JADA CANTRELL - 7 weeks - / Arrested: Steven Cantrell, father Fort Myers FL

Father arrested after infant dies in SW Fla.

Friday, 03.30.12
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A 21-year-old southwest Florida man has been charged with
first-degree murder after his two-month-old baby died from severe head trauma.

Lee County deputies say Steven Cantrell was arrested
Saturday, a day after authorities responded to a call about an
unresponsive infant at Cantrell's North Fort Myers home.

Authorities say doctors showed deputies that Jada Cantrell suffered severe head
trauma that included multiple skull fractures.

A sheriff's office release says the child was home alone with her
father when the injuries occurred. Investigators say Cantrell gave
detectives conflicting explanations of what happened.
Cantrell is being held without bail in Lee County Jail.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/26/2714428/father-arrested-after-infant-dies.html

DCF looked into welfare of murdered infant

LEE COUNTY, FL -

The Department of Children and
Families had an open investigation into Jada Cantrell's well-being at
the time of the infant's death.

In her short seven-weeks of life, Jada Cantrell's welfare had already come to the attention of DCF.

A department spokesperson says she can't talk
specifically about the case, but notes investigations are opened once
someone calls the abuse hotline.

Then an investigator begins gathering information.

Given Steven Cantrell's criminal background,
including charges for aggravated assault, we asked the department if it
had done enough to protect the infant while her mother was in jail on
violation of probation charges.

DCF released this statement, "The death of
any child is a tragedy and the Department of Children and Families and
our community partners are saddened by this senseless and violent death.
We will be completing a quality assurance review to provide a complete
assessment of what happened in this case."

That quality assurance review will be the
department's assessment of its own actions, and a report will be made
public when it is complete.

Jada's mother, Faith Boyki, was released from
jail Monday, just days after Jada's death. A judge dismissed her
violation of probation charges earlier in the day.

Faith Boyki's sister, Fallon Whitaker, said Faith is devastated because she never got to say goodbye to Jada.

Jada was born on January 29th and weighed 8 pounds.

"She was really sweet. She was beautiful," said Whitaker.

Just seven weeks later her life was cut short.

"She was just an infant, just little. Just innocent," said Whitaker.

Steven Cantrell, Jada's father and Faith's boyfriend, is accused of killing Jada.

"He put up a good front, he made it seem like he wasn't. He probably had a split personality," said Whitaker.

Friday March 23, Lee County deputies got a
911 call from a home on Palm Creek Drive in North Fort Myers in regards
to an unresponsive infant.

Paramedics rushed Jada to the hospital, but it was too late.

Doctors reported finding multiple skull fractures and severe head trauma.

"It's shock. It's like a nightmare, you can't
turn it off. It's like I wake up in the middle of the night and it's a
bad dream," said Whitaker.

Cantrell was arrested and charged with first degree felony murder.

We reached out to Cantrell's family members, but none would comment.

















http://www.nbc-2.com/story/17255837/2012/03/26/mother-of-baby-killed-in-court-monday

These POS men beat their babies with the same force they would use on a grown man. If they were not too chicken to take on a grown man. Much easier to beat a tiny, defenseless baby to death.

I will never understand it. Never.

If my sons ever get neck tattoos I'll 'divorce' them.

I was reading a slide show/article tonight that maybe every couple that has a baby should be made to watch before leaving the hospital.

"Taking a Breather"

Consoling a colicky baby night after night is terribly hard. You're bound to feel overwhelmed, inadequate, and frustrated. If nothing seems to work, take a break. Hand your baby off to your spouse or a family member. When that's not an option, remember that it's OK to let your baby cry in the crib for a little bit while you collect yourself.

http://www.medicinenet.com/parenting_pictures_guide_to_crying_and_colic/article.htm

Poster's note: Although I never let my babies cry (well they didn't have that problem), my nephew was colicky and it was very frustrating. I just rocked and walked him while my oldest son who was seven went into his room and closed the door. There are other ways to deal with a crying baby which do not include beating them. How very, very tragic for this family to have lost their little angel.

Good advice Ladibug.

There are new details about the death of
seven-week-old Jada Cantrell, who was born to a father with a lengthy
criminal history and killed while her mother was in jail.

A
new internal review by the Department of Children and Families shows
the agency inadequately assessed the risk the little girl faced in her
short life.

The report shows that little Jada died from blunt
force trauma. Just weeks before her death, DCF received a report of
potential abuse against the infant.

Monday, an internal review of their handling of that complaint has led to changes in the system.

"This case is really a poster child for changes that the secretary wants to make," said Mike Carroll, with DCF.

Jada Cantrell was born January 29. A brutal beating took her life a short seven weeks later.

Monday, the new details emerged about the family and environment to which she was born.

An internal review from DCF examines her father,
Steve Cantrell, showing "a picture of a young man with a dysfunctional
family life and a documented history of aggressive behavior."

When she was only five-weeks-old, an abuse report
came in stating that Cantrell was "acting erratically while acting as
caregiver for his daughter Jada."

After interviewing all family members, DCF determined the child was being taken care of.

But after that, Jada's mother - Faith Boyki - was jailed for violating probation on an unrelated trespass charge.

That's when Jada was killed - allegedly at the hands of her father.

It was at this point that DCF says it could have done more.

The report stated, "Once the mother was arrested,
this was considered a critical juncture, resulting in the need to
re-assess the extent of the father's support system and his parenting
abilities."

DCF says it did not have legal grounds to remove Jada from the home, but it could have provided day care and other services.

"The one thing that we could have done differently
I think is engage this family at a much more in-depth level around what
their service needs were to provide really some positive parenting
skills to them and some other support services around caring for this
child," Carroll said.

DCF vows changes are in the works in hopes this tragedy leads to improvements for all children.

The agency is conducting more training with its
case workers and will better reassess cases when a family's situation
changes - something DCF says should've been done when Jada's mother was
arrested and no longer living in the home.

Stephen Cantrell remains in jail on first degree murder charges.
http://www.abc-7.com/story/17465201/childs-death-prompts-dcf-changes