Siblings TIMOTHY and ALIVIA RAMIREZ - 3 and 2 yo (11/2011) Acccused: Danielle Lynn Brockman - Aurora CO

The mother of two young children who died
after a house fire in Aurora early Sunday was arrested on felony
child-abuse and neglect charges Wednesday night.


Danielle Lynn Brockman, 23, of Aurora was arrested after detectives
discovered that the two children, ages 3 and 2, were home alone when the
fire broke out.

All other details were being withheld, and the arrest affidavit was sealed by the court, Aurora police said Wednesday night.

Three-year-old Timothy Joseph Ramirez died on his way to the hospital
after he was pulled from the burning home in the 12000 block of East
13th Avenue at about 5 a.m. Sunday.

His 2-year-old sister, Alivia Ramirez, died Tuesday at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora.

Brockman is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail on suspicion of two counts of child abuse/negligence resulting in death.

Neighbors have told reporters since the fire that the children were
not well taken care of and that the boy sometimes wandered on the
streets alone.

Aurora police had been called to the house previously, but the
department has not released information on the nature of the calls
because they are part of the ongoing investigation.

Neighbors called 911 Sunday to report thick smoke pouring from the
home. When police and fire crews arrived, the children's mother was
hysterical outside the home, police said Sunday.

Flames blocked the doorways, and officers had to pry iron security
bars from the bedroom windows and search through thick smoke to reach
the children.

Brockman has four previous arrests, records show. She pleaded guilty
to driving with a suspended license in May, after initially being
arrested on charges of passing on a right shoulder.

She pleaded guilty to driving without a license after she was arrested in August 2008, the first of three arrests that year.

Brockman was arrested by Platte ville police in September 2008 on charges not specified in court records, but she was released on
$500 bond. She was arrested in December 2008 by the Weld County
Sheriff's Department on a warrant for failure to appear in court,
records show.

She and her former husband, the children's father, declared bankruptcy in Greeley in October 2008, records show.

She previously lived in Longmont, Westminster and Firestone, records
indicate. According to 9News, her ex-husband is now in Georgia.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_19253114?source=rss

Longmont, Colo. — The father of two children who died after a fire at an Aurora
home says he had been thinking recently of trying to gain full custody
of them from their mother, who could face child abuse charges in their
death.

Twenty-three-year-old Danielle Lynn Brockman is being
held on $500,000 bond in the investigation into the deaths of Alivia
Ramirez and Timothy Joseph Ramirez. Aurora
police say the kids were home alone when the fire broke out Sunday.
Officers had to remove security bars over the windows to reach them.

T.J. died Sunday. Alivia died Tuesday.

Their father, Michael Ramirez, says he had hoped to have them live with him in Georgia. He arrived in Colorado before Alivia died.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/90433f8a29734fa3b5d6a01674a76e9e/CO--Fatal-House-Fire-Father/

AURORA - The mother of two children who died in an apartment fire
on Sunday was in court on Friday. She was visibly shaken by the events.

Danielle Brockman's public defender put her arm around
Brockman Friday morning during her court appearance. She waived her
right to hear the two charges of child abuse against her.

According to 9NEWS Reporter Matt Flener, Brockman was visibly shaken
and was, at times, sobbing. There was no one in the court to support her
during this hearing. Her bond was set at $500,000.

Brockman has a protection order against stating she is not allowed to
harass witnesses or have contact with people under the age of 18.

With their mother in custody - accused of child abuse - and their
father in town after receiving word of the apartment fire, 1-year-old
Alivia and 3-year-old T.J. will be laid to rest on Friday after a tragic
fire took their lives.

On Sunday, the apartment fire broke out.

The father of the two children sat down with 9NEWS to talk about the
somber process and life with the mother who is now under arrest in
connection with the fire.


Mike Ramirez was in Georgia at the time of the fire. According to
police, the kids' mother - 23-year-old Danielle Lynn Brockman - had left
her two children alone in the house when the fire started in the 12600
block of East 13th Avenue.

When police arrived on the scene, Brockman was outside claiming that
Alivia and Timothy "T.J." Ramirez were inside the apartment.

"Sunday morning, I got the call," Mike Ramirez told 9NEWS. "My mom
called me. And, like anyone, I didn't know how to react at first. I
mean, they are my kids, so I got scared and I had to be here, so I flew
out the next day and I was here with them. Before I left, though, I
found out that my son had already passed away."

His son Timothy passed away from the fire on Sunday.

"He was the greatest little rambunctious man you will ever meet,"
Mike Ramirez said. "He was my best little bud. I mean, he was just
great."

His daughter Alivia passed away on Tuesday in the hospital.

"She was my only daughter," Mike Ramirez said. "Every parent is going
to say it, but she was the most beautiful baby that I have ever seen. I
mean, she was great. She was always happy, smiling."

Mike Ramirez said the grieving process is going to be a long one.

"Both of them are gone," Mike Ramirez said. "It's just hard to deal
with the fact that they are gone, and I am never going to have to chase
after T.J. anymore; I'm never going to be able to comb Alivia's hair.
It's hard."

Mike says he's trying to be around friends and family to help him
through this difficult time. He says thinking about it puts him in a
worse mood.

"It's a somber feeling," Mike said. "Unfortunately, it is not just
one death. It's two. It's two children that I'm burying. They are my
children that I have to bury, and it's probably one of the hardest
things that anyone has to go through."

Mike claims he spoke to Brockman, and she said she had left the
children alone that day. He was angry, but says he did not push the
subject because he was in town to be with his children - not to argue.
He says he trusted her with the children for the most part.

"She and I had spoken maybe a month ago that I was going to have
Timothy come live with me [in Georgia] once he was out of school because
she said she felt overwhelmed," Mike said. "She 'couldn't handle him
anymore,' so I just told her [to] just bring [T.J] or send [T.J] to me
and I [would] take care of him."

Mike says after he got Timothy, he was planning on filing paperwork to get full custody of Alivia as well.

He says Brockman was not neglectful. He says Brockman would not give
him the full details of what happened when he asked her in the hospital.
She did tell him, Mike says, that she had left the children alone.

"She has never told me that she has left them alone before, so this
is the first time that she has ever told me [that,]" Mike said. "It
wasn't a surprise. I hate to sound like I'm being crass or being mean or
anything, but I really don't care anymore what happens to her legally.
She's going to have to deal with it, not me. I really don't want to deal
with it."

He feels responsible for not taking action on custody sooner.

"If she would have been [at the apartment,] I can guarantee you that I
would be in Georgia talking with my kids on the phone instead of being
here burying them," Mike said. "So, yeah, there is a little bit of blame
there."

He says police told him the fire started in the kitchen, but they are
still not saying the cause of the fire. Mike says Brockman's family has
been very supportive during this.

"I love them, and every time we talk, they tell me that they love me
and they are helping me out with all the arrangements that we have to
do," Mike said. "They are my second family. I love them to death, and
they have been helping me on all this."

The thing that hurts Mike greatly is that Brockman will not be at the
funeral on Friday. Mike left with a few pieces of advice to other
parents.

"If you get a chance, say 'I love you' to your kids," Mike said.
"Hold them, hug them, don't take anything for granted, because - in a
split second - they could be gone, just like Timothy and Alivia. Parents
need to take time, not even with just their children, but just anyone
around them - their family."

The funeral for Timothy and Alivia will be held on Friday at St. John
the Baptist Catholic Church in Longmont at 11 a.m.. They will be buried
at Mountain View Cemetery.

Mike says his family is still trying to raise money to help cover the
costs of the burial. He said they have set up a fund at Wells Fargo
called the "Alivia and T.J. Little Angels Foundation" and are accepting
donations.

Brockman's next court date is set for Nov. 10 at 9 a.m.
http://www.9news.com/news/article/227949/339/Mom-sobs-in-court-over-kids-who-died-in-fire

AURORA, Colo. -- Investigators say the 23-year-old mother of two children who were killed in a Colorado house fire left her kids alone for more than seven hours the night they died.
Aurora police Detective Lance Dyer testified during a preliminary hearing Friday that Danielle Lynn Brockman told investigators she left 3-year-old Timothy Joseph Ramirez and 15-month-old Alivia Ramirez at about 9:30 p.m. Oct. 29 to go out with friends. Dyer says she returned home at about 5 a.m. the next day to find that a fire had broken out and the smoke was so heavy she couldn't get to the children.

The Aurora Sentinel ( http://bit.ly/wjCskq) reports Arapahoe County Court Judge Anne Ollada ruled Friday there was probable cause for Brockman to stand trial on two counts of child abuse resulting in death.


Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/03/4309210/cops-mom-left-tots-for-7-hours.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/03/4309210/cops-mom-left-tots-for-7-hours.html

Aurora Mother To Stand Trial For Deaths Of Her Children In House Fire
March 4, 2012 8:02 PM

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – The mother of two children who were killed in a house fire last fall will stand trial for child abuse resulting in death.

Investigators Say Danielle Lynn Brockman told them she left her 3-year-old and 15-month-old home alone while she went out with friends.

Timothy died on the way to the hospital after firefighters pulled him from his bedroom. Alivia died a few days later.

When the 23-year-old returned to the home in Aurora early the next morning it was on fire and the smoke was so heavy she couldn’t get to her children.

Brockman’s next court appearance is April 9.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/03/04/aurora-mother-to-stand-trial-for-deaths-of-her-children-in-house-fire/