DETROIT -- For
the second time in seven months Matt and Jennifer
Lethbridge are mourning the death of one of their
children in a foster home.
Police said the death
last week of 2-year-old Isaac Lethbridge was a homicide.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner's office said the boy
suffered blunt force injuries.
On Feb. 23 his
12-year-old sister, Ashleigh Marie Copeland, died of a
grand mal seizure in another foster home, Jennifer
Lethbridge said.
Police were called
Wednesday afternoon to a home in the 18000 block of
Grand Lawn after Charlise Rogers, the home's operator,
said the child was unresponsive in his crib. The infant
was pronounced dead on arrival at Children's Hospital of
Michigan.
"We are devastated,"
Matt Lethbridge said of his son's death.
Albert Samuels, the
chief investigator for the Wayne County medical
examiner, said Isaac had an injury to his forehead and
buttocks. The boy's 4-year-old sister, also had been in
Rogers' care, was removed to another foster home,
Jennifer Lethbridge said.
The Lethbridges were
separated last September when the children were removed
by Child Protective Services because of filthy
conditions at home, Matt Lethbridge said. He said he and
his wife have reconciled, moved to Whitmore Lake, and
were trying to regain custody of the children when Isaac
died.
"If this had happened
in our home we would be in jail right now," Matt
Lethbridge said. "But there are no suspects? That is
what angers me."
Jennifer Lethbridge
said they have been in contact with police but referred
questions to their lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger.
The state Department of
Human Services at 6 p.m. Monday suspended the license of
the Lula Belle Stewart Center Inc. with intent to revoke
the license, the state announced today in a press
release. The center placed Isaac and his sister in the
home on Greenlawn.
A compliant with the
state was filed Friday because of the circumstances of
Isaac's death, said Department of Human Services
spokeswoman Maureen Sorbet.
The state's
investigation found violations of administrative rules
for reevaluating foster homes, service plans for foster
children, staff qualifications, license recommendations,
special evaluations, visitations and reporting of child
abuse or neglect.
The suspension means
the center cannot accept any new children for placement
or care. Sorbet said the department moved quickly when
notified of the death.
"We try to get out as
quick as we can," she said. "Given the gravity of the
situation, we responded very rapidly."
It could take up to 60
days before the state can revoke the license, Sorbet
said.
Founded in 1972 as the
Florence Crittendon Home of Detroit, the center's new
owners have had a license to operate a child-placing
agency since July 15, 1993, according to state records.
The center's 2003 annual report showed its budget
consisted of about $3.4 million and it came from a
variety of sources. More recent reports were not posted
on the center's Web site.
The center focuses on
placing an "emphasis on the delivery of services to
pregnant and parenting teens and young adults, the
center's current mission also includes the delivery of
services to neglected, abused, and delinquent children
and youth and their families, as well as other
vulnerable populations," according to its Web site.
Lula Belle management
was not available for comment.
You can reach
Santiago Esparza at (313) 222-2127 or
sesparza@detnews.com.
