any relief from the courts. They assume that mom's will always prevail. This dad seems to have a similar attitude.

From what I've seen in the business I don't blame this man at all.
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Thanks - it’s always good to read a post from a WS friend with professional experience related to the subject matter.


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MsFacetious said:
Tiny Sherin Mathews had 5 LARGE broken bones in 15 months.
(Femur, tibia, elbow and upper arms.)
CPS investigated but couldn't determine which parent was abusing her. So nothing was done.
Now she's dead.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ews-3-Richardson-7-Oct-2017-*Arrests*-8/page4

I don't have the answers but I'm certainly tired of the failures of our system...
Both removing kids who are safe and not removing kids that are in danger.
Convicting innocent people and letting guilty ones get away with murder. :tantrum:
Click to expand...

I have an answer. The system is horrifically underfunded. Social workers always, in every state, have an unmanageable case load. We can prioritize child welfare if we want to. Social workers need to be paid as much as Lawyer's. Not less than teachers. Then we would attract the best and the brightest. And we need double the amount of social workers than we have now. A case load of forty to 60 is typical and is completely untenable.

They shouldn't have more than 15-20 cases at a time.

But we will never change the system because the only time society really cares about kids who have dealings with it is when they're dead.
 
vmmking said:
Thank you for this. I felt that was pretty harsh on the father. I am well educated but would be lost if I attempted to represent myself. It's clear that he reported the issues and actually had temporary custody. It can be really difficult to prove sexual and other abuse if you don't have access to the children in order to get them to a doctor. And look at all the evidence of abuse on Sherin Mathews, and yet she was never removed from the home.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
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Also, some jurisdictions take a quite literal view of "the best interests of the child." If dad works but mom stays at home, mom is considered the better parent. Unfair and based on stereotypes, IMO, but it can be hard convincing a local judge otherwise.
 
gitana1 said:
I have an answer. The system is horrifically underfunded. Social workers always, in every state, have an unmanageable case load. We can prioritize child welfare if we want to. Social workers need to be paid as much as Lawyer's. Not less than teachers. Then we would attract the best and the brightest. And we need double the amount of social workers than we have now. A case load of forty to 60 is typical and is completely untenable.

They shouldn't have more than 15-20 cases at a time.

But we will never change the system because the only time society really cares about kids who have dealings with it is when they're dead.
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Couldn't agree more, Gitana!
 
http://wlos.com/news/local/amber-alert-search-for-3-year-old-mariah-woods-enters-day-4

Regarding the sheriff's comment that he doesn't know where the parents are, if you watch the video, an FBI official jumps in soon afterwards and adds that the FBI brings in Victim Witness Services in situations like this, to work with the family "through these situations. It is extremely stressful.. so we do have those resources that are fully engaged, that are continuing to stay in contact."

So it seems that the FBI is now the first point of contact for keeping tabs on the adults in Mariah's life.

He also goes on to say, "You're seeing us search, but what you're not seeing is behind the scenes. We have hundreds of investigators that are assigned and deployed supporting this investigation, and what they're working on is sensitive information to help us find Mariah. It would not be appropriate to divulge what every entity is doing because it would not help us further our efforts at this time."

Then, a woman with the FBI (maybe a PR person) is asked by a reporter if a public search will be held. She answered that it wouldn't be helpful because they have specific and targeted searches that they're doing with experts in the field, and that could endanger what they're doing to try to find her.
 
Thank you to those who are posting updates about the live feed. The video pauses every 3 seconds despite my having a good connection so I'm not able to watch. Please keep updating and again, thank you.
 
gitana1 said:
I have an answer. The system is horrifically underfunded. Social workers always, in every state, have an unmanageable case load. We can prioritize child welfare if we want to. Social workers need to be paid as much as Lawyer's. Not less than teachers. Then we would attract the best and the brightest. And we need double the amount of social workers than we have now. A case load of forty to 60 is typical and is completely untenable.

They shouldn't have more than 15-20 cases at a time.

But we will never change the system because the only time society really cares about kids who have dealings with it is when they're dead.
Click to expand...
So right!
When a society will pay millions to a sports players and entertainers but won't pay proper salaries to our teachers, law enforcement, military and child protective services, etc...the heart of that society is broken. No doubt about it.
 
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