BONNIE CABAN PEARCE - 5 months - (8/2011) Orlando FL

No arrests in the suspected child abuse death of 5-month-old Bonnie Caban Pearce

Tears streamed down Amanda Pearce's face as she recalled the turmoil of the past two years.
At 16, Pearce dealt with a difficult, unplanned pregnancy that she says
nearly took her life. Then, just five months later, her baby was dead.

Pearce sent her baby girl to spend the weekend with the girl's godparents; it was the last time she saw her child alive.
It has been nearly a year since Bonnie Marie Caban Pearce was laid to
rest in an Orlando cemetery. The medical examiner ruled that the girl's
death was a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma to the head.

Still, there have been no arrests. Pearce, now 18 and seven months
pregnant with another girl, wonders whether she will ever see justice in
her daughter's death.
Bad news
On Aug. 28, Pearce was at her east Orange County home watching the cartoon movie "Rio" when her cellphone rang.
"I got a call from my brother telling me Bonnie was in the hospital," Pearce recalled. "I never imagined it could be this."
Bonnie's biological father decided early on that he didn't want to be
involved in her life, but his parents still wanted to maintain the
connection, Pearce said. Each weekend, Bonnie would spend the night with
her paternal grandparents. But the last weekend in August was
different.
Bonnie's godparents and her maternal grandmother
wanted to spend time with her, Pearce said. So, Bonnie went to the home
of longtime family friends Kevin and Maria Permanand after spending one
night with her paternal grandparents.
There were four people in
the home with Bonnie — 34-year-old Kevin Permanand and his three young
sons — when the baby received a blow to the back of the head. An autopsy
would later confirm the child's death was caused by blunt-force
injuries to the head and neck.

Pearce's mother and Maria Permanand had left and were not home when the girl was hurt, according to officials.
Pearce said she was told numerous stories by the Permanands about how
her daughter was injured, but she said that to her none of them made
sense.
"I was told she had a seizure; that she had blood in her
ear; that Kevin was checking on his dogs or his kids and found her
shaking; that she fell off the bed," Pearce said. "I didn't know what to
believe."
When Bonnie was rushed to Arnold Palmer Hospital, doctors immediately suspected child abuse and called sheriff's detectives.
After an eight-month investigation, detectives said they did not have enough evidence to make an arrest.
In April, th Orange County Sheriff's Officeturned its case findings
over to the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office for a charging
decision, but it hasn't been made.

"Our goal is not to see how quickly we can charge a case. The goal is
to prepare the case sufficiently to prove the case beyond a reasonable
doubt before a jury," Assistant State Attorney Candra Moore wrote in an
email to the Sentinel. "The case needs to be thoroughly reviewed before
such an important decision is made."
Moore expects a decision
within a few weeks. The Sheriff's Office would not comment because the
case is still under investigation.

Sheriff's Office records show
Permanand was arrested in 2000 on a child-abuse charge when he was
baby-sitting a 3-year-old boy. Permanand admitted to deputies that he
had hit the boy three times across the face and once caused him to fall
down a flight of concrete stairs face first, according to an arrest
report.
Permanand also told deputies he spanked the child. The
report noted the boy had bruises on his face and bottom. The case was
filed in Orange County courts but was never prosecuted. It's unclear
why.

The Department of Children and Families confirmed that
Permanand was investigated on two prior occasions for allegations of
child abuse, but none of the cases was substantiated.
Permanand could not be reached for comment.
Patience is waning
In March, Pearce held a first birthday party for Bonnie despite being
warned by family and friends that it might set her back emotionally.
"I got her a huge butterfly pinata and stuff she would like," Pearce
said. "It was the worst thing ever. I had to go to her grave site and
put her birthday sash down and her little hat, and not actually get to
see her wear it."

Pearce and her boyfriend Robert Parker are now
expecting their first child. Parker, though not the biological father of
Bonnie, was there during Pearce's first pregnancy and helped care for
Bonnie during her short life.

They both worry about their unborn daughter and the harm that could come to her.
"I'm tired of being patient, waiting to let them do their work," Pearce said. "I want to know what happened to my baby."

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-07-18/news/os-baby-killed-bonnie-caban-pearce-20120711_1_bonnie-marie-caban-pearce-child-abuse-baby-girl

The man that was watching little Bonnie has been investigated for previous child abuse several times and even admitted to one of the incidents. If he isn't charged with Bonnie's death then it will happen again. How many more babies will die under his watch. This is tragic.

BabyJ, I hope they separated those kids from the man. If not they won't ever tell what really happened.

Praying this delay in an arrest is just to assure a conviction.

I feel so sad for this young girl on so many levels. At 15 I'm sure she needed the "break" and she did better than what most older moms do; left her kid with long time family friends and the kid's god parents. It's not like she left her with a stranger or POS deadbeat boyfriend. Yet the baby was beat to death none the less, and likely by a man who has admitted to abuse previously... why don't the police have enough evidence? At the very least they should have the suspect list pretty damn narrow; charge all of the adults who were in the house at the time with something!