ANGEL THOMAS - 2 Months/ Accused:Mother-Latisha Thomas - Lafourche LA

A Thibodaux mother
charged with starving her infant to death did not seek adequate help to
provide for her daughter's nourishment, authorities said.



Latisha Thomas, 34, 1323
Lasseigne Road, was arrested Thursday in connection with the February
death of 2-month-old Angel Thomas, police said. The mother called
paramedics that day to say Angel wasn't breathing, but the child was
dead when they arrived.

Latisha's father, Clyde
Thomas, said in an interview Friday that Latisha had told him her baby
had not been suckling her milk anymore. Clyde Thomas said his daughter
took Angel to the hospital soon before the baby died Feb. 9.

But Lafourche Sheriff Craig Webre said there is no record of a hospital trip in recent weeks.

“I don't see how a medical
professional would have looked at a child that was that close to death
and release it to go home,” Webre said.

Investigators found records of one doctor visit and several missed appointments since Angel was born in December, Webre said.

Angel was “definitely malnourished for some period of time” before her death, said Brennan Matherne, Sheriff's Office spokesman.

Latisha Thomas was charged
with second-degree murder after an autopsy and investigation concluded
she was responsible for her baby's death. She remains in the Lafourche
Parish jail on a $500,000 bond.

Thomas was not charged with
negligent homicide because “the events that flowed from her actions were
foreseeable,” Webre said. Though she may not have intended to kill her
baby, she still knew her daughter would die if she didn't eat, the
sheriff added.

Also, law enforcement often
charges alleged criminals with the highest charge that the evidence
fits, and district attorneys can then decide whether to reduce the
charges, Webre said.

Clyde Thomas, a church pastor, presided over Angel's funeral. He said the baby had health problems even in the womb.

The only cause of death listed on the autopsy report is severe malnutrition.

Latisha Thomas has never been convicted of a crime in Lafourche, according to parish court records.

Her first cousin, Felicia
Thomas, said she thought something was wrong with Angel and had
encouraged Latisha to bring her to the hospital.

Latisha is not married to the
baby's father, Golden Richardson, family members said. His mother lives
in the same public-housing complex as Latisha, and she said she was
shocked by the death.

“Come to me if you don't know
nothing; I'm the grandma,” Penny Richardson said she told Latisha
Thomas. Angel was her only grandchild, she said.

Richardson said she she last
saw the child in January. Latisha was the only person who regularly
looked after her three children, Richardson said.

There were no signs that her
other two children were starved, Webre said. State Department of
Children and Family Services workers took the children, who are both old
enough to attend school, into custody after the arrest.

Felicia Thomas said Latisha would not talk about the death after it happened.

“I guess she didn't want to tell us nothing,” Felicia said. “I guess she kept it all in her heart.”

After Children and Family
Services takes custody of children, they are often immediately put into
foster care, said spokesman Trey Williams. He declined to comment
specifically about Thomas' children.

If relatives are not given
immediate custody, it's often to review the potential home environment
and the relatives' resources, Williams said. A judge must agree with the
custody situation.
http://www.wwltv.com/news/lafourche-terrebonne/Questions-over-whether-mom-sought-help-before-baby-starved-to-death-148379155.html