MAHANARYE NOA - 5 yo/ Accused: Parents: Kalman and Valisha Eteuati - Portland OR

Portland police detectives have arrested the parents of a 5-year-old boy who died last week after being brought to a hospital.
His parents said he was injured in a fall. However the Oregon State
medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, saying the boy died of
"battered child syndrome," which the Department of Justice defines as
"the collection of injuries sustained by a child as a result of repeated
mistreatment or beating."

Police Lt. Robert King said late Monday that the parents, 25-year-old
Kalman Eteuati and 26-year-old Valisha Eteuati, have been arrested
and jailed for investigation of murder.

They were arraigned in court Tuesday and officially charged with murder by abuse. Both pleaded not guilty.

Little Mahanarye Noa was brought to a hospital last Thursday. He died
a short time later. The hospital contacted the police bureau's child
abuse team to investigate.

After the court proceedings, a woman who said she was the suspect's aunt responded to the allegations.

"I know my nephew and my niece had no intention of that to happen, they're very good kids," she said.

However John Tucker, who used to live in an apartment below the
couple's, told KGW that he had suspected domestic violence and alerted
police on a couple of occasions, including an incident two months ago.

"There was a situation where someone, I assume it was the lady, was
thrown to the ground and then I heard some,... I don't know if they were
kicking or pounding sounds," he said.

Tucker also said that he had several run-ins with Kalman himself.

Valisha's Facebook page shows photos of the boy posing with his three
siblings. Police said the other three children were placed in the care
of a relative after their parents' arrests.

Meantime, the Eteuatis will remain behind bars, held without bond, at least until their next court date.

Anyone with information about the boy's death was asked to call Detective Chris Traynor at (503) 823-0449.

Portland mother of dead 5-year-old boy is sentenced to 12 years prison


The mother of a 5-year-old Portland boy who investigators say died by abuse was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison.

Valisha Eteuati, 28, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for recklessly causing the death of her son, Mahonarye Noa, last year. Her husband, Kalman Eteuati, 27, pleaded guilty to the same charge Monday and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Both had been charged with murder by abuse.

"There are no words to express the heartache and pain that I feel, but not for myself, for my children," said Valisha Eteuati, who had three other children besides Mahonarye. "I wish with every fiber of my being that I could turn back time."

Little is known about the circumstances that led to Mahonarye's death on June 14.

Prosecutors said they couldn't talk about the case because it involves child abuse.

Kami White, one of Valisha Eteuati's defense attorneys, said the couple took the boy to the hospital, where he arrived skinny and with bruises on various parts of his body.
He died a short while later. Doctors alerted police. The Eteuatis said he hurt himself in a fall, but a medical examiner determined that the boy died of battered child syndrome, which is characterized by injuries that are old and new.

White said after Tuesday's hearing that her client was being beaten by her husband and wanted to leave him but worried she wouldn't be able to take her four children with her.

White said Valisha Eteuati didn't know that Kalman Eteuati was hurting Mahonarye. But she said prosecutors pursued a charge of murder by abuse because they believed she should have known. White said in the days leading up to the boy's death, Kalman Eteuati restricted the time Valisha Eteuati spent with the boy.

"We're convinced she never laid a hand" on Mahonarye, White said.
During Tuesday's hearing, Valisha Eteuati said she regretted not seeking help.
She said the boy's death is something she had to pay for "because I was too coward to reach out and get help," Eteuati said.
Family members attended the sentencing hearings for both parents this week. The family declined to comment after Tuesday's hearing.

A few days after the boy's death, however, his maternal grandparents said that after their daughter had Mahonarye in 2007, she didn't think she could properly care for him. So her sister and later the maternal grandparents cared for him, they said.

But in 2009, Valisha Eteuati told her mother that Kalman Eteuati demanded that the boy be returned to their home.

The relatives said one night in spring 2012, they found her sleeping in her car parked in the lot of her employer, U.S. Bank. They said she was too afraid to return to her apartment.

-- Aimee Green

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/05/portland_mother_of_dead_5-year.html#incart_river_default
Mahonarye Noa

At least some justice done. William

I hope they have to serve the full sentence.

What a precious little boy.