GUILTY TX - David Tijerina, 3, beaten to death, Conroe, 31 Aug 2009

Three charged in death of 3-year-old Montgomery boy
By TERRI LANGFORD Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Sept. 1, 2009, 9:36PM


A 3-year-old Conroe boy was the victim of a fatal beating less than a week after a Texas Child Protective Services caseworker made a random visit and deemed him safe, as well as the cousins who lived with him.

Late Monday, paramedics were called to the home after the boy, whose name has not been officially released, was found bruised and not breathing. He was later pronounced dead, an hour after arriving at St. Luke's Hospital in The Woodlands.

On Tuesday, three people were arrested and charged with the injuries that led to the boy's death Monday night. Crystal Tijerina, the boy's aunt, 26; her 30-year-old boyfriend, Noah Herrera; and Steven Paul Chauvin, 47, remained in the Montgomery County Jail on Tuesday.

“The caseworker is just devastated,” CPS spokeswoman Gwen Carter said of the boy's death.

On Aug. 25, the worker made a random visit to the boy's home in east Montgomery County. “All the children appear to be happy and healthy,” the caseworker wrote.

The boy was part of a blended family that had been investigated four times by CPS.

His death is at least the third in the span of five months in which a child died despite CPS invention. On June 27, 4-year-old Emma Thompson of Spring died after a fatal beating, less than three weeks after investigators were notified that she had genital herpes. On April 9, 2-month-old Amber Maccurdy died of an untreated staph infection less than four weeks after a CPS visit.

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6596497.html

Good god another one???!!!!

RIP sweet boy.

Not another one in our county!! Just what is going on with CPS!!!!

The social worker should feel devestated! She let that little boy down and I hope it makes her think twice about the next one! They were investigated 4 times!!! Clearly something was wrong. R.I.P little one.

These tradgedies are becoming all too frequent...when are we as a country going to demand better protection for our children ? What's it going to take ?

Why do we even have CPS??? The government pays these people to do NOTHING. I am so sick of this. I know some ex friends and a sister in law who have justified cps calls on them and did they do anything about it?? No they did not. I just dont understand how this can keep on happening constantly.

This poor little babe, his mother died from a drug overdose (it sounds as though CPS was watching since his birth), he was placed with family members who beat him to death? Why do family members come forth to take these babies only to hurt them?

While I personally feel that CPS is a broken program, I still place the blame on the mothers and fathers of these children that end up in the "system". I'd like to know what the root of the problem is- ideally, CPS shouldn't be overworked, people should be taking care of their children or not give birth to begin with. JMO, my frustration with these cases involving children is growing daily. :furious:

CONROE, Texas—A man accused in the death of a 3-year-old Montgomery County boy is now facing capital murder charges.

David Lee Tijerina, 3, was not breathing when deputies arrived at his home in Conroe on Monday. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Montgomery County Justice of the Peace Edie Connelly said a preliminary autopsy determined that the boy died of severe blunt trauma to the abdomen.

more at link

http://hope4kidz.org/news/texas/TX_09042009.html

The only reedming fact here is that all three adults were charged and arrested. But that is no measure of comfort here, a baby's life was snuffed out violently. I'm not sure how it is in texas or the rest of our country but I will gladly share a little story about the Mo and Kansas CPS. A call was made to investigate someone I know well. At the time, she was living with her two children in Mo, in a home not fit for children. There were no appliances present in the home, so there was no way this mother could cook or store food for these children. The initial call was not about neglecting to feed the children, it was about neglectful supervision... the older child had been pulled from the road several times, as well as unsupervised in a swimming pool at age 4. the baby was handled very roughly and I believe the complaintant stated " I heard the babys neck snapping when this mother would throw the baby and shake him in "play." Long story short, the sherriff was assigned to look at this situation, and didnt even bother to come into the house to check on these children. The mother opened the door, said "Oh my children are fine", and that was the end of the investigation! He didnt even bother to look at the children!!! Later, the older child was drowned in a pond, because again she was unssupervised. She survived thank God almighty. but she was on life support for several days and in a coma. No neglect charges were ever filed. It was swept under the rug as "accidents happen".

From May 2011:

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cour...cle_febd4e66-8176-11e0-a484-001cc4c002e0.html

Jurors in the 284th state District Court of Judge Cara Wood found Cristina Gonzalez Tijerina, 48, of Conroe, guilty of first-degree felony injury to a child and sentenced her to 10 years in prison...

Last year, a jury convicted Noah Herrera, David's uncle, of capital murder and sentenced him to life in prison without parole. In April, Crystal Tijerina, the boy's aunt, was convicted of injury to a child by omission and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

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