In May 1997, David Jones was taken from his mother because the woman and her boyfriend threw the youngster against a wall and stomped on his small body, child welfare officials say.
But last weekend, in the South Side foster home that was supposed to be a haven from such violence and abuse, 5-year-old David was beaten to death–allegedly by two foster brothers, ages 14 and 9. David died Saturday of peritonitis, a tearing of the intestine, and swelling of the brain, law enforcement authorities said.
The two boys, children of foster mother Karen Starks, were charged Thursday with murder in juvenile petitions, in what police say may be a case of sibling rivalry. But officials at the private foster care agency monitoring the case said there was no evidence that suggested problems between the children.
In juvenile court Thursday afternoon, the boys stood before Cook County Circuit Judge Daniel Darcy, who ordered the 14-year-old to be held in custody. The 9-year-old was sent home with his mother because he is too young to be detained. He is among the youngest children ever charged with murder in Chicago.
David’s biological mother, who is in her mid-20s, had visited her son at Starks’ home the day before he died. During the regularly scheduled, supervised visit, David complained of a stomachache, said officials from the private agency.
On Monday, after police were prompted to begin an investigation by autopsy findings, the foster brothers told authorities they used their hands and a belt to assault David, prosecutors said.
An autopsy performed Sunday showed he died of “multiple injuries due to blunt-force trauma due to assault,” according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His injuries were to his upper body, police said.
“You have a 9-year-old offender and 5-year-old victim, and this concerns us,” said police spokesman Pat Camden. “This case is highly unusual.”
Assistant State’s Atty. Mike Oppenheimer said, “This is the case of a slow beating death.”
But Assistant Public Defender Maria Barrido said the incident “is nothing more than what happens between brothers. They were playing with David, they were mad, and maybe they punched him.”
Barrido argued there is no way of knowing whether the brothers’ actions had anything to do with what caused David’s death, and it remained unclear on which day the alleged attack with the belt took place. She said there was no testimony the brothers ever hit David in the head.
Since last spring, David had been living in Starks’ home, in the 7500 block of South Carpenter Street, with four of his biological siblings who also were removed from their mother. Starks, who is not married, had three children of her own.
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Since the beginning of this year, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services policy does not allow new foster homes to have more than six children, including biological children of the foster parents. In the past, up to eight children were allowed, said DCFS Director Jess McDonald.
It appeared that as many as eight children were living with Starks. The private agency said it was led to believe two of Starks’ own children were staying with an aunt.
“In this case, we don’t know enough about the issues and about the foster home to say was this home totally safe,” McDonald said. “One reason we’ve gone to new standards that will require homes to be smaller in capacity is because the more kids you have in the home, the more stress you put on families.”
David and his five siblings were removed May 1, 1997, from their mother’s home because her boyfriend allegedly physically abused them, said DCFS spokeswoman Maudlyne Ihejirika. Another sibling of David’s was placed in a different foster care setting, authorities said.
According to Cook County Public Guardian Patrick Murphy, David’s mother and her boyfriend allegedly stomped on him and threw him against the wall.
At the foster home, though, DCFS said there never were any reports of abuse or neglect.
After David’s death, DCFS began an investigation and removed his four siblings from Starks’ home, said Ihejirika.
In the juvenile hearing Thursday, Oppenheimer called one witness, prosecutor Kimellen Chamberlain, who had questioned the boys while they were in the custody of police. Chamberlain said the boys told her and police detectives that the 14-year-old punched David while the 9-year-old hit David with his hands and a belt.
The 14-year-old said he was angry “because David threw up on him a few days before,” Chamberlain testified. The 9-year-old “was angry because David said, `Shut up’ to him. They fought with David a lot and they were punching him in the stomach a week before,” she said.
David came home from school last Friday because he felt ill, police said. During the visit Friday with his natural mother, “David complained of a stomachache,” said Linda Tanksley, executive director of the “There is Hope Christian Resource Center,” the private agency.
By Saturday morning, when the two brothers again saw David, the boy would not get out of bed, Chamberlain testified.
“Their mom made breakfast and David didn’t want any. David only wanted water,” she said.”He kept lying there with his eyes open.”
At 10 a.m. Saturday, David was vomiting a yellow-green fluid. When Starks checked him again around noon, he was “cold and unresponsive,” police said.
Starks apparently did not know that the boys had beaten their foster brother, investigators said. She called the paramedics and they took David to Holy Cross Hospital at 12:59 p.m. in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. He was pronounced dead soon after.