MD - Elijah LaJeuness, 3, found asphyxiated, ruled homicide, 13 April 2011

Less than a month before 3-year-old Elijah LaJeuness died in what police have ruled a homicide, the Howard County Department of Social Services agreed to allow supervised contact between the child and his “alleged maltreator,” according to a document released Friday by the Maryland Department of Human Resources.m

A showed that the year before, doctors, social workers, police and day care providers investigated several injuries to the child, ranging from bruises to his forehead and ears to second-degree burns on the tops of his feet.

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A Columbia woman pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor in connection with a report of an injury her 2-year-old son suffered five months before he was killed by suffocation...

Bernhardt handed down a prison sentence of three years suspended and the eight days LaJeuness has already served in jail. She was also ordered on probation for two years and will have to comply with safety requirements issued by the Howard County Department of Social Services for her daughter, who is now in foster care, said her lawyer, Louis P. Willeman of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender.

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Police said the only two adults in the home at the time were Elijah's mother, Joaquinia LaJeuness and her boyfriend. Neither were charged in his death.

Attorney Irwin Kramer represents Elijah's father, who was separated from Elijah's mother.

"Not many people know the name Elijah LaJeuness. Not many people understand the abject failure of the state to protect this child," Kramer said...

The alleged maltreator, according to Child Protective Services, was identified as Joaquinia LaJeuness' boyfriend.

During a Child Protective Services investigation, the agency initiated a safety plan that dictated Elijah's mother "not allow there to be any contact between ... her boyfriend and Elijah," who was 2 at the time.

A few months later, a social worker noted the mother continued to "allow her boyfriend to have contact with Elijah."...

As a father, Robert LaJeuness said he is heartbroken.

"He was just a very loving kid that had the potential to grow up and do great things, and that was all taken away from him way too soon," Robert LaJeuness said....

"The state would like us all to forget about Elijah, because they forgot about Elijah when he was still alive," Kramer said.

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[The mother's lawyer] Willemin and police have said there were two adults present at the time Elijah was found unresponsive: Joaquinia and her boyfriend at the time. Her other child was also present, according to police. That child is now in foster care.

“It is my perception that no one believes Miss LaJeuness caused the death of Elijah LaJeuness, but [they] have not been able to put together a case to charge a different person,” Willemin said during the Monday hearing. “She gave a full statement to the hospital the night of Elijah’s death. Police have sought to further interview her; we have not agreed.”

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Robert LaJeuness says he plays over in his mind the rainy day one year ago today that he got a call from...

One year later, no one has been charged in the death, but many, including Robert LaJeuness, who lives in Hyattsville, continue to grieve.

“There are no words to describe how much I miss my son,” wrote Robert . "Sometimes when I see other little boys around the same age that he was, I find myself fighting back the tears.

“He could have grown up and gone on to do great things with his life.”

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