BLAKE RUPE - 15 Months (2008) - Tavares (W end of Lake Dora) FL

Review: DCF Failed To Protect Blake Rupe

9:59 am EST January 23, 2009


TAVARES, Fla. -- Officials with the Department of Children and Families said on Thursday that case managers took a gamble with a 15-month-old child that may have cost him his life.

"We know we could have done more. We know we have an obligation to do more," DCF spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner said.

Even after signs of child abuse in the home, Blake Rupe was allowed to stay with his mother.

Authorities said he died in December of blunt-force trauma. He suffered brain swelling and six broken bones.

The live-in boyfriend, David Tatara, 27, had been at home with Blake at the time. Records showed she believes he's responsible for the child's death.

Tavares police haven't named any suspects in the case.

"It's a month later and still no arrests, but that doesn't mean we haven't been working," Tavares Police Department Lt. David Myers said.

The homicide happened less than one year after DCF first had contact with the family.

His 21-year-old mother and her boyfriend brought Blake into a Kissimmee hospital when he was just 4 months old. Investigators said his mouth was bleeding and his face was bruised.

"That injury was likely caused by someone forcibly shoving a pacifier or bottle into the child's mouth," Hoeppner said.

The mother voluntarily met with case workers for eight months, but officials said that didn't include Tatara, who repeatedly had a history of alcohol and domestic violence abuse.

During that time, there were more reports of unexplained cuts and bruises.

A review of the case found it took a case manager 10 days to check on the child's injuries. Mandatory reports about the family's stability weren't filed, and the case was closed when the couple moved to Tavares.

"When you look at this case, you can't help but see a series of breakdowns," Hoeppner said.

Blake'ssister, 2, was placed in foster care. Investigators said they found evidence she had been abused, suffering a gash to her head and arm fractures.

The case manager and her supervisor worked for a contracted agency and were terminated.

Arrest Made In Blake Rupe Homicide Case

Children & Families Dept. Admits Mistakes Made

March 5, 2009

TAVARES, Fla. -- Police have made an arrest in the death of a 15-month-old boy who died after a lifetime of abuse.

Tavares police arrested David Tatara and charge him with second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.

Blake Rupe died in December of blunt force trauma. Police records show that six major bones in his body had been broken.

The Department of Children and Families admits it failed in Blake's case, citing several instances where workers did not follow protocol.

'Never let this happen again,' urges lawyer suing DCF in Lake baby's death

David Tatara is accused of killing Blake Rupe. (lcso.org, lcso.org / January 21, 2011)

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  Blake Rupe
  
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TAVARES — When he finally died from a fractured skull, 14-month-old Blake Rupe had injuries like a motorcycle daredevil's.

A partially healed crack in his collarbone. Busted ribs. Old fractures in both arms. A broken thighbone. But the blond-haired baby boy hadn't been in a wreck. His mother's live-in boyfriend said he fell out of a playpen.

As prosecutors in Lake County prepare a first-degree-murder case against the boyfriend, David Tatara, 29, lawyers for Blake's biological father say blame for the 2008 tragedy also ought to fall on the state Department of Children and Families, Family Services of Metro Orlando and other child-welfare agencies charged with protecting the boy and his sister, Stacy, now 4 1/2.

"There were so many red flags that were ignored or overlooked in this case," said Gainesville lawyer Stephen K. Miller, who recently sued the agencies on behalf of
the dad, Brian Fore, 24. "Nothing anyone can do now will bring that baby boy back, but we are going to do all we can do to ensure that DCF and its contracted agencies never let this happen again to any other child."

The lawsuit, the prosecutor's murder file and newly released DCF documents shed more light on the boy's death, which led the child-protection agency to acknowledge its failures in the family's case.

"We do not know if we could have saved this child's life, but we had an obligation to do so much more for this family," DCF's Central Region Director John Cooper wrote in an e-mail to his staff after the boy's death. "The job of a child protective investigator or case manager is paramount; it is also one that is most difficult."

Critic: Admitting mistakes 'not enough'

Blake died Dec. 17, 2008, as a result of physical abuse, police say, at the hands of Tatara, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. Tatara's lawyer Donald Lykkebak would not comment.

Child-protective agencies had been involved with Blake's mother, Emmalee Fore, now 23, since she herself was a baby, born to a 13-year-old girl. Her first encounter with DCF as a mother occurred in 2007 when the agency looked into complaints that she let her 2-year-old daughter play with a poisonous snake and left her to roll off a countertop after a bath.

As a product of the state's foster-care system, Fore did not know what "normal" parenting was, said Miller, who questioned why DCF and its partners did not track the family more carefully. The lawsuit alleges negligence and carelessness, accusing the agencies of failing to thoroughly investigate repeated abuse reports.

After Blake's death, the agencies also questioned themselves publicly, which may help prevent future tragedies but which also made them an easier lawsuit target, said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform.

"They did not hide in a bunker, which is what they used to do," he said of DCF. "They attempted to identify their mistakes, even at the risk of having them used against them. But admitting your mistakes is not enough — you also have to learn from them."

Bloody mouth and bruises

DCF insists it has.

"There were procedures and protocols in place, but individual breakdowns and delays failed to offer this family the level of support they required," DCF spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner said. "Our agency as well as our partner agencies had an opportunity to improve and mitigate the issues that brought this family to our attention and possibly prevent the terrible outcome — it was not our best work."

In January 2008, when the family lived in Kissimmee, DCF had opened a child-abuse case after the boy, then 4 months old, arrived at Osceola Regional Medical Center with a bloody mouth and bruises on his face.

The mother hypothesized that the baby's sister had jumped on him. Doctors suspected someone had shoved something into the 4-month-old's mouth, but child-protection officials minimized the injuries, according to the agency's review.

DCF later concluded that it should have sought to involve a court, which would have added a layer of supervision and could have required the family — including Tatara — to participate in parenting classes and other programs.

'Loving and safe environment'?

In April 2008, according to DCF records, Tatara called a caseworker to report that Blake, then 8 months old, came home from day care with bruises on his face. The caseworker did not check on the boy for 10 days.

By then, the bruises were healed.

A month later, a review of Blake's case by Family Services of Metro Orlando found "significant concerns" and tagged the situation as "high risk," citing his unexplained injuries. A DCF lawyer drafted a petition asking a judge in Osceola to oversee the case, but the document inexplicably was never filed.

Instead, the family's case was closed in August after a caseworker sent Emmalee Fore a letter that read, in part, "Your children have been in a loving and safe environment during your involvement with the Department of Children and Families."

The family then moved to Tavares, where the boy died.

Bart Mawoussi, spokesman for Family Services of Metro Orlando, would not discuss the case.

The agency, which had handled DCF's child-welfare cases in Orange and Osceola for the past six years, will be replaced March 1 by Community Based Care of Seminole. Hoeppner said Blake's case wasn't a factor in the decision.

Parental rights terminated

According to investigative reports reviewed by the Orlando Sentinel, Blake's mother went to work about 4:45 p.m. Dec. 15, 2008, and left the kids with Tatara. Blake was on the living-room floor in front of the TV, and his sister was asleep. Fore said the boy was cranky because he was teething.

A neighbor said she heard screaming inside the house 15 minutes later.

According to police, Tatara said he was preparing for a shower when he heard a thud and found the boy on the tile floor under his playpen.

In the wake of the boy's death, DCF successfully argued to terminate the mother's parental rights to her daughter. Doctors who examined the girl found that she, too, had old fractures in various stages of healing.

What a disgusting society we live in today. This dead baby's mother was herself born to a 13 year old girl and subsequently was raised by the 'system' - foster care etc. Why wasn't she adopted out as a newborn? Was it becuase her 13 year old mother or her family refused to allow it? Whoever made that decision is selfish. That our governments deem it to be appropriate to let dysfunctional families even have a say is ridiculous. The welfare of the baby should be the only consideration. That decision about what was going to happen to the baby of a 13 year old ultimately lead to a baby being murdered and another one abused all these years later. Obviously there were a serious of equally appalling decisions made ever since.

Kiwi, I thought of you when posting this. I knew you would be just as irate and disgusted as I am.

Murder trial of David Tatara put off as lawyers seek more medical testimony in toddler's death

David Tatara is accused of killing Blake Rupe. lcso.org / May 31, 2011)

By Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel

May 31, 2011

TAVARES — The first-degree murder trial of David Tatara, which was scheduled to begin today, was postponed after both sides agreed to a delay to gather more medical opinions about 14-month-old Blake Rupe's death.

The toddler died from a skull fracture prosecutors say was caused by abuse.

Defense lawyer Donald Lykkebak sought extra time to line up an expert to refute potential medical testimony suggesting the toddler's death might have been caused by a violent shaking.

A defense expert contends the injury could have been caused by a fall from a playpen onto a tile floor — as Tatara, 29, has insisted. Tatara, the boyfriend of Blake's mother, Emmalee Fore, faces life in prison if convicted.



http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/os-lk-trial-toddler-death-20110531,0,5279742.story

This is from tomorrow's Orlando Sentinel.

Why was he not in jail awaiting trial?

He's probably hiding out in some woman's apartment with her children. Hope he doesn't rack up another victim.

8/2/2011 COURT EVENT SET Event: FELONY SENTENCING PRIV ATTY Date: 08/29/2011 Time: 9:30 am Judge: NACKE, HONORABLE MARK A Location: COURTROOM 3

http://www.lakecountyclerk.org/record_searches/online_court_records/online_court_records_detail.asp?case_id=35501991

8/30/2011 COURT EVENT SET Event: FELONY SENTENCING PRIV ATTY Date: 09/26/2011 Time: 9:30 am Judge: NACKE, HONORABLE MARK A Location: COURTROOM 5

http://www.lakecountyclerk.org/record_searches/online_court_records/online_court_records_detail.asp?case_id=35501991

FELONY SENTENCING PRIV ATTY 10/24/2011 9:30 AM 1:25 PM NACKE, MARK A

http://www.lakecountyclerk.org/record_searches/online_court_records/online_court_records_detail.asp?case_id=35501991

10/25/2011 COURT EVENT SET Event: FELONY SENTENCING PRIV ATTY Date: 11/21/2011 Time: 9:30 am Judge: NACKE, HONORABLE MARK A Location: COURTROOM 5

http://www.lakecountyclerk.org/record_searches/online_court_records/online_court_records_detail.asp?case_id=35501991

Whether a toddler can sustain fatal injuries from falling out of a
play pen will be a focus of a Lake County murder trial this week.
David Tatara, 30, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated
child abuse in the death of toddler Blake Rupe, his live-in girlfriend's
son. Tatara faces life in prison if convicted of the murder.
Jury selection is slated to start Tuesday at the Lake County courthouse.
Blake was discovered not breathing in his mother's apartment on Osceola Avenue in Tavares on Dec. 15, 2008.
Tatara, who was watching Blake and the child's 2-year-old sister for
their mother, told police he found Blake under a playpen and the boy
must have climbed out.
Blake died two days later at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Tatara
was charged after the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.
The then-21-year-old mother, Emmalee Fore, was not home at the time of the incident and was not charged.
The trial was initially scheduled to begin this past June but was
postponed to allow the defense more time to refute the prosecution's
claims that the 14-month-old victim died from blunt trauma due to being shaken.
Prosecutor Bill Gross had found a medical expert to bolster his
argument that the child died from injuries received from Tatara.
The death shook up the Department of Children and Families, resulting
in four agency employees being fired or reprimanded due to the workers
failing to ensure the safety of both children, according to DCF officials.
After Blake was put on life support from the December 2008 incident,
DCF officials said doctors discovered that two of his ribs, collarbone
and bones in both arms and a thigh were healing from previous injuries
His 2-year-old sister was removed from the Tavares home shortly after
Blake was rushed to the hospital after doctors discovered she, too, had
healing fractures in her left arm and a horrific laceration to her head.
None of the injuries had been previously treated or reported.
DCF was supposed to be monitoring the family because of previous
reports of abuse. But in August of 2008, a caseworker closed the case,
citing that Fore had turned the home into a "loving and safe environment."
Circuit Judge Mark Nacke has ruled over defense lawyer Donald
Lykkebak's objections that prosecutors can offer evidence of Blake's
previous fractures. However, the sister's injuries can not be used as
evidence in the murder trial, the judge ruled.
http://www.dailycommercial.com/News/LakeCounty/103111trial

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Murder trial may begin today
MILLARD K. IVES | Staff Writer
millardives@dailycommercial.com
Testimony could start today in the first-degree murder trial of 30-year-old David Tatara, accused of killing the toddler of his live-in girlfriend's son, 2-year-old Blake Rupe.
Jury selection started Tuesday.
Blake was discovered not breathing in his mother's apartment on Osceola Avenue in Tavares on Dec. 15, 2008 and died two days from what was ruled blunt force trauma.
Tatara, told police he was watching Blake and the child's 2-year-old sister for their mother at the time. He added he was in the bathroom when he heard a thud and found Blake on the tile floor under a playpen.
Prosecutor Bill Gross had found a medical expert to bolster his argument that the child died from injuries received from Tatara -- which led to the initial Spring trial date being pushed back to give the defense more time to round up its own expert.
The death shook up the Department of Children and Families, resulting in four agency employees being fired or reprimanded due to the workers failing to ensure the safety of both children, according to DCF officials.
DCF had initially opened a child-abuse case after a then 4-month-old Blake arrived at a hospital with a bloody mouth and bruises on his face.
Doctors suspected that a sippy cup was forced into Blake's mouth.
One motion filed by the defense late October is requesting the judge exclude testimony that "would appear ... will come from witness Tomas Perez and partially supported by his girlfriend, Margaret Krings."
According to the motion, alleged child abuse conduct was reported by Perez in a deposition in September in which he allegedly saw Tatara throwing or dropping the child onto the bed and jamming a bottle into the toddler's mouth, causing Rupe to "cry loudly."
Perez also described Tatara placing his hand onto the chest of Rupe and "forcing his upper body into the back of a couch."
The defense "flatly" denies the accusations in the motion and said that there is no evidence to suggest that anything allegedly witnessed by Perez or Krings resulted in injury to the child.
The motion adds neither of the two made any reports at the time the acts occurred.
It's not clear if Circuit Judge Mark Nacke will allow the deposition into evidence. However, he has ruled that prosecutors can offer evidence of old fractures to the toddler.
After Blake was put on life support from the December 2008 incident, DCF officials said doctors discovered that two of his ribs, collarbone and bones in both arms and a thigh were healing from previous injuries
His sister was removed from the Tavares home shortly after Blake was rushed to the hospital after doctors discovered she, too, had healing fractures in her left arm and a horrific laceration to her head.
None of the injuries had been previously treated or reported.

http://www.dailycommercial.com/News/LakeCounty/110311trial

TAVARES — Blake Rupe's brief life was filled with bumps, bruises and broken bones.
A Lake County jury will be asked to decide if the toddler's death in Tavares
nearly three years ago was caused by a tumble from a playpen or his
mother's boyfriend who, a prosecutor says, "didn't really want kids."
David Tatara, 30, could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of
first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in Blake's death, which
spawned a pending lawsuit that accuses the state Department of Children
and Families of failing to protect the boy and his sister, Stacy, now 5.
The agency had been involved with the family for years.

The trial began this week with Judge Mark Nacke presiding.
Blake died Dec. 17, 2008, from a fractured skull, but doctors at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children
in Orlando discovered evidence of other injuries, including old
fractures to both arms and a partially-healed crack in his collarbone.

Defense lawyer Donald Lykkebak said medical records and
doctors' opinions caused authorities to point the finger unfairly at
Tatara, who was home alone with his girlfriend's children when Blake
suffered his fatal injury. Lykkebak said he believes the injuries
occurred at a day-care in Osceola County that Blake had attended when
the family lived there. The family moved into the Tavares' home about
two weeks before the boy died.
The boy's mother, Emmalee Fore, was working at the movie theater at the Lake Square Mall in Leesburg
when her son was hurt. When she left for work, Blake was sitting in
front of the TV with a sippy cup watching "Blue's Clues" and his sister was asleep.
Tatara, an electrician, who arrived home from his job
about half an hour before Fore left for hers, decided to take a shower
and moved Blake into the playpen. Lykkebak said Tatara heard a "thunk"
and then Blake crying. He checked on the child, noticed Blake was
struggling to breathe and immediately called 911. The playpen was on its side.
"He didn't go call up a lawyer and say, 'gee, what should I
do? What should I say,' " the defense lawyer said in opening remarks to
the jury. "He gave a full and complete statement to police about what happened…"
Gross, however, suggested Tatara was frustrated by the
boy, who sometimes wailed when his mother left and who was especially
cranky because he was teething. Tatara "didn't really like it when [Blake] cried," Gross said.
Prosecutors also plan to present evidence from the manufacturer of the playpen, showing that the company
has documented fewer than two dozen "tipping" complaints about its product in 25 years — none fatal.
Blake's sister now lives with her dad, Brian Fore, in West Virginia. The lawsuit against DCF points
out that the girl, who was examined by doctors after her brother died,
also had old fractures in various stages of healing.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/os-lk-tatara-trial-20111104,0,7497633.story

Murder trial may begin today
MILLARD K. IVES | Staff Writer
millardives@dailycommercial.com
Testimony could start today in the first-degree murder trial of 30-year-old David Tatara, accused of killing the toddler of his live-in girlfriend's son, 2-year-old Blake Rupe.
Jury selection started Tuesday.
Blake was discovered not breathing in his mother's apartment on Osceola Avenue in Tavares on Dec. 15, 2008 and died two days from what was ruled blunt force trauma.
Tatara, told police he was watching Blake and the child's 2-year-old sister for their mother at the time. He added he was in the bathroom when he heard a thud and found Blake on the tile floor under a playpen.
Prosecutor Bill Gross had found a medical expert to bolster his argument that the child died from injuries received from Tatara -- which led to the initial Spring trial date being pushed back to give the defense more time to round up its own expert.
The death shook up the Department of Children and Families, resulting in four agency employees being fired or reprimanded due to the workers failing to ensure the safety of both children, according to DCF officials.
DCF had initially opened a child-abuse case after a then 4-month-old Blake arrived at a hospital with a bloody mouth and bruises on his face.
Doctors suspected that a sippy cup was forced into Blake's mouth.
One motion filed by the defense late October is requesting the judge exclude testimony that "would appear ... will come from witness Tomas Perez and partially supported by his girlfriend, Margaret Krings."
According to the motion, alleged child abuse conduct was reported by Perez in a deposition in September in which he allegedly saw Tatara throwing or dropping the child onto the bed and jamming a bottle into the toddler's mouth, causing Rupe to "cry loudly."
Perez also described Tatara placing his hand onto the chest of Rupe and "forcing his upper body into the back of a couch."
The defense "flatly" denies the accusations in the motion and said that there is no evidence to suggest that anything allegedly witnessed by Perez or Krings resulted in injury to the child.
The motion adds neither of the two made any reports at the time the acts occurred.
It's not clear if Circuit Judge Mark Nacke will allow the deposition into evidence. However, he has ruled that prosecutors can offer evidence of old fractures to the toddler.
After Blake was put on life support from the December 2008 incident, DCF officials said doctors discovered that two of his ribs, collarbone and bones in both arms and a thigh were healing from previous injuries
His sister was removed from the Tavares home shortly after Blake was rushed to the hospital after doctors discovered she, too, had healing fractures in her left arm and a horrific laceration to her head.
None of the injuries had been previously treated or reported.

http://www.dailycommercial.com/News/LakeCounty/110311trial

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Jury selection for man accused of killing toddler starts Tuesday

TAVARES
MILLARD K. IVES | Staff Writer
millardives@dailycommercial.com
Whether a toddler can sustain fatal injuries from falling out of a play pen will be a focus of a Lake County murder trial this week.
David Tatara, 30, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the death of toddler Blake Rupe, his live-in girlfriend's son. Tatara faces life in prison if convicted of the murder.
Jury selection is slated to start Tuesday at the Lake County courthouse.
Blake was discovered not breathing in his mother's apartment on Osceola Avenue in Tavares on Dec. 15, 2008.
Tatara, who was watching Blake and the child's 2-year-old sister for their mother, told police he found Blake under a playpen and the boy must have climbed out.
Blake died two days later at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Tatara was charged after the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.
The then-21-year-old mother, Emmalee Fore, was not home at the time of the incident and was not charged.
The trial was initially scheduled to begin this past June but was postponed to allow the defense more time to refute the prosecution's claims that the 14-month-old victim died from blunt trauma due to being shaken.
Prosecutor Bill Gross had found a medical expert to bolster his argument that the child died from injuries received from Tatara.
The death shook up the Department of Children and Families, resulting in four agency employees being fired or reprimanded due to the workers failing to ensure the safety of both children, according to DCF officials.
After Blake was put on life support from the December 2008 incident, DCF officials said doctors discovered that two of his ribs, collarbone and bones in both arms and a thigh were healing from previous injuries
His 2-year-old sister was removed from the Tavares home shortly after Blake was rushed to the hospital after doctors discovered she, too, had healing fractures in her left arm and a horrific laceration to her head.
None of the injuries had been previously treated or reported.
DCF was supposed to be monitoring the family because of previous reports of abuse. But in August of 2008, a caseworker closed the case, citing that Fore had turned the home into a "loving and safe environment."
Circuit Judge Mark Nacke has ruled over defense lawyer Donald Lykkebak's objections that prosecutors can offer evidence of Blake's previous fractures. However, the sister's injuries can not be used as evidence in the murder trial, the judge ruled.

http://www.dailycommercial.com/News/LakeCounty/103111trial

Man guilty in infant's death
TAVARES
MILLARD K. IVES | Staff Writer
millardives@dailycommercial.com
A Lake County jury apparently failed to believe that a 15-month- old child sustained a fatal head injury by falling out his playpen, bringing back a verdict of guilty Tuesday morning in the murder trial of 30-year-old David Tatara.
Tatara began standing trial last week on first-degree murder in the blunt force trauma death of the toddler, Blake Rupe, and was facing life if convicted. However, the judge ruled Monday he couldn't be convicted of anything higher than second-degree murder, which carries fewer years in prison.
It took the jury less than two hours to find Tatara guilty of the charge. He will be sentenced at a later date.
According to court testimony, Blake was discovered not breathing in his mother's apartment on Osceola Avenue in Tavares on Dec. 15, 2008.
Tatara, who was watching Blake and the child's 2-year-old sister for their mother, told police he was in the bathroom when he heard a thump. He added he found Blake under a playpen and the boy must have climbed out and hit his head.
He contended the green playpen, which was displayed during the trial, somehow tipped over.
Prosecutor Bill Gross argued that the child died from injuries received from Tatara. After Blake was put on life support from the December 2008 incident, doctors discovered that two of his ribs, collarbone and bones in both arms and a thigh were healing from previous injuries.
His sister also was discovered with healing injuries.
The death rocked the Department of Children and Families, which at one time was supposed to have been monitoring the children for possible abuse. As a result, four agency employees were fired or reprimanded due to the workers failing to ensure the safety of both children.
A lawsuit filed by the child's father against DCF is pending.

http://www.dailycommercial.com/News/LakeCounty/110811verdict

I'm glad the killer was found guilty. I just hope he's sent away for a long time and is never around kids again. The mother and others need to be prosecuted as there was ongoing abuse in this home. Both the babies had broken bones, bruises and cuts in various stages of healing. DFC has already admitted they failed but some kind of action should be taken against them as well as the mother. Why isn't she being prosecuted?

babyjustice wrote:I'm glad the killer was found guilty. I just hope he's sent away for a long time and is never around kids again. The mother and others need to be prosecuted as there was ongoing abuse in this home. Both the babies had broken bones, bruises and cuts in various stages of healing. DFC has already admitted they failed but some kind of action should be taken against them as well as the mother. Why isn't she being prosecuted?

These mothers who allow abuse should always be prosecuted. The seldom are. Another example of the system failing these poor defenseless children.