SERENITY DEAL - 5 yo - Chandler (NE of OK City) OK

CHANDLER — Authorities placed a 5-year-old girl with her father after her mother was accused of sexual assaulting a young boy.

Now, the girl, Serenity Deal, is dead and her father is accused of killing her. Sean Devon Brooks, 31, was arrested Monday. His daughter had been living with him in an apartment building he helped manage in northeast Oklahoma City. Police found multiple bruises on the girl after Brooks called 911 Saturday saying he found her unconscious in the shower. The girl's mother, Samantha Ann Deal, 36, is scheduled to be sentenced July 5 in Lincoln County District Court on a charge of forcible oral sodomy of a child. She is accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy.Assistant District Attorney Greg Pollard
said the woman has entered a blind plea, allowing a judge to determine
her sentence. The crime is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The sentencing was delayed because she is pregnant. Serenity
Deal was placed with her father after the mother was accused in the
sexual assault case, but Pollard declined to reveal details on this
custody change. Family members say Serenity Deal's maternal
grandmother attempted to obtain custody of the girl, but lost out to her
father months after a paternity test last year confirmed he was her
biological parent. Child
welfare workers had been involved with the family, but additional
information can't be released unless Brooks is charged, said Sheree Powell, spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services. Brooks
has no prior convictions for violent crimes, although a former
girlfriend in 2003 alleged he tried to attack her while she was pregnant
with his child. Amanda Mallory, who lived in Shawnee then, claimed Brooks shoved her and stood in the back of her pickup and pounded on the windows, cursing and threatening her. “I was unable to breathe because I was terrified of what he might have done,” Mallory wrote in her statement to police. She
reported Brooks continued to harass her with threatening telephone
calls, and she was eventually granted a permanent protective order.

Read more: http://newsok.com/mother-of-dead-5-year-old-faces-sentencing-for-abusing-a-10-year-old-boy/article/3575461#ixzz1OkIZGx63

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Authorities have charged an Oklahoma City man with killing his 5-year-old daughter.The
Oklahoman reported that 31-year-old Sean Devon Brooks was charged
Friday with first-degree murder and felony child abuse in the June 4
death of Serenity Deal.The state medical examiner's office said little girl had multiple cuts and bruises, including a gash on her head.Brooks told police the girl had a convulsion, but police said the signs of abuse don't match Brooks' story.A funeral for Serenity is set for Monday.
Read more: http://www.koco.com/news/28207181/detail.html#ixzz1P2E9IuDh

FROM the start, you knew how this story would end. We've all read it too many times before.It began with a report in The Oklahoman
on June 7 about the father of a 5-year-old girl being arrested in
connection with her death. The girl, Serenity Anne Deal, had “obvious
signs of abuse” when police found her body in her father's apartment
June 4.The father, 31-year-old Sean Devon
Brooks, had called 911 to say his daughter was unresponsive. He told
police that the night before, he had taken Serenity to his job working
the overnight shift at a hotel and that she slept while he worked. The
next morning, he said, she took a shower when they got home and he heard
a thud, and found her unconscious.He had no explanation for her
injuries — bruises all over her body, including her face, and several
wounds to her head, including a gash in the back of her head. Now he
sits in jail, charged with first-degree murder.Subsequently it was reported that Serenity had been placed with Brooks
after the girl's mother was jailed for allegedly sexually assaulting a
10-year-old boy. The mother, Samantha Ann Deal, entered a blind plea to a
charge of forcible sodomy of a child and is to be sentenced next month.The Department of Human Services was involved in this case, of course, and is (stop us if you've heard this before) under fire for its handling. The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth
reported that child welfare workers pushed for Brooks — he only learned
of the girl last year following a paternity test — to have permanent
custody of Serenity, even though the girl sported black eyes and bruises
following visits with him.The report said Serenity lived for a
time with her maternal grandparents, who wanted to adopt her, but that
she was moved to foster care after it was learned the grandmother was
letting Serenity stay with her mother and her boyfriend, a convicted sex
offender.Now four DHS employees — two supervisors, two case
workers — are on administrative leave pending an agency investigation.
DHS could release a report on that investigation this week. Meantime, House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee,
who has backed legislation designed to help keep foster children safe,
is questioning the agency's approach: “The outcome of Serenity's case is
totally unacceptable.”Steele's right, it is. But his is only the
latest bit of railing against DHS. There have been many others, and
plenty of efforts through the years to curb the large number of Oklahoma children abused and neglected. Yet it continues to happen.If
DHS mishandled this case, then those responsible should be held
accountable. The shame is that Oklahoma has so many cases just like it
every year — so many that the news stories about them have become almost
formulaic.
Read more: http://newsok.com/death-of-5-year-old-girl-is-all-too-familiar-story-in-oklahoma/article/3578835#ixzz1PvmjzZbE

A child welfare worker and foster mother tried relentlessly to warn
others to slow down placing 5-year-old Serenity Anne Deal with her
father before she was killed, The Oklahoman has learned.






Child welfare worker Donald Wheeler killed himself during the investigation of the girl's death. Wheeler, his supervisor and the foster mother, Donna Linn, of Chandler, all warned officials with the Department of Human Services that the 5-year-old suffered while visiting Sean Devon Brooks and expressed concerns about placing her with Brooks permanently, according to emails, logs and other documentation obtained by The Oklahoman.
Brooks, 31, of Oklahoma City, faces a first-degree murder charge in the June 4 beating death of Serenity. She died less than a month after moving in with him.
The documentation shows Wheeler and Linn expressed concerns to other DHS
workers about Brooks after the child returned from visits with him with
black eyes and bruises. It's not clear whether these concerns were
passed on to a judge and a prosecutor involved in the case, although the
agency has said both knew of the black eyes.
Wheeler shared the concerns with Jennifer Shawn, a DHS supervisor in Pottawatomie County, in an email March 17.
Shawn and Randy Lack,
who worked for Shawn and was the primary caseworker, were in the
process of being fired last week, according to sources close to the case
who spoke to The Oklahoman on condition their names not be used. Lack also posted a message about being fired on his Facebook page.
DHS spokeswoman Sheree Powell said she could not discuss disciplinary actions until they were finalized.
Wheeler's supervisor in Lincoln County, Wesley Priest, resigned July 1.
What went wrong?
In
March and April, emails about the case between Lack, Wheeler, Linn,
Shawn and Priest show that workers from Lincoln County wanted to slow
the reunification, while Pottawatomie County workers wanted it hurried.
“Wisdom would dictate that we as an agency be cautious,” Wheeler wrote in an email to Shawn.
He gave 10 detailed reasons why they should slow down placing Serenity
with her father, including that he had been arrested on a complaint of
driving without a license, failed to take his daughter to the doctor
when injured, and was yelling at and spanking the girl.
Linn, Serenity's foster mother, sent emails to Lack expressing much of the
same concerns and suggesting the girl be placed with a great-aunt and
great-uncle who had continued to maintain a close relationship to her.
Linn said Brooks was charming and clean-cut but was rough father material.
She kept meticulous logs of his visits and contact with Serenity. She
shared the logs with Wheeler.
Linn's logs show Brooks often showed
up late for visits and made excuses to cancel visits. Brooks wasn't
washing Serenity's hair during her visits and, as a result, the girl
contracted bacteria that caused her hair to fall out, she said.
Linn said she started suspecting abuse when Brooks brought Serenity home
Jan. 2 with a black eye after a supposed extended visit with his family in Texas.
She said both claimed she ran into a door. Serenity returned from her
next visit with Brooks on Jan. 21 with two black eyes and bruises on her
head and shoulders, Linn said.
Brooks later told workers he dropped Serenity while taking her out of his car.
“I do not believe he dropped her one time on a flat surface. She looks
like she's been thrown into the dash/windshield of a car,” Linn wrote in her log Jan. 21.
For two months, between Jan. 22 and March 23,
Brooks made no effort to contact Serenity, even by telephone, according
to the log. His visitation had been suspended while her injuries were
investigated, although no one could say for sure it was abuse, DHS records show.
Serenity's attitude toward her father changed after that.
“Explained to Serenity that DHS will eventually set up more visits with Dad — she
began to cry and said she never wanted to go with him,” Linn wrote on Feb. 4.
Feb. 14: “The mention of his name makes her nervous and the mention of visits brings tears.”
On March 15, Linn sent an email to Lack with several of her concerns.
Shawn responded the following day, saying it was their intention to
place Serenity with her father “very soon.”
“I think the main issue we are dealing with is the department and the court system can
drive people nuts,” Shawn wrote back. “I think it is apparent in the
documentation during this last investigation that there is a bias against Sean.”
She said that from then on, Brooks would be communicating solely with Randy Lack.
“While I understand your concerns and give them value, we are and will
continue looking out for Serenity's best interest,” Shawn wrote.
Priest responded in a March 21 email backing up the concerns of Wheeler and
Linn and asking her to re-examine their reasons for worry.
Despite the documented concerns about Brooks' ability to parent, DHS officials
in Pottawatomie County allowed Brooks to start visiting Serenity again
in April. By May 11, she was living full-time with him and, on June 4, she was killed.
Shawn declined to comment. Lack does not have a published telephone number.
A six-page report released last week by the DHS answered few questions
about mistakes made in the case, although it noted that some agency
rules were not followed.
The case
Serenity's case was handled
in Pottawatomie County court because her baby sister lived there with
her mother before DHS intervened and took the infant away.
The girls' mother, Samantha Anne Deal, 21, in July went to prison for molesting a young boy.
Serenity's maternal grandparents, Chuck and Annette Deal, of Chandler, tried to adopt her.
A paternity test in April 2010 revealed that Brooks was Serenity's
father, and DHS workers focused on trying to help him build a
relationship with the girl, Priest said.
Priest said at the time it seemed more efficient to have the Pottawatomie County office oversee
the case. Serenity was living with a foster family in Lincoln County, so
Wheeler was assigned as her secondary caseworker. As such, he did most
of the legwork and had the most contact with Serenity, Priest said.
‘Over the edge'
Wheeler, 64, of Chandler had worked for DHS since 1981. Co-workers say
he was a staunch advocate for children and was almost obsessive about
documenting every turn in a case.
He made photograph collages of each child and included them in his file. He passed copies of those
collages on to judges, prosecutors and others working with the child to
drive home the idea they weren't just a case, but a living, breathing person, Priest said.
Wheeler killed himself July 13, two days after investigators from the Office of Inspector General questioned him at his home.
Priest spoke with Wheeler after authorities left his home. Wheeler was shaken
and didn't seem his normal, relentless self, he said.
“I think that's what drove him over the edge,” Priest said. “He dedicated his
entire life to helping kids, and they treated him like a criminal.”
He said investigators took Wheeler's cellphone, computer and other items.
They made him think he was going to lose his job or possibly go to jail, Priest said.
Wheeler told Linn the same thing.
“He said ‘They're going to fire me — they're going to pin it on me,'” Linn said.
Linn has temporarily closed her home to foster children. She said she's
having trouble stomaching working with a system that failed Serenity and Wheeler.
“He killed himself because he thought everything that
was important to him was going to be taken away,” Linn said. “Donald
Wheeler was not to blame in this.”

Read more: http://newsok.com/caseworker-foster-mom-warned-dhs-before-oklahoma-girls-death/article/3594531#ixzz1V1C9J5iG

A prosecutor in Oklahoma says child welfare workers failed a
5-year-old girl allegedly killed by her father less than a month after
she went to live with him.
At a news conference Monday, Pottawatomie County District Attorney
Richard Smothermon said a report on the death of Serenity Anne Deal by
the state Department of Human Services is incomplete and aimed more at
deflecting blame than improving the system.

Sean Devon Brooks, 31, of Oklahoma City has been charged with
first-degree murder and felony child abuse. He allegedly killed his
daughter in early June.

Serenity's mother lost custody when she was charged with sexually
molesting a young boy. She lived with her grandparents until DHS staff
discovered they had allowed her to stay overnight with her mother on one
occasion.

At the time she was put in her father's custody, she had been living with a foster mother.

Smothermon said child welfare workers withheld information from the
district attorney's office and judge. He said, for example, they were
not told Brooks owed child support for three other children and had not
seen them for two years.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/08/16/DA-Case-workers-failed-slain-girl/UPI-36081313534305/#ixzz1VFovmEH2

OSBI opens criminal probe in to DHS action

BY NOLAN CLAY nclay@opubco.com
Published: September 4, 2011

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has agreed to conduct a criminal inquiry into a state agency's handling of the placement of a young girl who subsequently died from a beating.
Pottawatomie County District Attorney Richard Smothermon requested the investigation. He has been sharply critical of the state Department of Human Services and alleges information was withheld from his office.
“The focus of the investigation will be on the actions and inactions of all parties involved in the custody and placement of Serenity Deal prior to her death,” he wrote the OSBI last week.
He specifically asked the OSBI to look at events that happened and decisions that were made while the girl was in DHS custody, “and what, if any, criminal violations may have occurred.”
An OSBI spokesman confirmed Friday the agency will investigate.
Serenity Deal died June 4, less than a month after she began living with her father full time at the recommendation of DHS workers. She had turned 5 in May.
The girl was placed with her father, Sean Devon Brooks, even though she was injured twice in January during overnight visits with him. DHS was involved because Serenity's mother had been accused of molesting a boy.
Mother not contacted
Brooks, 31, of Oklahoma City, is charged with first-degree murder. In police interviews, he denied beating her.
The Oklahoman has learned that state child-welfare workers failed to fully check into Brooks' violent past.
Specifically, DHS workers never questioned his other children's mother until after Serenity's death, records show.
The ex-girlfriend, Amanda Mallory, told Oklahoma City police she considered him too violent to be around their two daughters and son.
Mallory told police a DHS worker came to her house after Brooks' arrest.
“Amanda said after the worker left she thought it was strange that they had only contacted her after the fact of all that had happened and they didn't ask her in the beginning what type of relationship he had had with his kids. Amanda said she would have told them because of the violence in their past she didn't really let him around her kids,” police reported.
The state child-welfare agency has acknowledged there were errors in Serenity's case.
“We know workers made mistakes, that they did not follow policy and procedures. And they are being held accountable,” DHS spokeswoman Sheree Powell said last week.
The spokeswoman declined to comment specifically on the OSBI inquiry.
Serenity's mother lived at times in Shawnee. Serenity stayed with grandparents in Chandler before she was put in foster care then placed with her father. DHS offices in both Lincoln County and Pottawatomie County were involved in her case and were at odds.
Four child-welfare workers were put on administrative leave after the death.
One, who had urged caution, committed suicide. Another resigned. The other two are in the process of being fired.
Brooks did not know he was the father of Serenity until she was around 3, records show. He told DHS workers in interviews that he had three other children and saw them quite often. He actually rarely saw them.
The agency was aware of the identity of his other children's mother. Mallory is mentioned by name in DHS records about Serenity.
Mallory, 29, of Norman, told police she and Brooks had a rocky off-and-on relationship that had spanned six years. She described to a police inspector how one time in Chandler — when she was seven months pregnant — she fled to a pickup to get away from him.
“Amanda said … he got in the back and he was freaking out, beating on the windows. Amanda said Sean was screaming and cussing,” the police inspector reported.
She filed for and got a protective order in 2003 after the confrontation in Chandler. Brooks pleaded guilty in October 2003 to a misdemeanor for making harassing phone calls to Mallory in violation of the order.
Mallory and Brooks later began talking again. She told police, though, that he would freak out when their new baby began crying and tell her to stop the baby from crying.
She and Brooks had another conflict in Shawnee that led to police intervention, records show.
In an interview last week, Mallory told The Oklahoman: “My children haven't seen him, really, in nearly five years. … I kept them away to protect them. I would have told that to DHS had they contacted me. I assume that would be a logical step if you were going to place a child and you know that a parent has other children. … He was a very angry person.”


Read more: http://newsok.com/osbi-opens-criminal-probe-in-to-dhs-action/article/3600828#ixzz1XIJk7jB4

Serenity Deal died from a head injury “due to assault” and she had
seven recent fractured ribs, as well as scrapes and bruises all over her
head and small body, an autopsy found.

Serenity is the 5-year-old girl whose death June 4 sparked a public outcry against the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
Her
21-page autopsy report was released to the public Wednesday. Her cause
of death is listed as “acute closed head injury due to assault.”
The state's new chief medical examiner, Dr. Eric Pfeifer, reported she had “multiple additional blunt force injuries.” Her manner of death is listed as a homicide.
He specifically listed 30 recent injuries in the report.
Pfeifer reported he found no evidence of recent trauma to the girl's genitals.
Serenity died while with her father in Oklahoma City. She began living with him full time in May at the recommendation of DHS workers.
The
girl was placed with her father, Sean Devon Brooks, even though she was
injured twice in January during overnight visits with him. The second
time, she returned to a foster home with black eyes and a swollen and
bruised face, records show.
DHS workers have said they believed
the injuries in January were accidental. Serenity and her father both
claimed he dropped her the second time she was hurt.
DHS was
involved because Serenity's mother had been accused of molesting a boy.
Brooks had not known he was her father until she was 3.
Brooks,
31, now is charged with first-degree murder. He denied hurting her,
telling police she fell while in the shower at his apartment. Police
reported he “had no explanation for the bruising all over victim.”
Police described one bruise as looking like a handprint.
DHS
officials have said child-welfare workers failed to follow policies and
procedures in Serenity's case. The agency put four workers on
administrative leave after her death. One then resigned. Another
committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.
DHS is in the process of firing the other two workers.
The
medical examiner's office earlier revealed Serenity died from a head
injury and had other injuries. The autopsy report provides details of
the extent of those injuries.
Those details include two cuts to
the back of her head, extensive raised bruising of her forehead and
bruising and abrasions elsewhere on her face. She had a contusion to her
right upper lip.
She had four fractured right ribs and three
fractured left ribs. She had bruises on her abdomen, right arm, left
hand, left flank, right flank, back, bottom and legs. She had scrapes on
her chin, chest, left arm, left flank, left shoulder, thigh and back.
Her brain was severely swollen.


Read more: http://newsok.com/autopsy-finds-serenity-deal-died-from-an-assault-that-caused-an-acute-closed-head-injury/article/3604139#ixzz1XzKiRzgY

A supervisor at the state Department of Human Services was fired Thursday for misconduct and dishonesty in the Serenity Deal case.
Pottawatomie County Supervisor Jennifer R. Shawn, 32, said again Thursday she did nothing wrong. She plans to appeal to the Oklahoma Merit Protection Commission.

“It's absurd,” she said of the accusations that led to her firing. “It
is DHS's attempt to shift blame from the agency on to individual
workers.”

Officials at the Department of Human Services accused Shawn of 67 policy
violations in Serenity's case. A DHS administrative law judge, Gail Wettstein,
who heard testimony and reviewed documents from Serenity's case, agreed
the evidence was sufficient to prove many of the allegations.

Several of the substantiated policy violations involved failures to
assure that full background checks were made on Serenity's father.
Others involved failures to properly inform the judge overseeing
Serenity's case.

Serenity, 5, died in June from a beating while with her father. The girl began living with her father full time in Oklahoma City in May on the recommendation of DHS workers.

The girl was placed with her father, Sean Devon Brooks, even though she
was injured twice in January during overnight visits with him. DHS was
involved because Serenity's mother had been accused of molesting a boy.

Brooks, 31, now is charged with first-degree murder. He had not known he was the girl's father until she was 3.

DHS officials said the discharge notice shows the agency had “required
practices in place that, if followed, would have given Shawn and other
workers a clearer picture of Sean Brooks, his relationship with his
family and other children, his abilities to parent, and his past
behaviors and propensity to violence.”

“These practices have been proven successful,” DHS spokeswoman Sheree Powell said.


Read more: http://newsok.com/dhs-supervisor-in-serenity-deal-case-fired/article/3604383#ixzz1Y5K6ei5d

Another DHS worker fired for Serenity Deal death

KFOR-TV
5:32 p.m. CDT, September 20, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Another Department of Human Services worker involved in the case that resulted in the death of Serenity Deal has been fired. Randy Lack, the principal caseworker in the Deal case, was served with a final termination notice from DHS Tuesday.

The notice details 67 allegations of policy violations.

It notes Lack’s failure to follow policy and procedures in the Serenity's case.

DHS officials say the information revealed in this notice of discharge makes it very clear that there were appropriate policies and procedures in place that were not followed.

Now Lack may appeal to the Oklahoma Merit Protection Commission.

http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-another-dhs-worker-fired-for-serenity-deal-death-20110920,0,1196584.story

DHS Emails Show Workers Concerned About Blame

Jessica Holloway Reports

POSTED: 2:26 pm CDT September 20, 2011



Read more: http://www.koco.com/video/29245563/detail.html#ixzz1YalDsuAN

10-04-2011 CTFREE - BROOKS, SEAN DEVON 68543790 Oct 4 2011 9:17:11:467AM - $ 0.00
ALCORN: DEF IN CUSTODY, W/COUNSEL SH. SMITH. STATE PRESENT BY ADA CARLSON. PHC CONT TO 1-10-2012 9AM JUDGE ALCORN. BY AGREEMENT.

http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/GetCaseInformation.asp?submitted=true&viewtype=caseGeneral&casemasterID=2745886&db=Oklahoma

Oklahoma City dad pleads guilty to murdering 5-year-old daughter

Sean Devon Brooks, 32, of Oklahoma City, pleaded guilty to
killing his 5-year-old daughter, Serenity Deal, and was sentenced to
life in prison. The tragedy touched off renewed scrutiny of problems at
DHS.

BY NOLAN CLAY nclay@opubco.com

Published: December 2, 2011

An Oklahoma City man pleaded guilty Friday to murdering his 5-year-old daughter,
Serenity Deal, a tragedy that sparked intense criticism this year of the
state Department of Human Services.



Admitted murderer Sean Devon Brooks is led to court Friday. Photo by Paul Hellstern, The Oklahoman
PAUL HELLSTERN




Oklahoma City dad pleads guilty to murdering 5-year-old daughter

Sean Devon Brooks, 32, was sentenced to life in prison. He will not be eligible for parole until he is almost 70, prosecutors said. The outcome was the result of a plea agreement.

Serenity died in June from an assault after she began living full time with her father in Oklahoma City at the recommendation of DHS workers. She was placed with her father from foster care, even though she was injured twice in January during overnight visits with him.

He had not known he was her father until she was 3.

Two child-welfare workers were fired. In termination papers, the agency said the workers failed to fully check the father's background.

DHS workers, for instance, never contacted the mother of Brooks' three other children until after Serenity died, records show. That woman, Brooks' ex-girlfriend, has said she would have told DHS workers that she considered Brooks too violent to be around their children. She also has claimed he “sold drugs the entire six years she was with him,” records show.

The fired workers are appealing their firings. “I don't have a crystal ball. I couldn't possibly have known any of this was going to happen,” one said.

im sorry but she does not look like a mixed race child.

The imprisoned mother of Serenity Deal is seeking $3 million from the
state in a tort claim that blames DHS for the girl’s murder.

Samantha Deal, 22, is seeking $1 million for herself and $1 million each for her two remaining daughters.
“It’s awful. It’s awful,’” said the mother’s attorney, Jim Loepp. “What DHS did, it was just horrifying to me.”

Serenity is the 5-year-old girl whose death in June 2011 sparked
public outrage against the state Department of Human Services. The
agency’s longtime director, Howard Hendrick, retired this year after
public confidence in his leadership fell because of child deaths.

Serenity’s father killed her less than a month after she began living
with him full time at his Oklahoma City apartment at the recommendation
of DHS workers.

She had been in foster care.

DHS officials acknowledged its child welfare workers made mistakes in
the handling of Serenity’s placement. One worker quit, one committed
suicide and two others were fired.

DHS said its workers failed to fully check the father’s background and discover times he had been violent in the past.

Serenity was not living with her mother because her mother had been
accused of molesting a boy. Samantha Deal eventually pleaded no contest
in Lincoln County District Court to oral sodomy. She was sentenced to 15
years in prison.

Samantha Deal remains in prison.

“We are reviewing the claim,” a DHS attorney, Richard Freeman, told The Oklahoman.

One-page claim


The state received the one-page tort claim from Loepp on June 4. The
attorney is following a state law that requires a person first to make a
claim for damages with the state before filing a lawsuit. State
officials have 90 days to respond.
State officials could elect to settle the claim before the deadline, but that is unlikely.
“The negligent acts of OKDHS were the proximate cause of Serenity
Deal’s untimely passing and the claimant ... has suffered damages as a
result thereof,” the mother’s claim states.

Separate claim


Serenity’s grandparents, Chuck and Annette Deal, of Chandler, have
made a separate claim against the state over the girl’s death, their
attorney, Joe Vorndran, said. Serenity stayed with them for a while
before being put into foster homes.

The grandparents’ claim may have been misplaced. The grandparents’
attorney said he has proof the state accepted it. State officials said
Thursday they have not received it yet.

The girl was placed with her father, Sean Devon Brooks, in May 2011
even though she was injured twice in January 2011 during overnight
visits with him.

The second time, she came back to a foster home with black eyes and a
swollen and bruised face, records show. Both she and her father said he
dropped her accidentally. DHS workers accepted that explanation.

Brooks, 32, is serving a life term in prison for first-degree murder.
He admitted in his guilty plea last December that he beat Serenity in
the head.

DHS commissioners last September formed a special committee to review her death and other child deaths.

They acted after Gov. Mary Fallin complained of “the appearance of lax oversight on the part of DHS commissioners.”



Read more: http://newsok.com/murdered-oklahoma-girls-mother-files-3-million-claim-against-state/article/3690961#ixzz207bZ4yq5

i agree that dcfs should shoulder some responsibility for this tragedy, but the childs mother is suing them for 3 mil. shes is in prison for molesting a little boy herself. i hope any and all money go to serenity's sisters and the little boy. the sperm donor wouldnt have had access to serenity had the egg donor acted like an adult and a mother.

Flash, you took the words right out of my mouth! I wonder if she feels as much sympathy for the trauma she caused her victim, which in turn caused her poor baby girl to become a victim!

Flash, you are correct. Any money should go into a trust fund and the mother should never see a red cent.

What a POS family.