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DEATHS IN YOUTH PROGRAMS/STATE CARE SEPTEMBER 11, 2005, TO AUGUST 12, 2006

16 DEATHS IN 11 MONTHS - WHEN IS ENOUGH GOING TO BE ENOUGH?

By Isabelle Zehnder
October 9, 2006
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On September 11, 2005, 12-year old Shirley Arciszewski was restrained and died of asphyxia at the Charlotte Group Home in South Carolina.
On September 13, 2005, 12-year old Alex Harris died of dehydration and blow to the head, allegedly when he was dropped on his head at Hope Youth Ranch in Minden.
On September 18, 2005, 14-year old Linda Harris was physically restrained by a male worker at the Chad Youth Enhancement Center. She stopped breathing and later died.
On October 8, 2005, 13-year old Kasey Warner was found dead in 12” of water at the ViaQuest Warren Avenue group home. Kasey was an autistic boy who had never spoken a word. Though is mother was promised he would have round-the-clock care and supervision and that he would never be left alone, he was left alone and drowned in a bathtub with 12" of water.
On October 13, 2005, 17-year old Willie Durden, died at the privately managed Cypress Creek Juvenile Offender Correctional Center in Lecanto, in Citrus County. An autopsy concluded Willie died of ventricular arrhythmia, due to an enlarged and diseased heart. A recent report says guards waited about 20 minutes after discovering the limp teen before calling 911 and beginning CPR. A guard told investigators he waited to begin CPR because teens sometimes ``play pranks.''
On December 5, 2005, 12-year old Michael “Mickey” Garcia was placed in a basket hold restraint by a staff member at Star Ranch facility in Texas. Mickey stopped breathing, could not be revived, and later died.
On December 12, 2005, 16-year old James White lost his life at SummitQuest Academy, in Ephrata, PA. According to newspaper articles his death is being investigated. Allegedly he fell during exercise and died.
On December 26, 2005, 14-year old Johnny Lim complained of an excruciating headache, vomited, and fell to the floor in his cell at the King County Juvenile Detention Center in Washington. The county's medical examiner ruled the death a "spontaneous brain-stem hemorrhage" attributable to natural causes. There are many unanswered questions by Lim's family and attorney representing staff and the center.
On January 6, 2006, 14-year old Martin Lee Anderson died at a Pensacola hospital one day after guards at the Bay County Sheriff's Office Boot Camp punched, kneed, and applied pressure to his head in an attempt to force him to continue running laps. An autopsy ordered by a special prosecutor concluded Martin died of asphyxia after guards covered his mouth and shoved ammonia capsules up his nose. A use-of-force report said the guards had thought Martin was malingering.
On February 4, 2006, 16-year old Giovanni “Joey” Aletriz died after being beaten and restrained at SummitQuest in Ephrata, PA (details above).
On May 26, 2006, 7-year old Angellika Arndt lost her life at the Northwest Guidance and Counseling Center in Rice Lake, WI. Angie had been restrained nine times in the month she was there, each restraint lasting one to two hours, one time she was restrained for “gargling milk”. She was restrained again the next day, and the following she died as a result of the restraint.
On May 31, 2006, 12-year old Lenny Ortega drowned during an outing at Star Ranch in Texas. The facility was under investigation for the death and alleged abuse of other children there; the facility has been shut down pending an investigation.
On June 17, 2006, 13-year old Dillon Tyler Peak died after becoming ill at the Peace River Outward Bound wilderness camp in DeSoto County, Florida. Officials say Dillon apparently died of a severe case of encephalitis. The death remains under investigation.
On July 16, 2006, 16-year old Elisa Santry died after hiking in the wilderness in 110° weather while attending an Outward Bound wilderness expedition. She was separated from her group for 10 hours before being found, dead, alone on the side of a canyon. She had complained she did not feel well early that morning, yet she was allowed to hike alone.
On July 31, 2006, 16-year old Natalynndria Lucy Slim was found by a friend hanging from a computer cord. Her death is being investigated and is considered a suicide at the Adolescent Residential Treatment Center operated by the Presbyterian Medical Services.
On August 12, 2006, 16-year old Alex Cullinane died of dehydration at Back to Basics Christian Military Academy. His death is under investigation. He did not eat for days, according to other children, and complained of stomach pain. He died in the middle of the night after getting up to use the bathroom.

Below are two children who died this past year who were allegedly abused during their stay at Tranquility Bay in Jamaica. Both boys were featured in the June 22, 2006, "Rough Love" article:

On June 6, 2006, Kerry Layne Brown was found dead in his bed. Layne spent nine months at the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASPS) program, Tranquility Bay, where he was tortured – he was pepper-sprayed multiple times a day for months (a staff member admitted to it on videotape), his genitals were scrubbed with toilet brushes. His life was never the same and he died at the young age of 24. His death is under investigation.
On June 7, 2006, Carter Lynn was found dead hanging from the rafter in his home. Carter had been interviewed about his experiences, also at WWASPS’ Tranquility Bay program in Jamaica. His death is also under investigation.

And in addition to these deaths, following is a list of a few children who died in foster care (again, there are undoubtedly more, these are just the ones we have recently found):

In August 2006, 4-year old Marcus Fiesel was found dead two days after his foster parents, the Carrolls, wrapped him up in a blanket and packing tape, left him in the closet and went to a family reunion in Kentucky in August. Coroner officials said they found 18 bone fragments — all less than an inch long — tiny pieces of body tissue, a button and threads of fabric following multiple attempts to incinerate the small body in a decrepit stone chimney in rural Brown County.
On December 5, 2005, 2-year old Cameron Hamilton died in his father's arms after life support was removed. Foster mother, Michelle Bott-Graham, is accused of inflicting the fatal injuries to the child. A background check revealed that Bott-Graham faced heroin and injury to a child charges two years prior that resulted in her state counseling license being revoked.
On September 4, 2006, 2-year old Keyana Bravo-Hamilton of Gresham, Oregon, died of internal injuries. An autopsy indicated that this foster child had been the victim of "ongoing physical assault" before she died. Keyana's foster mom, Dunia Soledad-Moreno, 29, was charged with murder by abuse because the child showed evidence of previous injuries. The charge requires a pattern of abuse.
In August 2006, 2-year old Isaac Lethbridge stopped breathing in the home of licensed foster parent Charlise Rogers, a single mom and autoworker who had been a foster parents for nine years. Isaac died after he was beaten with a blunt object or a fist. His death is under investigation.
On September 4, 2006, a 16-month old boy (name not yet released) died while in foster care in Corsicana indicate the cause of death to be blunt force trauma, according to the preliminary autopsy results. This baby boy died in the care of a foster family.
On November 24, 2002, 8-year old Christopher Michael died while he was in foster care. In an investigation, one of the children told detectives Christopher was beaten an average of six times a day, allegedly by Kimberly Forder, the primary disciplinarian. If he didn't chew his food properly, his mother would take it away, sometimes for days at a time. Christopher resorted to stealing scraps from a compost heap and eating dog food. If the boy soiled himself he was forced to war the dirty diaper, sometimes on his head. If he didn't wash his clothes properly in a 5-gallon bucket of water his parents were accused of dunking his head in the dirty water until he stopped struggling.