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Complaint: Mother abused baby to
death July 18, 2007
By Doug Erickson
Tel: 608-252-6149
E-mail:
derickson@madison.com
 A
Madison mother of two who is accused of killing her 6-week-old
daughter allegedly told police she "only has enough love" for one of
them, although she doesn't understand why that's the case.
Ee Lee, 23, began sobbing upon
entering a Dane County courtroom for her initial appearance Tuesday.
She is charged with four felony counts, including first-degree
intentional homicide.
Police say she confessed to
continuously abusing Anastasia Vang since her birth, beginning with
pinching and escalating to slamming the girl's head on a table with
"all her might."
But Ellen Berz, Lee's
court-appointed lawyer, said there has been "no admission" of guilt.
Meanwhile Tuesday, officials with
the Dane County Human Services Department, which was notified of
possible child abuse two weeks before Anastasia's death, said they
believed at the time they had an appropriate safety plan in place to
protect the child.
The decisions of the social worker
on the case are being reviewed to determine whether any disciplinary
action is warranted, said Lynn Green, the department's director.
Also Tuesday, the state Department
of Health and Family Services said it has begun a review of the
county's handling of the case, a standard practice whenever there is
a suspicious death in the child welfare system, said spokeswoman
Stephanie Marquis.
Earlier warnings
Paramedics were called to the home
of Ee Lee and her husband, Chue Vang, on July 11. They found
Anastasia dead and resuscitation efforts were not successful.
Dane County Coroner John Stanley
ruled she died of blunt-force trauma.
Detectives learned that about two
weeks earlier, on June 26, members of Anastasia's family, including
her paternal grandmother, took her to the emergency room at Meriter
Hospital because she had bruises on her face and feet that would
come and go, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.
A head scan found no evidence of
bleeding or fractures, but Anastasia was transferred to UW
Children's Hospital for further evaluation. A skeletal survey at UW
Children's Hospital found no sign of fractures.
The Dane County Human Services
Department said it received a referral in the case from medical
personnel the next day, June 27, and sent a Hmong social worker to
the hospital June 28. The family is Hmong.
Meanwhile, a forensic pediatrician
reported that more bruises appeared on Anastasia between June 27 and
28 -- a time when the infant was left alone overnight in her
hospital room for periods with her mother. The bruises were "highly
suspicious of inflicted injury," the doctor wrote in her notes.
Before the child was discharged
from the hospital, the county social worker observed the child,
spoke with medical personnel several times and met with the child's
family, said Green, the human services director.
Other adults
In consultation with medical
personnel and his supervisor, the social worker concluded Anastasia
would be safe at home because there were several trustworthy adult
family members living in the house, including the paternal
grandparents, Green said.
Family members agreed that at least
two of them would be present and awake with Anastasia at all times,
24 hours a day, while the county's investigation continued, the
complaint said.
Bob Lee, who supervises the
county's 43 social workers, said it is "not uncommon" for the county
to allow children to remain in a home if there are other trustworthy
adults present. While the child's safety is always paramount, state
guidelines require counties to consider the least restrictive safety
plan, he said.
Green said the county tries to keep
families together when possible because pulling children from their
parents also causes trauma.
The course of the county's
investigation once Anastasia returned home is less clear. Green said
the social worker "made two phone contacts" and went to the family's
home to attempt a visit. No one answered the door, she said.
Green would not reveal the nature
of the phone contacts or the date of the attempted visit.
"All her might"
Lee is being held on a $50,000 cash
bail. She is charged with two counts of physical abuse to a child
and one count of first-degree reckless endangerment in addition to
the murder charge.
She told investigators that ever
since she came to live with her in-laws, she has felt inadequate in
caring for her family, according to the criminal complaint. She
allegedly confessed to pinching Anastasia continuously, hitting her
with a fly swatter and biting her leg.
She told police that once she
lifted the baby up and slammed her head down on a table, according
to the complaint.
"She said she did use all her might
when she did it," according to a translator quoted in the complaint.
When Lee was asked why her
2-year-old son escaped abuse, the translator reported, "From what
she can understand, she can only love one child and only has enough
love for one. She doesn't understand why it's that way."
The county has removed the boy from
the home.
In court Tuesday, Assistant
District Attorney Mike Verveer said Lee was born in Thailand and
lived in California before moving to Madison about a year ago. Her
immigration status is unclear, he said. Lee told investigators her
green card was destroyed in a fire in California, Verveer said.
Lee's husband was among court
spectators Tuesday, as was her brother-in-law, Yang Vang, 23, a
UW-Madison student who lives in the same household. Vang said he is
the only family member who speaks English.
"My family is very confused," he
said. "We can't find answers as to why she did that to her own
daughter."
Vang said he was not at the
hospital when the social worker spoke with his family members. He
questions whether the social worker was clear with his family about
the abuse allegations.
"They didn't know anything about
the abuse," Vang said. "I think there must have been some
misunderstanding between my family and the social worker. They
didn't understand this 24-hour rule that we are hearing about now."
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