CA - Noah Cuatro, 4, drowning now ruled a suspicious death, Palmdale, July 2019 *parents charged*

[katydid23]

Homicide Detectives Investigating Suspicious Death of 4-Year-Old Palmdale Boy

The death of a young Palmdale boy initially reported as a drowning last week is now the subject of a suspicious death investigation, officials announced Tuesday.

The parents of the child, identified only as "baby Noah," told authorities he drowned Friday in a community pool on the 1200 block of Avenue S, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Joe Mendoza said in a news briefing.

Noah was taken to a children's hospital in Los Angeles area, where he was pronounced dead just after 8 a.m. the next day. However, medical staff there found trauma on the boy's body that was inconsistent with drowning, Mendoza said.

Although investigators initially described the boy as 3 years old, they later said he was 4.
Homicide Detectives Investigating Suspicious Death of 4-Year-Old Palmdale Boy

 

[katydid23]

Great Grandma Speaks About 4-Year-Old Boy Who Died Under Suspicious Circumstances

Great Grandma Speaks About 4-Year-Old Boy Who Died Under Suspicious Circumstances

Noah's great grandmother said he was a happy child, and she hopes his parents weren't involved in his death. Kim Tobin reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. Wednesday July 10, 2019. (Published 3 hours ago | Credit: Kim Tobin, Troy McLaurin)

 

[LietKynes]

Per. the DM article about this poor child... Anthony Avalos, Gabriel Fernandez, and now Noah Cuatros all perished under the same DCFS's watch.
Ignorant, useless fools.
Heads need to roll over this.

And DCFS also gave the parents warning about when they were to visit-- giving the "parents" ample time to 'prepare'.
If his injuries weren't consistent with drowning-- why aren't the 'parents' suspects , or at least poi's ?

Boy, 4, who died in suspicious circumstances begged not to be returned to parents grandmother claims | Daily Mail Online
".... She(the great grandma who'd cared for Noah) asked them to visit the home unannounced but they warned the parents they were coming and when they carried out checks, everything seemed fine...."

"...It's the third high-profile case involving an Antelope Valley boy who died in a home placement by DCFS. Anthony Avalos, 10, of Lancaster died in June 2018 and Gabriel Fernandez, eight of Palmdale died in May 2013.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said more details will be available when ready: 'It’s important to get the facts. When you talk about it not happening quickly enough, this is a deep dive… as we do on all our cases, as we did on Gabriel, as we’ve done on Anthony.' ..."

Ms. Barger : Tell me exactly what you did for Gabriel and Anthony ?
That's right, nothing.
Because neither you nor DCFS cared about these children.
You have shown yourselves to be utterly incompetent .
Children are dead at your hands.

Warnings from Gabriel's teacher and warnings from Anthony's and Noah's relatives were ignored.
Evidence of bruises , lack of nutrition and neglect.
And still they were placed back into these homes.

 

[Dawookie]

Per. the DM article about this poor child... Anthony Avalos, Gabriel Fernandez, and now Noah Cuatros all perished under the same DCFS's watch.
Ignorant, useless fools.
Heads need to roll over this.

And DCFS also gave the parents warning about when they were to visit-- giving the "parents" ample time to 'prepare'.
If his injuries weren't consistent with drowning-- why aren't the 'parents' suspects , or at least poi's ?

Boy, 4, who died in suspicious circumstances begged not to be returned to parents grandmother claims | Daily Mail Online
".... She(the great grandma who'd cared for Noah) asked them to visit the home unannounced but they warned the parents they were coming and when they carried out checks, everything seemed fine...."

"...It's the third high-profile case involving an Antelope Valley boy who died in a home placement by DCFS. Anthony Avalos, 10, of Lancaster died in June 2018 and Gabriel Fernandez, eight of Palmdale died in May 2013.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said more details will be available when ready: 'It’s important to get the facts. When you talk about it not happening quickly enough, this is a deep dive… as we do on all our cases, as we did on Gabriel, as we’ve done on Anthony.' ..."

Ms. Barger : Tell me exactly what you did for Gabriel and Anthony ?
That's right, nothing.
Because neither you nor DCFS cared about these children.
You have shown yourselves to be utterly incompetent .
Children are dead at your hands.

Warnings from Gabriel's teacher and warnings from Anthony's and Noah's relatives were ignored.
Evidence of bruises , lack of nutrition and neglect.
And still they were placed back into these homes.

Living in the area, this case is generating even more outrage towards DCFS. One case would be bad but three is was way too many. It amazes me that many case workers would ignore doing their jobs and allow three children to do because of their lack of caring about the welfare of the kids

 

[katydid23]

I usually defensd CPS workers because I know what an impossible task they have. But in these 3 cases, I just can't.

They ripped lil Noah out of his great Grama's care, where he was flourishing, and tossed him back to his abusers. He was crying and begging not to go back to where he was unhappy and mistreated, but CPS ignored his pleas.

 

[LietKynes]

Gabriel Fernandez' case still haunts me. As does Anthony Avalos.
The signs were there.
These poor children.
The main fault lies of course with the murderers.... but DCFS is the children's last hope !

At least with Josh Powell's sons, the social worker tried to sound the alarm !

All of the photos of Noah show a healthy boy-- from when he was in his great grandmother's care.
Bet that the media won't show what he looked like prior to or after his death.
I'm grateful that Noah knew some love in his life.
His death was so preventable .
If his injuries weren't consistent with drowning-- why have there been no arrests ? Parents have been arrested before for less reason.
Hoping for justice for Noah.
What a cute little bug he was !

 

[LaborDayRN]

Per. the DM article about this poor child... Anthony Avalos, Gabriel Fernandez, and now Noah Cuatros all perished under the same DCFS's watch.
Ignorant, useless fools.
Heads need to roll over this.

And DCFS also gave the parents warning about when they were to visit-- giving the "parents" ample time to 'prepare'.
If his injuries weren't consistent with drowning-- why aren't the 'parents' suspects , or at least poi's ?

Boy, 4, who died in suspicious circumstances begged not to be returned to parents grandmother claims | Daily Mail Online
".... She(the great grandma who'd cared for Noah) asked them to visit the home unannounced but they warned the parents they were coming and when they carried out checks, everything seemed fine...."

"...It's the third high-profile case involving an Antelope Valley boy who died in a home placement by DCFS. Anthony Avalos, 10, of Lancaster died in June 2018 and Gabriel Fernandez, eight of Palmdale died in May 2013.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said more details will be available when ready: 'It’s important to get the facts. When you talk about it not happening quickly enough, this is a deep dive… as we do on all our cases, as we did on Gabriel, as we’ve done on Anthony.' ..."

Ms. Barger : Tell me exactly what you did for Gabriel and Anthony ?
That's right, nothing.
Because neither you nor DCFS cared about these children.
You have shown yourselves to be utterly incompetent .
Children are dead at your hands.

Warnings from Gabriel's teacher and warnings from Anthony's and Noah's relatives were ignored.
Evidence of bruises , lack of nutrition and neglect.
And still they were placed back into these homes.

Very well said. It's criminal in my opinion!

 

[Dawookie]

I usually defensd CPS workers because I know what an impossible task they have. But in these 3 cases, I just can't.

They ripped lil Noah out of his great Grama's care, where he was flourishing, and tossed him back to his abusers. He was crying and begging not to go back to where he was unhappy and mistreated, but CPS ignored his pleas.

So do I. I have a friend that works in the office here and I feel bad for him that he's got to deal with this again

 

[apricotpeach]

LA TimesI read an article a few months ago (I think it was about Anthony Avalos) that mentioned some of the problems that the Palmdale office faces - one is that because Palmdale is quite far from the rest of Los Angeles, it is difficult to find social workers and supervisors willing to work there. So the number of cases that each social worker has to manage is higher than in the rest of the DCFS offices, and the number of social workers that each of the supervisors has to manage is higher than in the rest of the DCFS offices.

I'm not saying this is a justification why this keeps happening in Palmdale (compared to other parts of LA County) but it might be a factor.

Local news is reporting that there was a court order issued in May 2019 for Noah to be removed from the home with his biological parents, but that the DCFS workers hadn't removed him yet.

KTLA (local tv station):
Despite Court Order, DCFS Workers Didn’t Remove Palmdale Boy From Home in May

LA Times:
Social workers didn’t remove boy from his home despite court order. He later died

 

[katydid23]

Poor Noah. Such a sweet smile. This one really kills me. So pointless and unnecessary.

 

[LaborDayRN]

LA TimesI read an article a few months ago (I think it was about Anthony Avalos) that mentioned some of the problems that the Palmdale office faces - one is that because Palmdale is quite far from the rest of Los Angeles, it is difficult to find social workers and supervisors willing to work there. So the number of cases that each social worker has to manage is higher than in the rest of the DCFS offices, and the number of social workers that each of the supervisors has to manage is higher than in the rest of the DCFS offices.

I'm not saying this is a justification why this keeps happening in Palmdale (compared to other parts of LA County) but it might be a factor.

Local news is reporting that there was a court order issued in May 2019 for Noah to be removed from the home with his biological parents, but that the DCFS workers hadn't removed him yet.

KTLA (local tv station):
Despite Court Order, DCFS Workers Didn’t Remove Palmdale Boy From Home in May

LA Times:
Social workers didn’t remove boy from his home despite court order. He later died

I know the local workers are overloaded, but I bet LA county could correct the problem if they offered an emergency bonus to work in the area. Money talks. They should have addressed the situation years ago.

The median age in Palmdale is 30 which is approximately 16% lower than the California average of 36. In Palmdale, 51% of the population over 15 years of age are married. It's 37.7 in the US overall.
Palmdale, CA Population & Demographics

This translates into more young families in Palmdale. The local hospital delivers between 5,000 and 6,000 babies a year. It has one of the highest birthrates in Ca. That equated to about 180 30 student classroom a year. Help is desperately needed for the children of the Antelope Valley. JMO

 

[Ksprincess2]

Weren't some of the social workers in Gabriel Fernandez' case prosecuted? You would have thought after that case that DCFS would be on their A game and hyper aware of preventing another similar situation. Like someone else up thread I almost always defend CPS/DCFS because I was a social worker for 6 years before becoming a nurse and I know what a tough job it is but there's no defending this negligence.

 

[LietKynes]

Weren't some of the social workers in Gabriel Fernandez' case prosecuted? You would have thought after that case that DCFS would be on their A game and hyper aware of preventing another similar situation. Like someone else up thread I almost always defend CPS/DCFS because I was a social worker for 6 years before becoming a nurse and I know what a tough job it is but there's no defending this negligence.

BBM

I believe you're correct.
But it didn't really change anything, did it ?

 

[Eloise]

Even if it's not the fault of individual officers, it's definitely the fault of someone along the line - management, or those at a more bureaucratic/political/funding level.

 

[Dawookie]

LA TimesI read an article a few months ago (I think it was about Anthony Avalos) that mentioned some of the problems that the Palmdale office faces - one is that because Palmdale is quite far from the rest of Los Angeles, it is difficult to find social workers and supervisors willing to work there. So the number of cases that each social worker has to manage is higher than in the rest of the DCFS offices, and the number of social workers that each of the supervisors has to manage is higher than in the rest of the DCFS offices.

I'm not saying this is a justification why this keeps happening in Palmdale (compared to other parts of LA County) but it might be a factor.

Local news is reporting that there was a court order issued in May 2019 for Noah to be removed from the home with his biological parents, but that the DCFS workers hadn't removed him yet.

KTLA (local tv station):
Despite Court Order, DCFS Workers Didn’t Remove Palmdale Boy From Home in May

LA Times:
Social workers didn’t remove boy from his home despite court order. He later died

It being far away from LA might have something to do with it but at the same time, it's people, in the end, not caring enough to do their job properly. The case worker in this case, filed for a removal order on May 13th. It was approved the next day. Around the same time there was allegations that he had been sodomized and there was injuries to his rectum and still nothing was done. It was almost two months between that time and the time he was killed. I could understand if it was a short time period between the removal order and his dying but it wasn't.

To be honestly blunt, he should have been removed immediately and the case worker completely failed him by not doing her job right and right away. To me, that's just plain incompetence. How do you file for a removal order and get it approved the next day and not act on it, especially with the other allegations?

 

[Dawookie]

Even if it's not the fault of individual officers, it's definitely the fault of someone along the line - management, or those at a more bureaucratic/political/funding level.

It's definitely the fault of the case worker no matter what way you look at it. She's the one that filed for an approval order in May which was approved the next day and she didn't follow up and do her job

 

[LaborDayRN]

I know the local workers are overloaded, but I bet LA county could correct the problem if they offered an emergency bonus to work in the area. Money talks. They should have addressed the situation years ago.

The median age in Palmdale is 30 which is approximately 16% lower than the California average of 36. In Palmdale, 51% of the population over 15 years of age are married. It's 37.7 in the US overall.
Palmdale, CA Population & Demographics

This translates into more young families in Palmdale. The local hospital delivers between 5,000 and 6,000 babies a year. It has one of the highest birthrates in Ca. That equated to about 180 30 student classroom a year. Help is desperately needed for the children of the Antelope Valley. JMO

Quoting myself to correct an error (to late to edit)
I should have typed: The median age in Palmdale is 30 which is approximately 16% lower than the California average of 36. It's 37.7 in the US overall. It's a very young community which equals more young families that the rest of LA county. There needs to be more boots on the ground than other areas.

 

[Ksprincess2]

BBM

I believe you're correct.
But it didn't really change anything, did it ?

I just looked the social workers in his case haven't even been tried yet, there is a pretrial hearing in 2 weeks.

Here's a very long but very relevant article about DCFS in Gabriel's case, it's definitely with reading the whole thing as it talks a lot about DCFS policies and the culture of this particular office
An 8-Year-Old Was Brutally Abused for Months. Why Did No One Save Him?

 

[LaborDayRN]

I just looked the social workers in his case haven't even been tried yet, there is a pretrial hearing in 2 weeks.

Here's a very long but very relevant article about DCFS in Gabriel's case, it's definitely with reading the whole thing as it talks a lot about DCFS policies and the culture of this particular office
An 8-Year-Old Was Brutally Abused for Months. Why Did No One Save Him?

It's taking FOREVER for the trial! :-(

 

[apricotpeach]

Weren't some of the social workers in Gabriel Fernandez' case prosecuted?

4 employees (2 social workers and 2 supervisors) were charged - the criminal case is still pending. They were all fired from LA County, though 1 supervisor appealed his firing which led to:
1) The Civil Service Commission giving him his job back (with just a 30 day suspension).
2) The County filing a suit against that decision (County wanted to keep him fired).
3) A judge ruling that he could go back to work while this administrative lawsuit was in progress.
4) The court then remanding the case back to the Civil Service Commission.
5) The Commission then deciding to go with the original decision of firing him.

I'm basing this on the 2018 court decision from the administrative suit/appeal, so I hope I'm understanding all of that correctly.

The other supervisor was hired by San Bernardino County within a few months of being fired by LA County (back in 2013), and he handled child custody cases for SB County until 2016, which is when the criminal charges were filed and people (news agencies) realized that this guy was working at SB County.