GUILTY OK - Sharon Smith & 3 others for child abuse, Gore, 2005

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State and hospital workers failed to report to police that a 4-year-old boy had fallen into a three-day coma after drinking rubbing alcohol his mother allegedly told him was green Kool-Aid, the sheriff said.

The boy was returned to his abusive home, where police found him malnourished and severely beaten June 25. They arrested his mother, Melanie Smith, 24, and her half brother, Roy Albert Smith, 20, on charges of child abuse, neglect and endangerment.

Muskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson said someone "dropped the ball" in the boy's hospitalization in March.

"This child was unnecessarily tortured from March to July, because somebody failed to call the authorities," Pearson said. The incident is still under investigation.

Melanie and Roy Smith are accused of starving and beating the boy, keeping him handcuffed, bound with tape and locked in a closet. The child told investigators he was being punished for wetting the bed, Pearson said.

Melanie and Roy Smith are being held in the county jail without bail.

The boy's aunt also was charged with child abuse, and Pearson said he is seeking charges against family members and friends who noticed the abuse and did not report it.

He also said he is seeking incest charges against the Smiths, saying Melanie Smith told authorities that she and Roy Smith were married. The boy's father lives in another state, the sheriff said. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/07/28/national/a111653D85.DTL
 
:furious: :furious: :furious: :furious: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

There are no words...
 
State and hospital workers failed to report to police that a 4-year-old boy had fallen into a three-day coma after drinking rubbing alcohol his mother allegedly told him was green Kool-Aid, the sheriff said.

The boy was returned to his abusive home, where police found him malnourished and severely beaten June 25. They arrested his mother, Melanie Smith, 24, and her half brother, Roy Albert Smith, 20, on charges of child abuse, neglect and endangerment. Muskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson said someone "dropped the ball" in the boy's hospitalization in March.

"This child was unnecessarily tortured from March to July, because somebody failed to call the authorities," Pearson said. The incident is still under investigation.

Sheriff's Deputy Jan Ray said the hospital called the state Department of Human Services, which took a report but never passed the information to police. Proper protocol is for hospital workers to contact police directly, agency spokeswoman Stephanie Bond said.

She declined to comment on any current or previous DHS investigations involving Melanie Smith. Officials at St. Francis Hospital did not immediately return telephone calls Thursday.

Melanie and Roy Smith are accused of starving and beating the boy, keeping him handcuffed, bound with tape and locked in a closet. The child told investigators he was being punished for wetting the bed, Pearson said.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8758371/
 
September 2005:

Brenna A. Smith, 30, and her mother, Sharon Smith, 51, both of Gore, are charged with child abuse after a 4-year-old Braggs boy was found beaten and malnourished in Sharon Smith's home. Sharon Smith faces additional charges of child neglect and permitting child abuse.

The women, who are related to the boy, cared for him while his mother and stepfather worked. The boy's mother, Melanie Smith, 24, and her half brother, Roy Albert Smith, 20, are in jail in Muskogee County on child abuse charges...

Brown said the boy referred to the handcuffs as "handcuffies and said Sharon Smith put the handcuffs on him "so he wouldn't get up and walk around at night when they were asleep.

The boy was made to sleep in a closet, with his hands taped to his knees, his feet handcuffed where they were placed against a closet wall.

The boy weighed 26 pounds, had a black eye, was limping, and used a cane when authorities removed him from Smith's home. He had open wounds, and patches of his hair were falling out. Residue from black electrical tape and clear packing tape was found on his head, neck and ears, investigators said.

http://m.newsok.com/article/2910790


Another arrest was made Thursday in the abuse case of a four-year-old boy. Four relatives of the boy are now accused of torturing and starving the child at a Gore home and at a home near Braggs.

The daughter of Sharon Kay Smith of Gore, who was charged last month with abusing her great-nephew, is now facing a felony child abuse charge.

Brenna A. Smith, 30, was released on a $5,000 bond from the Sequoyah County Jail in Sallisaw...

the four-year-old could hardly walk, was bruised, and weighed 26 pounds when he was taken into custody at Sharon Smith's home...

During earlier police interviews, the child allegedly told police that his mother used handcuffs, along with duct tape, on his ankles to prevent him from "bothering his parents at night."

http://m.sequoyahcountytimes.com/archives/article_358647cb-953d-5e55-b5ac-b3481b53d2a9.html?mode=jqm
 
October 2006 - mother Melanie Smith on trial.

Melanie Smith
IMG_20160120_195040.jpg

The prosecution peppered jurors Tuesday with a barrage of photographs depicting a bruised and malnourished 4-year-old boy authorities allege was abused by his mother and others.

Witnesses described the content of the pictures, which showed 40 to 50 bruises that covered across most of the child’s body and in various stages of healing...

Most of the testimony presented Tuesday, however, tended to implicate Sharon Smith, an aunt who cared for the child while his mother and stepfather worked. Sharon Smith lives in Sequoyah County, where Koepke was found before he was taken into protective custody.

Evidence seized when authorities executed a search warrant at Sharon Smith’s Sequoyah County home included dumbbells, handcuffs and several rolls of tape...

According to [Muskogee County Sheriff’s Investigator Tim] Brown, the child told him Melanie Smith had beaten him with her hands, her fist and a belt and refused to feed him anything except oriental noodles.

Brown said when he interviewed Smith prior to her arrest, “she was vague about why Bobby was in the condition he was in and had no idea the child had been injured.”

“She said she had never seen the child naked,” Brown said about Smith’s explanation about her lack of knowledge of her son’s numerous injuries.

http://m.muskogeephoenix.com/archiv...d98-b636-57e5-b130-4b4b8f5fdfa7.html?mode=jqm
 
November 2006:

District Attorney John David Luton on Thursday tried to suggest a possible motive for the abuse -- obtaining disability checks for the child.

Janet Blackwood, the couple's neighbor, testified that Melanie Smith asked whether she could recommend someone to evaluate the boy for a mental disability and brain damage so that she could start drawing a check.

Soon after that, the child was comatose in the hospital after ingesting rubbing alcohol.

Oh my God! That is horrendous... Wanting to intentionally brain-damaged your child?!!?

Reminds me of little Jarred Tutko and his sister. She was in a persistent vegetative state from a head injury, but the parents insisted on keeping her at home so they could carry on getting the money... And Jarred himself - the prosecution said the parents gave him just enough food to keep him alive, so they could carry on drawing the checks :(

Sickening.

Anyway, the prosecution put the victim in this case on the stand. He had turned 5 by now:

The child appeared healthy and well-groomed in court. He mentioned that he had been trick-or-treating the night before and had dressed as Spiderman.

Several times, he called out his foster parents' names good-naturedly to acknowledge their presence.

:heartluv: :heartluv: :heartluv:

The mother's boyfriend (and half-brother) testified against her:

Roy Smith in 2005:
off_lookup.jpg

Roy Albert Smith testified that his wife hit, slapped, punched and kicked her son with a belt, board and "pretty much anything" depending on what kind of mood she was in...

Roy Albert Smith denied ever doing anything to the child himself except for spanking him on the bottom with his hand. The belt his wife used on the boy was the one he was wearing in court, he said -- a Western belt with a large buckle.
"I never used a belt on that boy. Never," he said.

http://m.tulsaworld.com/archives/bo...823-136a-52ec-a003-79ff2193a828.html?mode=jqm
 
The boy testified Thursday that his mother whipped him with a belt, the Tulsa World reported, and that Sharon Smith spanked with a switch on his "private" and stepped on his feet daily. He said his aunt also handcuffed him, taped his mouth shut and threw him into a dark closet...

Roy Albert Smith, Melanie Smith's husband and the boy's stepfather, testified his wife whipped the child with his western belt with conchos. Doctors said the marks on the boy matched the belt...

A Tulsa psychologist testified after viewing the tape of the child's interview with investigators four days after being taken into custody. Dr. Bart Trentham of Tulsa said he was concerned about some leading questions the interviewer posed to the child and about the length of time between when the child was taken from his family and the interview. He said children are more susceptible to suggestions than adults.

http://m.sequoyahcountytimes.com/archives/article_f5176f37-cb6b-5f2a-a40e-428a08dd4ca6.html?mode=jqm
 
He rarely sat still and constantly played with the microphone as he gave brief answers to questions about the alleged abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother and others.

“She treated me bad — with a belt,” Koepke said of Smith, who he referred to as Melanie or his mean mommie. “She spanked me on my bottom.”

Koepke said he was afraid of his mother because “she whoops me.”...

Koepke said Sharon Smith would spank him with a switch and put him in a dark place with a “boogeyman — he threw me outside.”...

Koepke’s testimony was brief, and the acts he attributed to his mother fell short of those alleged by the state and described by Roy Albert Smith, Melanie Smith’s co-defendant and husband.

Roy Albert Smith said his wife whipped her son with a leather belt adorned with metal conchos. He described how Melanie Smith would hit, kick, slap, whip and kick the child on his back, arms and legs. And if he tried to intervene, Smith said his wife would whip him.

“Are you afraid of her?” District Attorney John David Luton said. “She pretty much ran the show?”

Smith answered yes to both questions.

http://m.muskogeephoenix.com/archiv...1ff-31bf-51b3-b799-98ae78322d4d.html?mode=jqm


During his opening statement, Luton said when investigators went to the defendant’s home, they found a mobile home with no water, no gas and no food. He said besides some dog food, the only food in the house consisted of a bottle of ketchup, some syrup and a jar of jelly...

“He was bruised and could barely walk,” Luton said. “They would not feed him because he would urinate and defecate on himself.”...

Defense lawyer Jay Cook outlined a starkly different view of the evidence.

Cook said Smith’s son inadvertently ingested a bottle of isopropyl alcohol, which caused him to lose a lot of weight and prompted an investigation by child welfare workers. According to Cook, the incident was the result of Roy Albert Smith.

According to Cook, Smith’s son underwent a psychological evaluation that showed he had a violent temperament, would hit his head out of frustration, was mean to animals and would defecate when he became angry.

http://m.muskogeephoenix.com/archiv...757-6788-5d07-98ee-996a7137b3a6.html?mode=jqm
 
November 3rd, 2006:

Jurors acquitted a Gore woman Friday of child abuse but convicted her on two separate charges of child neglect and endangerment.

The 11-man, one-woman jury recommended Melanie Smith, 26, serve a 12-year prison sentence for the child neglect conviction and four years for endangering her 4-year-old son...

Before they began their deliberations, jurors also got to hear Smith’s side of the story...

Smith admitted spanking the boy with her hands and a belt, but denied carrying the disciplinary measures to the extreme degree the state alleged. Smith said her husband, Roy Albert Smith, lied about her abusing her son and him...

Smith also described her efforts to seek medical help for the child, who she believed suffered from attention deficit disorder — possibly autism — and suffered from an eating disorder.

“He was very outgoing, hyper and got mad very easily,” Smith said.

She sobbed as she recalled an incident involving her son’s accidental ingestion of isopropyl alcohol. A sense of urgency was apparent when Smith described the call she got from Sharon Smith the night child welfare workers and law enforcers took the boy into protective custody.

District Attorney John David Luton said Smith’s account was “incredible” and “unbelievable.”

“Don’t you think a mother who cared would notice these things,” Luton said about Koepke’s injuries and evidence the boy had been restrained and silenced by tape about his wrists and head.

http://m.muskogeephoenix.com/archiv...97f-baf9-5ad6-a63e-dc8564e91913.html?mode=jqm
 
January 2008:

MUSKOGEE — The stepfather of a 4-year-old Braggs boy received a 10-year prison sentence Friday after pleading guilty to torturing the child.

Roy Albert Smith Jr., 22, who was charged in Muskogee County District Court with child abuse, neglect and child endangerment, will be eligible for judicial review after one year...

Eric Jones, the child's attorney, said it wasn't in the child's best interest to testify at Smith's trial.

"The boy has been adopted by a loving family,” Jones said. "He is doing well. He is doing wonderful.”...

Sharon Smith was convicted in Sequoyah County of child abuse, child neglect and permitting child abuse and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Sharon Smith's daughter, Brenna Smith, is scheduled for trial later this year.

http://m.newsok.com/article/3189187
 
June 2007 trial of Sharon Kay Smith.

Sharon Smith
View attachment 87714

SALLISAW -- A 6-year-old boy has forgotten some of the details surrounding his alleged abuse and neglect at the hands of his aunt and baby sitter two years ago. But being handcuffed, restrained with electrical tape and kept in a closet aren't among the things he's forgotten...

The boy told the court that "Sharon" taped his mouth and eyes shut "so I could be quiet in the closet" and "to keep someone from hearing me say, 'Ow.' " Smith, carrying a black Bible and wearing dark glasses, took notes during the boy's testimony...

Sharon Smith is a former prison guard who baby-sat the boy for a period of time while his mother and stepfather worked. White testified that the boy had black eyes and could barely walk when he arrived at Smith's double-wide mobile home...

His shoulder blades and spine were protruding, and his knee caps appeared larger than his thighs, reports show. [Police Office Billy] Lincoln said the boy's feet looked like they had "blister-like tears" all over them. As for his hair, he said, "It was almost like patches had fallen out or been ripped out across the back of his head." Asked if it was one of the most heinous of the hundreds of child-abuse cases he's investigated, Lincoln said, "This would be as close to a child's death -- a near death."

http://m.tulsaworld.com/archives/de...ad6-1668-5992-aa9d-40cfc8a54ea6.html?mode=jqm
 
Defense attorney Steven Ramm's opening statement to the jury was delayed by an emotional disturbance and medical emergency involving Smith's daughter Keisha Smith while the jury was on break.

Keisha Smith, who was preparing to testify Tuesday afternoon on behalf of her mother, became upset after learning from District Judge Jeff Payton that the child named her twice as an abuser in a taped interview that was presented to the jury. Accordingly, Payton informed Keisha Smith of her right to seek legal advice before testifying.

Sharon Smith, 52, said, "She's fixing to have a seizure," and rose from the defense table to go to the aid of her daughter, who had slumped back in a courtroom chair. "I cannot believe you'd do this to my daughter."

http://m.tulsaworld.com/archives/de...d24-273f-5b83-95e0-e8ce8d7e7697.html?mode=jqm

:what: :facepalm:

When she finally did get on the stand:

As she testified, Keisha Smith shook uncontrollably and cried as she told about how much her family cared for the boy, saying he was staying with Sharon Smith so they could make sure he had at least one meal a day...

When cross-examined by Jones, Keisha Smith began sobbing hysterically and began rocking back and forth. Jones also played her two videotapes where the boy mentioned Keisha Smith by name as someone who had hit him.

Keisha Smith shrieked denials during the cross examination, including that her mother had not stuck the boy's face into urine to punish him for missing the toilet while he was going to the bathroom.

http://m.newsok.com/jury-suggests-40-year-sentence-in-abuse-case/article/3063502/?page=2
 
A Sequoyah County jury recommended a 40-year prison sentence for Sharon Kay Smith, who was found guilty Wednesday night for her role in abusing her 4-year-old grandnephew...

"It felt good to put those cuffs on her," said Muskogee County sheriff's deputy Jan Ray, who conducted the child-abuse investigation and assisted a Gore police officer in handcuffing Smith. "I've been waiting two years for this."

:woohoo:


Defense attorney Steven Ramm countered in his closing that the person responsible for the abuse is the mother, who is already in prison...

A doctor and sheriff's deputy also testified that the boy told them his aunt had stomped his feet, placed handcuffs on his ankles and hands, and taped his mouth when he screamed in pain. The boy was also able to tell investigators exactly where his aunt kept the weights, tape and handcuffs, which were seized and taken into evidence.

[Sheriff's deputy Jan] Ray testified that the boy's first spontaneous words to her were that he knew exactly what the "handcuffies" were on her belt because his aunt used them on his ankles and feet.

http://m.tulsaworld.com/archives/ju...142-f589-586e-8cd0-b08cbcf95f5e.html?mode=jqm

:furious:
 
Melanie Ann Smith, of Gore, Muskogee County, Oklahoma

Melanie Smith in August 2014 - looks like she's enjoying prison :furious:
View attachment 87726

Appearance
White Female; 5 ft. 4 in. tall; 147 pounds; Auburn hair; Brown eyes;

Body Marks
TAT BACK: NCIC TRIBAL ART - LOWER BACK
TAT CHEST: NCIC UNFINISHED
TAT L HND: NCIC J. C. HEART

Aliases: Melanie Hamilton
Melanie A Koepke
Melanie Smith, Melanie Anne smith

DC number: 544717
Date of birth: 10/16/1980

Up for parole: 10/2016

http://docapp065p.doc.state.ok.us/s...ad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30&SearchMode=Basic
 
Melanie Ann Smith, of Gore, Muskogee County, Oklahoma

Melanie Smith in August 2014 - looks like she's enjoying prison :furious:
View attachment 87726

Appearance
White Female; 5 ft. 4 in. tall; 147 pounds; Auburn hair; Brown eyes;

Body Marks
TAT BACK: NCIC TRIBAL ART - LOWER BACK
TAT CHEST: NCIC UNFINISHED
TAT L HND: NCIC J. C. HEART

Aliases: Melanie Hamilton
Melanie A Koepke
Melanie Smith, Melanie Anne smith

DC number: 544717
Date of birth: 10/16/1980

Up for parole: 10/2016

http://docapp065p.doc.state.ok.us/s...ad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30&SearchMode=Basic
 
<modsnip>

Brenna Smith, born 01/14/1975, of Gore, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to child abuse in January 2008 and was given a 10 year suspended sentence.

Court case number: CF-2005-00408

On Demand Court Records
I would like to know who you are and how familiar you are with this case I am the kid in this court case and trying to get all the information I can before I meet her
 
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