GUILTY PA - Marcia Poston, 10 mos, fatally injured at Pittsburgh day care, 6 June 2008

[Roxye]

http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_9646017

PITTSBURGH—A Pittsburgh daycare center where police say a 7-year-old girl killed an infant has closed. The state Department of Public Welfare says Loretta Bray turned in her certificate of registration for Bray's Family Day Care on Wednesday.

Took to long for this to happen IMO.

 

[Kiki]

I think branding a 7 year old as a disturbed murderer without knowing hardly anything about her is very harsh. For all we know she may have been completely unfamiliar with babies and how fragile they are. When I was only six I remember my mother would not let me do or have something I wanted and having a temper tantrum. I took all my toys, including my dolls, out of my toybox and threw them all over my room as well as my bedding and brushes and comb. I was devastated (6 years old and not having a sense of perspective) when I was told I wasn't allowed out of my room until I had picked everything up and I never did anything like that again. It is common for children that age when they are in a rage to throw things. She may not have even registered it was a baby she was picking up if she was in a major temper. Also, at that age many children do not understand permanent consequences. Try to look at life from a 7 year old's perspective. If you make a mistake and do something wrong you are punished - sent to your room, spanked, denied a treat or doing something you enjoy etc. - and afterwards everything is okay again and tomorrow is a new day with a clean slate. I also doubt she has much understanding of death. While she no doubt now knows the baby died she may not understand she is never coming back and she couldn't possibly grasp even the idea of the grief little Marcia's parents are now feeling. If the child stabbed the baby or beat her to death I would agree she is disturbed. In this case I think she's just a little girl who got in a temper and picked up a 'toy' in a rage not realising she was doing. It's a horrible and tragic situation for everyone - little Marcia, Marcia's family and the little girl. It will be terrible burden to bear when she is older and can fully realise the enormity of what she has done. The only person to blame is the babysitter for not watching her charges and taking on the care of too many children.

 

[OkieGranny]

From April 2010:

http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/pittsburgh-day-care-operator-charged-in-08-infant-/nGpky/

Police never charged the granddaughter because of her age, and a family court judge later rejected police claims that she beat the baby and refused to order the girl into county custody so she could get psychiatric care.

From December 2010:

http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_713578.html#axzz3oDGRsvx3

The owner of a now-closed Garfield day care center where a 10-month-old girl died was sentenced Monday in Allegheny County court to one year of probation.

Loretta Bray, 49, pleaded no contest to endangering the welfare of children for the June 6, 2008, death of Marcia Poston at Bray's day care. Bray's daughter, Ashley Swann, 22, who worked at the day care, pleaded guilty to the same charge and received one year of probation.

 

[LinasK]

Just because your child understands at 5 doesn't mean that all children understand at 5 or 6 or 7 or hell even 10. Children are so diverse in their understanding of the world around them. They are shaped by their family, their experience and their own social/cognitive skills. No two children are going to be the same. Usually between the ages of 6 to 9 children start to understand death but are often confused and ask lots of questions. How those questions are answered is going to help determine their own understanding of death.

a) a seven year old child raised in a religious family who's attended two funerals of very close relatives.

b) a seven year old child raised in a semi/non religious family who has never attended a funeral nor had anyone in their close family die.

I would expect child a) to have a better understanding of death while b) would probably know the word and even understand what it is suppose to mean but wouldn't yet understand to ramifications of death.

My seven year old son is a smart, caring child, but to him death is still abstract. He hasn't experienced anything remotely like it. (Unless you count losing his goldfish, which he still thinks are swimming in the sewer water.) He just can't wrap his brain around someone he loves being permanent gone from his life.

Example: I just had surgery last Tuesday. He kissed me and told me he would see me afterwards, that I shouldn't worry about dying (he had overheard me talking to his dad) because I was in a hospital and the doctors would put more blood in me and bring me back to life.

I hardly think my son is abnormal by any means. He just hasn't had to deal with death, and until you actually deal with it yourself (at any age) it is hard to grasp the concept.

Okay, we were in the semi religious/non religious category at that point and had not attended any funerals and my 5-year-old still got the concept. She wasn't aware when we put my dog to sleep, so she didn't have any reference point and I didn't classify her as "extremely mature", I was shocked that she immediately got it.

 

[LinasK]

From April 2010:

http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/pittsburgh-day-care-operator-charged-in-08-infant-/nGpky/



From December 2010:

http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_713578.html#axzz3oDGRsvx3

That's it??? No charges for the 7-year-old, and only one year probation each for the adults involved???:banghead::banghead::banghead: Where the justice for this little baby who was murdered??? Why is her life any less precious?