GUILTY UT - Michael Bowden for starving 5yo disabled girl, West Valley City, 2006

Marie

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I hadn't heard of this and then a friend mentioned it so I did some research. I wish there was a death penalty for cases like this - murder, torture & rape should all be DP cases and this was pure evil torture of an innocent and disabled child (she has MS). Plus mom was fighting in Iraq when it happened - she's off protecting our country and this **advertiser censored* is slowly killing her child. In just 3 months time she went from 35lbs to only 13. And he's such a wimpy chicken* coward that he wouldn't even come out of his jail cell to face a judge.

Mother Of Starved Girl Faces Alleged Abuser

She trusted the man she loved to care for her 5-year-old while she was on duty in iraq.

Instead, the little girl nearly starved to death.

Starved Child Leaves Hospital

Starved Salt Lake City child goes home from hospital

*WARNING - the photo's are heartbreaking :(
 
I did not look at the photos but reading what you posted makes me sick! How can people do this kind of stuff to a child!!! I have a 5 year old and I could not imagine making him starve. It breaks your heart. And the mom is serving our Country, Its horrible!
 
What is wrong with people? Why in the world does a person do these things to children? I cannot fathom why. This *advertiser censored* should be left in his cell to starve. Eye for an eye. THANK GOD she is still alive and she is going to be with her mother.
 
How can someone do this do an innocent child? She wasted away to almost nothing in such a short time, I really do hope she makes a full recovery. My own 5yr old is over 3x's that weight at 43 lbs. Quite a contract comparatively, and she's always been on the small side of the growth charts. Did you notice the mineral degeneration in her teeth (or whatever that's called)?
frown.gif
 
I don't care if she was serving the country or not, why did she leave her child with a man not her father and wasn't even her fiance until after she left? He was just some guy she was dating then.

Why? She had other people obviously as they are taking her now? Sorry, her sacrifices as military don't blind me to the fact that she's just like any of the other woman we read about that leave their kids with people who abuse, rape or kill them. Why should she be looked at any differently just because she's military?

I'm so sorry this poor baby had to suffer and I'm so happy that grandpa was there for her. I'm more than happy that she can maybe now have a normal routine and get well.
 
Yeah said:
How can someone do this do an innocent child? She wasted away to almost nothing in such a short time, I really do hope she makes a full recovery. My own 5yr old is over 3x's that weight at 43 lbs. Quite a contract comparatively, and she's always been on the small side of the growth charts. Did you notice the mineral degeneration in her teeth (or whatever that's called)?
frown.gif

I feel so sorry for this child. She need her mother and I hope she is able to stay stateside.

I can't help but wonder why the mother joined up when she already had a special needs child and how she came to think that a man who is no blood relative to the child would even care enough to be trusted with the child. Throw bricks at me....I just can't imagine leaving the country and leaving a child with severe medical problems with a person unrelated to the child.


Yes, she is serving her country, but shouldn't her child come first when making these decisions?
 
I'd wonder too how far away the Grandparents lived? I know ultimately they wound up saving the child, but if my single daughter had a child (especially one who already has health issues) and left that child with a man not the father, I'd be visiting weekly just to be sure things were going smoothly. Well actually I'd be insisting she leave the child with us to begin with, but if for some reason we were unable to take the child, I'd sure keep a CLOSE eye on the situation.
 
abuse?? neglect?


that is the charge???? It should be first degree attempted murder.
 
how sad. she is 5 and weighs less than my 6 month old
 
The idea of starving a child makes me ill. Physically ill. What kind of a sick **** would do such a thing.:banghead:

There is a special place in hell for him.:behindbar
 
More detailed info:

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4298691
...she gave him power of attorney before she left for Iraq...

...While Bowden reported to Ferrando that Jade was OK, the girl's grandfather, Rafael Ferrando, was worried. He saw Jade's emaciated condition and summoned West Valley City police to Bowden's home Aug. 18 to check on the girl. Officers then called for a team of paramedics to assess the girl and decided she was in no immediate danger...


I cannot comment on this...I am angry at the subhuman who did this. I am angry at the mom's stupidity or gullibility for allowing him to be responsible for a disabled child. Surely someone else besides the grandfather noticed the child's situation? I can't believe no one else ever "entered" that apartment (or house).
 
I bet he was trying to get rid of that precious little girl so that he wouldn't have the "burden" of caring for her when he married her mother.
doh.gif
behindbars.gif
 
Yeah said:
I bet he was trying to get rid of that precious little girl so that he wouldn't have the "burden" of caring for her when he married her mother.
doh.gif
behindbars.gif

I'm afraid you're right.

That poor little girl....he almost succeeded. I agree with Amra. The charge should be attempted murder.
 
Maybe I missed something earlier in the thread but why I can't understand why the girl was staying with a the moms boyfriend and not family or her dad. single mothers HAVE to be more aware of the evil that is out there just waiting for them. There are men who will look for a lonely, overwhelmed, tired single mother b/c they are an easy target for their sick ways. Parents in general need to be aware of the people they bring into their lives. I recently had a fight with my mother in law b/c while babysitting she took my children to her friends barbecue, I dodn;t know the friend or anypeople there and I was furious, I found out about it when I called to check on my kids, and immediatley left work to go get them. How do I know a pedophile wasn't at that party?
 
WHY? WHY? WHY? I was sickened when I saw the pictures of that
emaciated little girl. Starving someone....let alone, a child, is the MEANEST
and CRUELEST thing you can do. To deny someone food....that is SO sick!

I think they should not let this guy eat anything for a month, and see how he likes it.
 
How is it that the paramedics decided she was in no danger??

Isn't that DCF's job??
The grandfather tried to get help for her and the police and medics completely failed.
If she is 13 lbs now she had to be very thin then.
But because she is disabled they ignored it.
 
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6828219
Man who starved soldier-girlfriend's child sent to prison for mental test
By Stephen Hunt
The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 09/07/2007 11:59:00 AM MDT Posted: 12:01 PM- A West Valley City man convicted of allowing his fiancée's disabled 5-year-old child to nearly starve to death last year while the mother was serving in Iraq will undergo a 60-day psychological evaluation at the Utah State Prison prior to sentencing.
Third District Judge Robert Hilder said he wants as much information as possible before deciding Michael John Bowden's fate.
Hilder heard evidence at Bowden's trial last month instead of a jury and found him guilty of second-degree felony child abuse.
The 26-year-old defendant faces a possible one-to-15-year prison term when he is sentenced Nov. 16.
A pre-sentence report prepared by Corrections officials recommends prison time.
At trial, defense attorneys argued that Bowden, himself an Iraq war veteran, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol-abuse problems, and did not knowingly harm his fiancée's daughter, whose weight dropped to 13 pounds.
The child, Jade Anzures, suffers from cerebral palsy and is unable to walk, talk or feed herself.
In explaining his verdict, Hilder said that even assuming Bowden was suffering from PTSD and abusing alcohol, those conditions did not impair his ability to act knowingly. (much more at link about his lifestyle)

On Friday, prosecutor William Kendall said the girl is "happy, healthy and eating well," and her mother, Anahi Ferrando, was "adjusting to civilian life."
 
My 10 yr old daughter heard a similar horror story today and she said "Why don't they do the same to him (the criminal), mom?"
 

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