PIPER MOLINSKI - 4 Months - Isle of Wight/ Smithfield VA

An infant who had been on life support since being taken to the
hospital Sunday with extensive injuries died Tuesday, according to Isle
of Wight Sheriff’s Office authorities.
Both parents of the
4-month-old girl and her twin sister have been arrested and charged with
felony child neglect. But the investigation is not over, said Capt.
Rick Gaddis.
Parents Mary Leann Webb and Robert Molinski were
being questioned Tuesday evening after being arrested at Children’s
Hospital of the King’s Daughters, where the remaining infant is in
stable condition.
According to a news release from the Isle of
Wight Sheriff’s Office, emergency communications received a 911 call on
Sunday at 6:40 p.m. reporting an unresponsive 4-month-old infant at
10476 Stallings Creek Drive in Smithfield.
The Isle of Wight
Volunteer Rescue Squad EMS chief responded from his home and started CPR
efforts, according to the news release. Sheriff’s deputies arrived soon
thereafter and assisted. When the medic crew arrived, the decision was
made to transport the infant to Children’s Hospital of the King’s
Daughters by Nightingale helicopter.
The girl, Piper Molinski, had
suffered skull fractures, broken ribs and bruising, according to the
news release, and also had burns on the soles of her feet.
Her twin sister, Ella, also had skull fractures, broken ribs and bruising.
The
twins have a 4-year-old sister who does not appear to have suffered any
injuries, according to the news releases. She is staying with family
members.
The infants were living with both parents in the home of
their maternal grandfather. The family had moved from Smithfield to
Newport News about a month ago.
The entire investigative branch of
the Isle of Wight Sheriff’s Office, including Sheriff Mark Marshall, is
working on the case, according to a news release.
Gaddis said murder charges are being considered, but that determination ultimately would be made by the Commonwealth’s Attorney.
“We have a long way to go with this case,” he said. “As we move along, we’ll add more charges where applicable.”
The two are being held on no bond at Western Tidewater Regional Jail in Suffolk. An arraignment was set for Wednesday.
http://www.suffolknewsherald.com/2012/02/14/smithfield-infant-dies-after-alleged-abuse/

The news of two infant girls battered and beaten has shaken the community of Isle Of Wight County. Now a local Bishop and his church want to provide a burial for Piper, the baby who died, and a loving home for her twin sister who is barely making it.

Robert Molinski, the infant's father, is charged with beating one of his baby girls to death. The other child is barely clinging to life at CHKD.

It was the kind of news that shook Bishop William McCarty and his wife to their core.

“We're both deeply hurt over it and just can't imagine why something like that would happen to a defenseless four-month-old,” says Bishop McCarty.

He watched the news coverage of Molinski being carried away in handcuffs after he was charged with murdering baby Piper. The accused didn't cry out about the death of his daughter, instead he ranted about his arrest.



The mother, Leann Webb, is facing charges of felony child abuse. It seemed no one was advocating for baby Ella. The Bishop and his wife decided they had to do something.

“We would love to provide a home for the four-month-old who is still at the hospital, Ella, and at the same time, provide a proper burial for the four-month-old that has passed on,” says Bishop McCarty.

Ironically, permission will have to come from the parents who are accused of abuse and murder.

Bishop McCarty knows he faces a complicated, involved process of red tape, but he is compelled to bring something positive to a story so riddled with pain.

“We are praying that God will somehow bring order to this chaos and bring healing to everybody involved,” says Bishop McCarty.

Bishop McCarty says he doesn't want a dime of state money for the burial or the potential adoption.

Next week, he is meeting with social services to be interviewed. He will also have to submit to a background check to be considered should the child be released for adoption.

More than anything, he doesn't want Ella, the remaining child, to look back and be haunted by what happened. He wants her to look back and see a community that rallied around her.

http://www.wtkr.com/news/wtkr-bishop-offers-to-provide-home-to-infant-abused-in-isle-of-wight-county-20120216,0,6843349.story

SMITHFIELD — Bishop William McCarty's message was simple: Wake up.

"On Valentine's Day Piper Ann, at the precious age of four months old, died … we must no longer sit back and be quiet," said McCarty, of Healing Waters Worship Center in Carrollton. "We must have a voice."

McCarty's remarks came during a community memorial service Friday night at the Smithfield High School for Piper Molinski. Close to 200 people attended. Molinski died from blunt force trauma to the head on Valentine's Day at the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, according to authorities.

Piper's father, Robert Molinski, 23, has been charged with a first-degree murder in connection with her death. Molinski and Piper's mother, Mary Leann Webb, 22, were also charged with felony child neglect.

The memorial service was McCarty's first step in challenging the community and members of the clergy to wake up to the realities of child abuse. The Piper Memorial Awareness Fund has been created in the infant's memory. Money from the fund will go towards creating a foundation that will support Piper's twin sister, Ella, and provide abused children with educational funds, McCarty said. The foundation will also be used to spread child abuse awareness.

Piper and her sister were taken to the Norfolk hospital on Sunday after police received a 911 call that an infant had stopped breathing at 10476 Stallings Creek Lane. The girls both suffered from skull fractures, fractured ribs and bruises, according to authorities.

Piper also had burns on the soles of her feet, probably caused by a space heater too close to her feet, police said.

Rev. Perry Moss, pastor of Soteria Christian Center in Smithfield, was one of the speakers during the service. He urged the audience to have forgiveness in their hearts and shun the urge to judge.

"We don't have the right to judge something that God has already taken care of," Moss said.

Piper is one of two infants to die from abuse in less than two weeks in Hampton Roads. Two-month-old Hazel Marie Carter, of Norfolk, died from asphyxiation Wednesday, according to police. Police have charged her father, Antoine Carter, 21, with murder in connection with her death.

Donations to the The Piper Memorial Awareness Fund can be made at any Old Point National Bank in Hampton Roads.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/crime/dp-nws-baby-memorial-20120224,0,5401581.story

Dad found not competent to stand trial
Robert Molinski charged with murder, child neglect

Updated: Wednesday, 06 Jun 2012, 10:34 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 05 Jun 2012, 4:32 PM EDT

SMITHFIELD, Va. (WAVY) - A man charged with murder in the death of his four-month-old daughter in Isle of Wight County has been found not competent to stand trial.

According to Steve Edwards with the Smithfield Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, officials declared Robert Molinksi not competent Monday in the Isle of Wight Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.

Emergency crews were called out to the 10000 block of Stallings Creek Drive in Smithfield on Feb. 12 after a caller reported a four-month-old was unresponsive .

According to a spokeswoman for Isle of Wight County, Piper Molinksi and her twin sister, Ella, suffered skull fractures, fractured ribs and bruising. Robert Molinski and the twins’ mother, Mary Leann Webb, were arrested and charged with felony child neglect.

Piper Molinski was pronounced dead two days later at the Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters and Robert Molinski was also charged with murder .

Edwards said restoration services will be done at the jail, where professionals will work to bring Molinski to a point where he can be tried. A review has been scheduled in August for any reports from the restoration service.

http://www.fox43tv.com/dpps/news/crime/dad-found-not-competent-to-stand-trial_4196890

Father gets 40 years in death of Smithfield infant
By Scott Daugherty
The Virginian-Pilot
July 4, 2013
ISLE OF WIGHT

Mary Leanne Webb knew something was happening to her babies.

In court Wednesday, the Smithfield woman recalled seeing the bruises on the twins’ faces and arms and the burn on one of the 4-month-olds' feet. She said she questioned her boyfriend in early 2012 about the injuries and even took pictures to possibly show the girls’ doctor.

But when Robert Molinski told her he was innocent, she didn’t press the matter. A few weeks later, Piper was dead and Ella was seriously injured.

“Looking back, I realize I should have grabbed my children and gone running down the street for help,” Webb said through tears, explaining she was afraid at the time of losing Molinski. “I’m sorry.”

Webb, 24, was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison for failing to protect their daughters. Molinski, 23, received 40 years for murdering Piper and abusing Ella.

“The magnitude of what occurred over a period of time, not just one time, establishes the enormity of wrongdoing,” Judge Rodham T. Delk Jr. said before sentencing Molinski.

Defense attorneys for Molinski and Webb asked the court for leniency. Molinski’s attorney noted that he was abused as a child and was unprepared to serve as a father to the babies.

“Mr. Molinski simply had no parenting skills,” Deputy Public Defender Antoinette Tucker said. “He certainly should have never been put in a position to care for these babies.”

Adam Carroll, Webb’s attorney, stressed that Webb did not personally abuse her daughters. He said she was simply naive and neglected her children in the process.

According to prosecutors, deputies learned of the abuse on Feb. 12, 2012, after Molinski called 911 because Piper wasn’t breathing. She was taken to Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk, where she died two days later.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Edwards said Piper and Ella suffered numerous injuries at the hands of their father and that Webb did not take definitive action to stop it. Among the girls’ injuries: skull fractures, broken ribs and bruised eyes. Piper suffered a burned foot, and Ella was missing a thumbnail.

“It’s difficult to imagine how this case could be worse,” said Edwards, arguing the evidence indicated the girls were “brutally beaten” and were even “tortured.”

“This was more than shaken baby,” he said.

Edwards said Molinski was in charge of the twins while Webb worked as a certified nursing aide at a health care facility in Newport News. He said Molinski regularly used synthetic marijuana while watching the girls.

The worst of the abuse occurred in January and February 2012 while the couple was living with Webb’s father in Smithfield, Edwards said.

In mid-January 2012, Molinski asked for help watching the girls, according to court testimony. Webb said she went on Facebook to see whether any friends could come over to the house while she was at work.

When a couple of women offered their services, however, Webb refused to let at least one of them help. She was too pretty, and Webb was afraid Molinski would cheat on her.



After they were arrested, Webb continued to profess her love for Molinski. While she was out on bail and he was incarcerated, they talked on the phone several times a day. Edwards said the jail recorded more than 300 hours of conversations and that Webb paid for the calls.

“Nothing mattered more to her than losing Robert,” Edwards said. “I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s been a miserable last year.”

Webb no longer has custody of Ella and her half sister, who is now 5. She said Ella is living with her cousins in Kentucky, and her other daughter is living with the girl’s father.

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/07/father-gets-40-years-death-smithfield-infant

I left out the picture of little Piper from the article.  I shed too many tears seeing it over and over.  Poor little angel did not have much of a life.    I would give all my material stuff for just one little angel and he does that. Just breaks my heart for the little one. William