November 6, 2007 Trial begins of Dorchester foster mom accused of killing boy, 4 By John Ellement, Globe Staff After 10 days in a foster home in Dorchester, Dontel Jeffers, 4, arrived at Caritas Carney Hospital on March 6, 2005, with bruises under his left eye, adult scratch marks on his forehead, and ligature marks around his wrists and one ankle from a telephone cord, a prosecutor said today during opening statements in a second-degree murder trial in Suffolk Superior Court. The boy had bruises inside his throat consistent with someone trying to cut off his breath and a ruptured intestine that was leaking human waste into his abdomen, causing a treatable but extremely painful infection, said David Deakin, a Suffolk assistant district attorney. After doctors spent 45 minutes trying to revive him, Dontel was pronounced dead. Deakin told the jury that Dontel's foster mother, Corinne N. Stephen, was responsible for his death. Before moving into her home on Ballou Avenue, Dontel was a healthy, smiling, energetic boy, he said. "Ten days later, the defendant brought the bruised and apparently lifeless body to the emergency department at the Carney Hospital," Deakin said. In Stephen's trial on second-degree murder charges, Deakin told the jury that he will not present evidence that Stephen beat Dontel or inflicted his injuries. Instead, the prosecution will try to prove that she caused his death by failing to obtain medical attention when his life was clearly in jeopardy. "She was the sole caretaker," Deakin said. "She allowed him to suffer bruises. She called no one. Not a doctor. Not a hospital. Not 911. Not anyone until it was far too late to save him." Defense attorney John Palmer described Stephen in his opening statement as a career foster mother who had taken care of other children. She had a good reputation at Mentor Network Inc., the private child welfare agency where she worked, he said. The graduate of Madison Park Technical Vocational High School had attended nursing classes at Salem State College and had been fully screened before being hired by the Mentor Network. Palmer urged the jury to "keep an open mind throughout this entire case" and said she was not responsible for Dontel's injuries or his death. Dontel had been cared for most of his life by his father, Elary Jeffers. In October 2004, Elary Jeffers was deported to his native Caribbean island, Nevis, after an outstanding immigration order surfaced when he was charged with domestic violence against his girlfriend. With Dontel's father gone, a judge awarded custody to his mother, Christal Claiborne. Within months, Dontel was pulled from her home because the state Department of Social Services alleged that she was neglecting him and abusing drugs. After a stay at a residential center for abused and neglected children, Dontel was placed with Stephen in a foster home on Ballou Avenue in Dorchester on Feb. 24, 2005. Ten days later, he was rushed to the hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest and died. October 7, 2006 DEAL SEEN IN DEATH OF BOY, 4, IN FOSTER CARE Patricia Wen, Globe Staff. A foster care agency has agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to settle a wrongful-death case filed by the parents of Dontel Jeffers, a state official said. The state Department of Social Services, which was also named in the case, did not have to pay any money to the family of the 4-year- old boy, said its spokeswoman, Denise Monteiro. She said in an interview that Massachusetts Mentor is the only party that had to pay, as far as she knew. Officials at Massachusetts Mentor declined to confirm or deny any settlement of the case. Court records indicate that motions to settle the case were filed in late August after months of negotiations and that a settlement was approved last week by Suffolk County Probate and Family Court Judge John Smoot. On Thursday, the records in the case were impounded by the clerk, as ordered earlier by the judge. Jeffers died March 6, 2005, after being beaten during 11 days he spent with a foster mother hired by Massachusetts Mentor, police said. A murder case is pending against the foster mother, Corinne Stephen of Dorchester. In a statement, Paul Cataldo, state director of Massachusetts Mentor, said company officials were "devastated" to hear of the boy's death, and that the tragic outcome should not obscure their 26 years of high quality foster care work. Within two months of the boy's death, his parents, Christal Claiborne and Elary Jeffers, who were not married and were estranged, filed competing claims to be administrator of their dead son's estate. The boy had no assets, but each wanted the right to file a wrongful-death suit and make key legal decisions in the case. The parents accused each other of being an unfit parent with no right to pursue legal claims on behalf of Dontel. In July 2005, the judge ultimately assigned a third party, Dedham attorney Carol Kimball, to act as the special administrator, court records show. Dontel's parents, their lawyers, Kimball, and the judge could not be reached for comment. Massachusetts Mentor, part of a national for-profit human services company, has come under intense scrutiny in local child- welfare circles because of its role in the Jeffers case and involvement in a recent controversial bill. Many child advocates were outraged to learn that Massachusetts Mentor lobbied to win passage this summer of a provision that financially benefited the company, but also had the potential for sweeping changes in the world of public and private adoptions. The new law passed without public debate in late August, and was attached to a transportation bill. The new law allowed for-profit companies to directly handle foster- care placements and adoptions for the first time in the state, without having to form a partnership with a nonprofit. The state has long had a tradition of allowing only state agencies or nonprofits to handle child-welfare work. Massachusetts Mentor had worked with a Newton-based non profit children's group in placing Jeffers with a foster mother. Massachusetts Mentor officials defended the bill as a follow-up to a federal law, passed last year, allowing certain for-profit foster care agencies to receive direct federal reimbursement. Because the new state law allows for-profit adoption agencies to operate in the state, as well, many adoption advocacy groups are moving to have the new law rescinded. DSS Commissioner Harry Spence said he never realized the law included adoption agencies and will review his support of the new law. October 4, 2005 Injuries detailed in boy's death Mac Daniel Boston Globe Four-year-old Dontel Jeffers died because of one or both of two severe internal injuries one in the toddler's belly that pushed his small intestine into his spine and caused a hemorrhage, and another in his neck that bruised a bone deep in his throat, prosecutors said yesterday. The details of the injuries were disclosed for the first time by Suffolk Assistant District Attorney David A. Deakin at the indictment arraignment of Jeffers's foster mother, Corinne Stephen, who is charged with second-degree murder in Dontel's death on March 6. Stephen, 24, again pleaded not guilty to the charge, which could lead to a mandatory life sentence if she is found guilty. Clerk Magistrate Gary D. Wilson kept her bail at $100,000 cash and ordered her to surrender her passport and report any travel outside of Boston. Dontel's family sat in the second row and quietly wept as Deakin described the injuries. After the hearing, the family released a statement saying they are "determined to see this through and find out what went wrong and why someone capable of killing a child would be left to care for this sweet, happy boy." The neck injuries indicated the "forceful squeezing of the child's neck," Deakin said. An autopsy found bruising in the neck tissue almost to the hyoid bone, located at the base of the tongue. Deakin said the abdominal injury, which occurred one to two days before Dontel died, caused him substantial pain or even unconsciousness. The autopsy also revealed ligature marks on Dontel's wrists, fingernail gouges on his forehead, and a bruise under his left eye. He had swelling in both hands, which the autopsy said may have resulted from "tight and painful ligatures" left in place for at least 45 minutes. Doctors at Caritas Carney Hospital tried for 45 minutes to revive Dontel, who is alleged to have been beaten and restrained during an 11-day period before his death. Investigators believe he was dead for as long as three hours before being brought to the hospital. "With proper medical care, the child would have been spared," Deakin said. Dhayne White, a 20-year-old female cousin of Stephen's, is charged with being an accessory after the fact, accused of destroying evidence at Stephen's Dorchester apartment after Dontel was taken to the hospital. Deakin described White as a fugitive from justice, but Stephen's attorney, Carl N. Donaldson, said she left the country because her visa had expired. White allegedly spent three hours inside the apartment, ignoring police, Deakin said. Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com. July 2, 2005 Prosecutors: Tot's death slow, painful; Two-day-old internal injuries cited BRIAN BALLOU. Boston Herald. New details that indicate Dontel Jeffers likely died an excruciating death about three hours before his allegedly abusive foster mother sought help caused a ripple of gasps yesterday in court from relatives of the dead boy. "It rocked the bottom of my heart to realize people can be so vicious and cruel," said Phillipa Jeffers, aunt of the 4-year-old victim. "He was a defenseless child and no one deserves to die like that." Corinne Stephen, 24, of Dorchester, entered the courtroom yesterday concealing her face with clothing. She was charged with second-degree murder for allegedly beating Dontel over 11 days, ending with his death March 6. She was held on $100,000 bail and faces a hearing July 29. The defendant's mother, sitting in the courtroom and concealing her face with a hat, said, "I just want to offer my sincere condolences to the family." Authorities say Dontel's death was slow and painful because he had two severe internal injuries that were likely inflicted up to two days before his death. Stephen allegedly gave several explanations for Dontel's injuries, saying he had hit his head on a radiator, been in a fight, and fallen down stairs. She said Dontel was difficult to manage and had behavioral issues, but officials at the bridge home where Dontel previously stayed said he was well-mannered. Another new detail offers clues as to why the grand jury investigation remains open despite the charges against Stephen. More charges may be brought against others for aiding in the crime, said David Deakin, Suffolk assistant district attorney. Deakin said that moments after Stephen brought Dontel to Caritas Carney Hospital, she dispatched her boyfriend and her 19-year-old cousin back to her apartment at 5 Ballou Ave. When police arrived, the cousin prevented them from entering for three hours. Once inside, they found a bucket of soapy water and a long telephone cord in the trash can. Authorities believe Dontel was bound by such a cord because he had ligature marks on his wrists and his hands were swollen. Dontel also had fingernail scratches and bruises on his head and body. Carl Donaldson, Stephen's lawyer, said, "We all know that sometimes medical evidence is disputable and can be inaccurate." Three days before Dontel died, a DSS social worker contacted Stephen to request a home visit by the boy's biological mother, Chrystal Claiborne, but Stephen told the social worker she had plans the following day, Deakin said. July 2, 2005 Prosecutor says boy was dead at least 3 hours By John Ellement, Globe Staff A 4-year-old Dorchester boy had been dead for as long as three hours when his foster mother drove him to a hospital emergency room, and one of her relatives may have tampered with evidence in the child's home, a prosecutor said yesterday. At the foster mother's arraignment on murder charges yesterday, Assistant Suffolk District Attorney David Deakin said that doctors at Caritas Carney Hospital tried for 45 minutes to revive Dontel Jeffers, who he said had been beaten by his foster mother, Corinne N. Stephen, during an 11-day period that ended with his death March 6. Deakin also said that Stephen's relatives may have tried to destroy evidence at the Ballou Avenue apartment in Dorchester after Stephen took the boy to the hospital. According to Deakin, Stephen, her boyfriend, and her 19-year-old female cousin drove Jeffers to the hospital. While Stephen remained at the hospital, the cousin and boyfriend drove back to the apartment, he said. The cousin spent three hours inside the apartment, ignoring police who knocked on the door, Deakin said. Police were able to get into the apartment only after they obtained a search warrant. Deakin would not identify the boyfriend or the female cousin to a reporter after the hearing. Once inside, Deakin said, investigators found a pail of dirty mop water in one room and a 10-foot telephone cord stuffed in a garbage bag. Deakin said that a grand jury will continue investigating the child's death over the summer and that charges against others are possible. With her face draped in a light tan jacket, Stephen pleaded not guilty yesterday to one count of second-degree murder before Dorchester District Judge R. Peter Anderson, who set bail for the 24-year-old single mother at $100,000 cash. She has no prior criminal record. After the arraignment, Stephen's attorney, Carl N. Donaldson, said in a telephone interview with the Globe that Stephen was a loving foster parent who was not responsible for Jeffers's death. He maintained that Jeffers was alive when Stephen arrived at the hospital. ''All of the allegations of beatings are categorically untrue," Donaldson said. ''The child was not dead when the child was taken to the hospital. We question that, significantly question, that the child was dead when the child was taken and delivered to the hospital." Donaldson said he could not confirm that the cousin was inside Stephen's apartment before police searched it. In court, Deakin detailed what one Department of Social Services official described to investigators as a ''horrific" story of abuse, a story that often reduced the estimated 20 relatives of Dontel Jeffers sitting in the courtroom to tears. His paternal grandmother, Agatha, twice had to be helped out of the courtroom crying during Deakin's account. Deakin said the state medical examiner concluded that Dontel had been dead for at least three hours based on the child's body temperature at the hospital, 94.1 degrees, and information from hospital staff, who described the toddler as ''cold to the touch." The prosecutor said Stephen gave three different explanations for the boy's injuries, including that he had been jumping on the bed and hit his head on the radiator. At the hospital, Deakin said, doctors discovered that the child's hands were swollen due to being bound tightly with a telephone cord, and that he had a bruised left eye, scratches on his face and back, and bruises on his arms and shoulders. Deakin said Dontel died as a result of two internal injuries that he would not describe in detail because of the ongoing investigation. The prosecutor also for the first time suggested a motive for the alleged beating. Stephen feared that the boy would damage property inside her apartment and was concerned for the safety of her 2-year-old son when he was with the older boy, the prosecutor said. ''She was worried he would damage things," Deakin said. ''She thought he was too rough with her 2-year old son." He did not elaborate further. While insisting that Stephen is not the killer, Donaldson said she and her family are devastated by the child's death and offered their condolences to Jeffers's family. ''They are extremely sorrowful," said Donaldson, who noted Stephen's mother and sister have also been foster mothers. ''They took this child into their family as one of their own, and they lost a life as well. It's a very, very sad ending to a life." Stephen had been a foster mother to eight other children, all teenagers, according to DSS. Dontel was the first young child to be under her care. She had been hired by Massachusetts Mentor, a DSS contractor, to care for him. It's unclear if she had worked for the agency before. In arguing for lower bail, Donaldson said Stephen has stayed in Boston knowing she was under criminal investigation. ''She doesn't have anything to run from because she is innocent," he said. ''She has an impeccable record. Any parent would love to have her as a daughter." The boy was placed in the custody of the Department of Social Services last year after his father, Elary, was deported to Nevis in the Caribbean and after his mother, Christal Claiborne, was unable to care for him because of substance abuse. DSS Deputy Commissioner Susan Getman told reporters that the Dontel Jeffers case showed ''a horrific pattern of abuse." She said the agency is investigating the prior placements with Stephen, as well as the agency that hired her for the Jeffers placement. Claiborne was in court yesterday accompanied by the father of her 2-month-old son. She declined to be interviewed, citing instructions from her lawyer, Anthony R. Ellison. Claiborne and the Jeffers family are fighting in court over the right to represent Dontel's estate. ''She misses her child dearly," Ellison said of Claiborne. ''She does not wish any ill will toward" Stephen but supports the investigation into his death. Agatha Jeffers, who was fighting DSS to get custody of her grandson when the agency put him in Stephen's care, was led through a pack of reporters after the hearing and did not talk. The lawyer for the Jeffers family, Shawn P. O'Rourke, said outside the courthouse that Deakin's description of the child's final days was overwhelming for the family. ''Dontel was a bright, happy boy who loved his family and was loved deeply by them," he said April 13, 2005 News Center 5BOSTON -- The recent death of a child in a foster home has led to investigations both inside and outside of the Department of Social Services. NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that the family of Dontel Jeffers is still waiting for autopsy results, but they believe the 4-year-old was killed. In the family's search for answers, they met with a special Statehouse committee Wednesday afternoon. "There must be some reason why Dontel died. I mean it can't be he died just suddenly like that. Dontel was not sick," said Dontel's aunt, Phillipa Jeffers. "It is the best thing for Congress to be here because they can get to the bottom of this. I want answers. I want to know what caused his death. I want to see a death certificate. The family has been waiting for the commission or the DA -- we want answers," said Dontel's cousin, Vincent James. "We are hoping that material will be available within the next few days. If it is not, then the foster care caucus is going to jump into action and work to get a copy of that in the hands of the family as soon as possible," said Rep. Stanley Rosenberg. "The key questions are why did Dontel have to be turned over to the foster parent in the first place and not returned back to the biological grandparent that had been raising him for four years," said Rep. Gloria Fox. Dontel's grandmother was his guardian until the child's mother, who has a history of drug abuse, won custody through the courts in 2004. Several months later, Dontel was put in foster care. Ten days later, he was dead. "We are not sure that the foster parent had training to deal with Dontel. We are not sure that she was adequately trained," said Rep. Marie Parenti. DSS commissioner Harry Spence had been scheduled to attend the meeting, but had to cancel because of illness. Legislators said they would reschedule. March 17, 2005Boy’s death is mourned Service held for child, 4, who died in foster care BOSTON— Hundreds of people filled a Dorchester church yesterday for the funeral of a 4-year-old who died in foster care, applauding as a minister to the family urged the mourners not to blame the boy’s birth parents. “They need your love, they need your support. They don’t need your judgment,” said Pastor William E. Dickerson II. Authorities are investigating the March 6 death of Dontel Jeffers, who was placed in a foster home by the Department of Social Services less than two weeks earlier. The boy’s aunts and grandmother have criticized the agency’s handling of the case and claimed that Dontel was beaten by his foster mother. Mourners filled the wooden pews at the Greater Love Tabernacle, where Dontel’s body lay in view in a casket flanked by bouquets of white lilies and carnations. Some mourners clutched single red roses while others wept into handkerchiefs. Some of the young men in the audience wore T-shirts with the boy’s picture. Dickerson told mourners that “there’s a whole lot of finger-pointing” over Dontel’s death, but said his mother, whom Dickerson had known for years, deserved support, as did the father. If the boy had been brutalized, he said, whoever did it should be brought to justice. “If there are perpetrators, the perpetrators need to be dealt with to the full extent of the law,” he said. DSS had taken custody of Dontel and his sister in December from their biological mother, Christal Claiborne, who family members said had a drug problem. His father, Elary Jeffers, had been deported in October to the Caribbean island of Nevis after an alleged domestic violence incident. Dontel was in a group care setting until Feb. 24, when he was placed in the foster home on Ballou Street in Dorchester. DSS Commissioner Harry Spence has said an accident on March 5 may have contributed to the boy’s death, but he declined to give further details. A day later, Dontel’s foster mother, who has not been named, noticed that the boy was unresponsive. He was taken to Carney Hospital, where he died after going into cardiac arrest. A DSS spokeswoman yesterday said investigators were still awaiting autopsy results to determine the cause of death. An internal DSS investigation into the handling of the case is also pending. Dickerson, whose booming address brought mourners to their feet, acknowledged Spence in the pews, saying he invited DSS to the funeral “because they needed to know what was going on.” Spence, reached afterward by phone, said he was deeply moved by Dickerson’s words and his calls for reconciliation and forgiveness. He said Dontel’s funeral was the first he’s attended for a child in DSS custody since he took over the agency in 2001. “It was painful, obviously, for me at moments, because I’m part of and in fact responsible for the system that he’s rightly saying must be held accountable, if there is accountability to be held,” he said. “I felt challenged, but ultimately embraced, by both the sermon and by the assembled participants.” March 8, 2005 Police probe death of 4-year-old boy
in foster care March 8, 2005 Child's death in foster care probedJust 10 days after the state Department Social Services placed him in a foster home, 4-year-old Dontell Jeffers died, devastating relatives who had been fighting since last May to bring the child back into their Dorchester home, where they said he had lived for most of his short life. Boston police, the Suffolk district attorney, and DSS are investigating the death Dontell, who was placed with a foster mother on Ballou Avenue in Dorchester on Feb. 24 and was rushed Sunday to Carney Hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest and died. "As we understand it, the child's heart had stopped; that was the immediate cause of death," DSS Commissioner Harry Spence said during a press conference yesterday. "The questions behind that are now, 'What led to that heart failure?' " An autopsy is scheduled for today, said David Procopio, spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. The case is now a death investigation; the results of the autopsy and other information will determine whether it becomes a criminal investigation, Procopio said. Grieving relatives said yesterday they had been told by DSS staff members that Dontell was jumping on a bed and hit his head sometime Saturday. On Sunday, the foster mother found him unresponsive and called for an ambulance, Spence said. Relatives also said they were told that Dontell had bruises on his ribcage that were not consistent with child's play. "This is wracking my soul," Phillipa A. Jeffers, Dontell's aunt, said yesterday outside the Ellington Street apartment where the child's extended family lives and where they said he had lived with his father until last spring. "I didn't know they were going to send him to a foster home. It's not like he was in a situation where nobody wanted him." According to relatives and court records, Agatha Jeffers went to court last May and asked for custody of her grandchild after the child's father, Ellery, was arrested on a domestic violence charge and deported to St. Kitts and Nevis, a Caribbean island, because of a 1993 drug conviction. According to the relatives and DSS, Dontell's mother, identified in court records as Christal Claiborne of Charlestown, was given custody. The child lived with his mother for most of last year, until DSS removed Dontell and his younger half-sister last December, officials and relatives said. Dontell's relatives said DSS removed the children because Claiborne had substance abuse problems and had outstanding arrest warrants. Claiborne could not be reached for comment yesterday. DSS officials visited her Charlestown apartment Sunday night to tell her of her son's death. From December until Feb. 24, Dontell stayed at the Bridge Home, a residential assessment center for children run by the St. Mary's Women and Children's Center in Dorchester. Dontell's relatives frequently visited and took him home on weekends. On Feb. 27, Dontell's relatives said they returned to the Bridge Home and were told by a staff member that Dontell was not there and that the center could not, because of confidentiality laws, tell them where he had been moved. "Certainly they were visiting the child a great deal," Spence said. "They raised some very legitimate concerns about our failure to communicate as a department within a point of transition of the child moved to therapeutic foster care." Spence and DSS spokeswoman Denise Monteiro said Bridge Home staff members recommended that Dontell be placed with a foster family specially trained to deal with children who need therapeutic care, including those with medical or emotional problems. DSS officials would not comment on Dontell's medical history. Monteiro said Dontell was placed with a foster mother, but did not know whether any other children lived in the house. She said the foster mother was approved to have just one foster child in her care. The foster mother, whose name was not released by DSS, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Neighbors on Ballou Avenue said the woman had recently moved into the third-floor apartment of a three-family house and had little contact with others in the neighborhood. Monteiro said she did not know how long the foster mother had been living on Ballou Avenue. Dontell was matched with his foster mother by Massachusetts Mentor, a private DSS contractor that Spence called "very reputable." Mentor director Paul Cataldo issued a statement expressing condolences to Dontell's family. "We care deeply about those we serve and strive every day to ensure their safety and well-being," the statement said. On Ellington Street yesterday, the Rev. Dr. Thomas W.O. Mayers, rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Dorchester, was on hand when Agatha Jeffers was told about the death of her grandson. "They have lost a child they were close to without any reason," said Mayers, who said the Jeffers family has lost "trust in the system." Phillipa Jeffers said the child's grandmother was due back in family court March 15 to prove that any lead in her apartment had been made safe, the last step they hoped before they brought Dontell back to his family. "I hope that this doesn't happen to any one else," she said. Monteiro said another child in DSS care died this weekend, but the death was deemed medical because of the child's severe health condition. In 2003, 36 children under DSS supervision, including in foster care, died. Thirteen died from homicide, suicide, or unintentional injury, DSS records show. The remainder died from natural causes such as congenital conditions, terminal illness, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The total of 36 deaths in 2003 was up slightly from the 32 in 2002, the lowest number since DSS started tracking the figures in 1989.
Death of boy in foster care
probed in Hub
BOSTON— Authorities are investigating the death of a
4-year-old boy who was living in a foster home in the city’s Dorchester
neighborhood. email at: indpadvocate@comcast.net |
