GUILTY RI - Zah-Nae Rothgeb, 9, handicap, cerebral palsy, dies of cruelty, filthy home, Warwick, 3 Jan 2019

New Posts

MicheleT said:
From this article:


The boy the mentioned is 15 and has Asperger’s. He was doing the "caring" for these kids, not this adoptive mom. I'm glad he was there to help them. It's unfortunate though because he will probably carry guilt at the death.
Click to expand...

He may be at the higher functioning end of the spectrum but it is still too much responsibility for him. The house did not get that filthy, in the two weeks, that mom had the flu. It may have gotten a lot messier but it would take longer than two weeks to get a serious bug infestation.

She could have hired a cleaner, once a week, with the almost $ 5,000 in funds that she received monthly to take care of the special needs kids.

DCYF director: 'We want to understand what happened' in death of Warwick girl, 9


Rothgeb received about $4,800 a month in state subsidies for the six children she had adopted, the DCYF said.
 
Last edited:
The Farm said:
I live in the next state over and it is all over the news constantly.

People want a homicide charge brought against this woman.
Click to expand...


It would be interesting to hear what those with legal experience think will happen. She may plea to cruelty and neglect to avoid a more serious charge. This article is about a similar incident but the house and kids were clean so it was determined to be an accident.

Coroner rules disabled 17-year-old accidentally drowned in bathtub
 
Last edited:
Breezie said:
It would be interesting to hear what those with legal experience think will happen. She may plea to cruelty and neglect to avoid a more serious charge. This article is about a similar incident but the house and kids were clean so it was determined to be an accident.

Coroner rules disabled 17-year-old accidentally drowned in bathtub
Click to expand...
I am not a legal expert but I think “intent” would come into play. IMO this person is negligible but did not intend on killing her child. Yes, families certainly get overwhelmed, but the level of filth and putting such a responsibility on a disabled teen is disturbing to me. With the amount of state aid she was receiving she would most likely be eligible to receive Home-based Therapy assistance, especially being alone with 8 children. My issue is that this death was preventable and negligence of a child caused it. She didn’t leave the room for a few minutes to check on something on the stove. This child was left all day in cold water alone. She wasn’t checked on until HOURS later. I wonder how this “mother” would feel if she was disabled and was left in that manner. If you read the other articles, businesses came together to assist with a van purchase, toys, etc. Maybe some of the money could be used for house cleaning, laundry services, clean clothes, clean sheets and healthy foods. Yes, the state holds responsibility for sure, but at what point does a human being become accountable for their actions? She committed to caring for these children and they deserved so much more.
 
Mother held on bail at arraignment in death of 9-year-old Warwick girl

Around 2 p.m., the boy said, he left the house to get three siblings off the bus and start dinner for the children.

The 15 year old was doing the best he could do in this situation. He must have kept the siblings, who went to school, fed and clean enough, that the school did not request a welfare check. It also means that he either missed school himself or else he was supposedly homeschooled. He was too busy caretaking to receive an education.
 
Breezie said:
Mother held on bail at arraignment in death of 9-year-old Warwick girl

Around 2 p.m., the boy said, he left the house to get three siblings off the bus and start dinner for the children.

The 15 year old was doing the best he could do in this situation. He must have kept the siblings, who went to school, fed and clean enough, that the school did not request a welfare check. It also means that he either missed school himself or else he was supposedly homeschooled. He was too busy caretaking to receive an education.
Click to expand...
I’m amazed and saddened about the boy at the same time. He was doing a better job than the mom. He did seem to be missing school? Erika Murray in Blackstone, MA skated by without DCYF checks so I’m not too surprised. HOWEVER, last year DCYF was called to go in and check on the kids because negligence was suspected and MR would not allow access to the second floor. Even after that check, she was allowed to adopt another disabled child.
 
More charges sought in death of 9-year-old

Two of the children, including a 15-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome who was instructed to take care of the remaining children, are Rothgeb’s grandchildren. She had adopted the other six kids. Three of the six are siblings, Piccola said.

The 15 year old, who was home, during the day, was the primary caregiver. His 13 year old brother helped out when he got home from school.

Ullucci said Rothgeb posted bail on Tuesday and police were checking yesterday to see whether she had returned to the Oakland Beach house to care for pets, including two dogs, two turtles and guinea pig.

It is good there is follow up, on the pets, since the teens probably fed them.
 
Last edited:
A harsh lesson in trust

To address one of the most tragic stories we’ve covered recently, the death of a 9-year-old Zhanae Rothgeb in Oakland Beach has, to this point, displayed a fatal oversight on the part of DCYF in the amount of trust it gave out to a mother who was clearly in way above her head and not in a position to care for the children entrusted to her supervision.
 
MsGazette said:
I’m amazed and saddened about the boy at the same time. He was doing a better job than the mom. He did seem to be missing school? Erika Murray in Blackstone, MA skated by without DCYF checks so I’m not too surprised. HOWEVER, last year DCYF was called to go in and check on the kids because negligence was suspected and MR would not allow access to the second floor. Even after that check, she was allowed to adopt another disabled child.
Click to expand...

Right there is a huge red flag. The caseworker should have immediately reported that she was not allowed access to the whole house, instead she did nothing. And to be allowed to adopt yet another disabled child is unbelievable on all levels.
It is also not hard to figure out why MR continued to adopt. There is no excuse for any of this.
 
Breezie said:
More charges sought in death of 9-year-old

Two of the children, including a 15-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome who was instructed to take care of the remaining children, are Rothgeb’s grandchildren. She had adopted the other six kids. Three of the six are siblings, Piccola said.

The 15 year old, who was home, during the day, was the primary caregiver. His 13 year old brother helped out when he got home from school.

Ullucci said Rothgeb posted bail on Tuesday and police were checking yesterday to see whether she had returned to the Oakland Beach house to care for pets, including two dogs, two turtles and guinea pig.

It is good there is follow up, on the pets, since the teens probably fed them.
Click to expand...
So, I didn’t realize that she eventually posted bail :-/. I honestly tried finding the pets in online shelter postings to see if they were removed from the home - no luck. It seems they must still be there...
These children needed a home and maybe had a hard time finding one with their disabilities. But there is no excuse for that level of living conditions. To think of state of the 9-year-old’s bedroom is where she resided before her final trip to the bathtub. So, so awful.
 
Breezie said:
Coroner rules disabled 17-year-old accidentally drowned in bathtub

This same thing happened to a large family that adopted special needs kids a few years ago. The house and kids were clean so it was ruled an accident. This disabled 17 year old was also found by a sibling. These large families do get very overwhelmed and burned out with caregiving.

The problem starts with large families being approved to adopt more and more kids. There is a term for this that compares some of these families to animal hoarders.
Click to expand...

I immediately thought of the family mentioned in the article you linked when I read about Zah-Nae. That family has a blog and they have since adopted another child since their adopted child's death. I've read their blog for years and they have way too many children and the Mom constantly posts about how stressed out she is and seems on the verge of a breakdown, yet I would not be surprised if they adopted again or she had another baby.
 
The Farm said:
@MsGazette I saw this. I wish it stated why Zah-Nae was placed where she was. Why wasn't she with her family?
Click to expand...
So I had the same thoughts. I saw the biological dad make a statement a couple of weeks ago about how they only know MR from the adoption process. If I had to guess, the child has special needs and the family couldn’t afford or handle those needs. Unless she was removed from the home at some point. The report does not do a great job explaining the background story, so the family’s strong feelings comes off from left field somewhere. I want to know if there will be other charges. I haven’t seen anything except DCYF is “investigating” and at the same time, the director is trying to save face and her job. IMO
 
I am from Warwick and I have been so saddened and horrified at this case. If anything good at all were to come out of it, we would have a serious discussion and ideally a qualified person would conduct a serious inquiry into the circumstances that led to this. Why does is it seem that social workers for DCYF and social workers in general are in the business of deciding if a situation is basically ok rather than optimal for the individuals they are responsible for looking after? Social work is a thankless job that doesn't pay well. I have to believe most people who enter into social work did so because they once cared and wanted to make a difference. But, they are often responsible for way too many cases, some of which are probably riddled with potential issues when they get them. I think the bigger question in all of this is what do most social works face day to day in terms of expectations? I'm speculating but I've got to believe that constantly reporting problems that the agency they work for doesn't have the resources to handle is NOT expected of them. I'm wondering if there are any social workers on this thread who can tell us what it's really like.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Staff online

Members online

... and 195 more.
Total: 4,640 (members: 196, guests: 4,444)

Online statistics

Members online
196
Guests online
4,444
Total visitors
4,640
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,348
Messages
17,967,877
Members
228,753
Latest member
Cindy88
Back
Top