TAMRYN KLAPHEKE - 22 months (8/2012) / Accused: Mother; Tiffany Nicole Klapheke - Fort Worth TX

Texas airman's wife jailed after toddler's death  

Posted: Aug 31, 2012 4:48 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 31, 2012 6:28 PM CDT
By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - A Texas woman who claims her military husband's deployment overseas left her too stressed to care for their three young children, one of whom died, remained jailed Friday in connection with their alleged neglect.

Tiffany Nicole Klapheke is charged with three felony counts of injury to a child in connection with her 22-month-old daughter's death and the severe neglect of her two other daughters, ages 6 months and 3 years, Abilene police said.

Klapheke, 21, remained in the Taylor County Jail in Abilene with bonds totaling $500,000. She does not yet have an attorney, according to jail records.

Her toddler suffered from dehydration and malnutrition from a lack of basic care over a period of time, according to the preliminary autopsy report from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office in Fort Worth. The report also shows that the toddler weighed only 17.5 pounds and her body had chemical burns, indicating the child was exposed to human waste. The toddler died at an Abilene hospital after being found unresponsive at her Dyess Air Force Base home Tuesday.

The woman's two other daughters were treated for severe neglect at a children's hospital in Fort Worth, about 150 miles east of Abilene. They were to be taken out of intensive care soon, Abilene police said.

Marleigh Meisner, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said her office has custody of the two girls. Meisner declined to discuss whether Klapheke had a prior history with the agency. Her office is talking to relatives as part of its 30-day investigation to determine the best placement for the children, she said.

In an interview from jail, Klapheke told Abilene's KTAB-TV that she should have been a good mother and taken them to the doctor, but "I didn't put them first anymore."

Klapheke, who moved with her husband to Texas a couple of years ago from Lexington, Ky., said none of her relatives live in the area. She also said she tried committing suicide three weeks ago but a friend stopped her.

"I'm so just stressed out and depressed, and I just need help taking care of them, and I don't have any help," she told the station.

Klapheke recalled her impatience over her children's potty training, saying she left her toddler in the crib in her own urine for nearly a week.

"I just got tired of always changing the sheets, so it was on there a little bit longer than it should have been," she said about her deceased daughter's exposure to human waste.

"I made a horrible, horrible mistake that I'm going to pay for for the rest of my life," she said.

http://www.wistv.com/story/19431407/texas-airmans-wife-jailed-after-toddlers-death

Attorney appointed for Abilene mother jailed last week after child died of alleged 'severe neglect'

By Braid Blanks, bblanks@ktxs.com
POSTED: Sep 05 2012 04:40:33 PM CDT
UPDATED: 8:46 PM Sep 05 2012

ABILENE, Texas -

Tiffany Klapheke -- the 21-year-old wife of a Dyess Airman and mother of 22-month-old Tamryn Klapheke who died of apparent neglect -- now has legal representation.

Attorney David Thedford was appointed by the court to represent her. You may remember Thedford was one of the attorneys representing Christopher North, who was convicted of murder in the shooting death of Austin David.

Klapheke has been in the Taylor County Jail charged with three felony counts of injury to a child in connection to her daughter's death and the neglect of her two other daughters who are recovering at Cook Children's Medical center in Fort Worth.

An exact cause of death for her 22-month-old daughter hasn't been determined, but a preliminary autopsy report stated the girl likely died of malnutrition and dehydration.

http://www.ktxs.com/news/Attorney-appointed-for-Abilene-mother-jailed-last-week-after-child-died-of-alleged-severe-neglect/-/14769632/16496330/-/nb5sd2/-/index.html

How could a mother not feed a child. I would starve to feed a child even though it might not be directly related to me.

When is this country going to wake up. We need a NATIONAL death penality for the deliberate killing of a child.

William

CPS worker closed child neglect case SIX DAYS before malnourished toddler
died in urine-soaked bed - even though she hadn't paid the home a visit
in almost a year

• Tiffany Klapheke, 21, charged with three felony counts of injury to a child
  after her 22-month-old daughter died weighing only 17.5 pounds
  
• Case worker closed the case without visiting the home
  
• Claudia Gonzalez resigned over the death of Tamryn Klapheke
  
• Abilene agency now under criminal investigation
  
• At time of death, child weighed only 17.5 pounds
  

By Rachel Quigley

07:25 EST, 16 October 2012


Neglect: Tiffany Nicole Klapheke claims her military husband's deployment left her too stressed to care for her three children

Less than a week before a 22-month-old child was found dead in her
urine-soaked bed, a Child Protection Services supervisor closed the case
- despite it being 11 months since the home had been visited.

Tamryn Klapheke suffered from dehydration and malnutrition and weighed only
17.5 pounds when she died. She also had chemical burns on her face and
body, indicating she was exposed to human waste for a long period of
time.

Her mother, Tiffany Nicole Klapheke, 21, was charged
with three felony counts of injury to a child in connection with her
daughter's death and the severe neglect of her two other daughters, aged
six months and three years.

She said she was depressed over her husband's deployment.

On August 22, Texas CPS caseworker Claudia Gonzalez closed the case
without making a required final visit to the family or having someone
approve the case's closure.

Tamryn died on August 28 at an Abilene hospital after being found unresponsive at her Dyess Air Force Base home.

Because of this, and a series of other errors by CPS workers in Abilene, the
agency is now the center of a rare criminal investigation, according to
the Houston Chronicle.

'The Abilene Police Department is actively investigating the local CPS
office,' Chief Stan Standridge confirmed, declining to give any other details.



Horror: Tamryn Klapheke, aged just 22-months, suffered from dehydration and
malnutrition and weighed only 17.5 pounds when she died


Absence: Klapheke, pictured with her husband Thomas,had a boyfriend in the home at the time her child died, according to CPS


Home life: The husband, pictured in their Texas home with an infant,
presumably their youngest child Tamryn; MailOnline has blurred their face

When Tamryn died, the agency had a backlog of almost 500 cases, with each caseworker handling a load of more than 60 at a time.

The Klapheke's children had been the subject of three previous neglect investigations between April 2010 and September 2011.

Though neglect had been ruled out in all three, between the last visit and the
time of Tamryn's death, a lot had changed within the home.

Tiffany Klapheke had given birth to a third girl, lost her job and said goodbye
to her husband Thomas, who had been deployed to Oman.

When questioned by police, Klapheke said she was 'stressed out and depressed'
and had no help looking after her children or the home.

Felonies: The young mother is charged with three felony counts of injury to a
child in connection with her 22-month-old daughter's death and the
severe neglect of her two other daughters

'I just got tired of always changing the sheets, so it was on there a little bit longer than it should have been,' she said.

Klapheke recalled her impatience over her children's potty training, saying she
left her toddler in the crib in her own urine for nearly a week.

CPS records show that she had a boyfriend in the home at the time of Tamryn's death, also an active duty service member.

Tamryn's sisters now are in foster care together.

CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins told the Houston Chronicle: 'We are
providing a great deal of support and services to the father, and
everyone involved in the case has agreed that this is what is best right
now.

'He is visiting both girls in the home regularly, and our hope is that the family can be reunited.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2218247/Tiffany-Klapheke-CPS-worker-closed-child-neglect-case-SIX-DAYS-malnourished-toddler-died.html#ixzz29T01CCQ0

This woman murdered her baby and the charges need to upgraded to murder..

The caseworker should also be charged. Had she performed her duties this little baby would not have died.

The boyfriend who was in the home should also be charged with neglect and failure to alert authorities or take any actions to feed and care for these children.

Oh Twinkletoes, you are so right! How could the caseworker close the case without even visiting the home? Of course there are so many stories on here where they do pay a visit and don't bother to see the children - that should be a chargeable offense also. Maybe they would realize the seriousness of their jobs if they faced an accessory to murder charge. And I was wondering about the boyfriend also; how could he have not known? So very sad.

Tuesday - 10/16/2012, 9:29pm ET

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - Police have launched a rare investigation of the Texas child protection agency after a 22-month-old girl died and her mother claimed her military husband's deployment overseas left her too stressed to care for their three children.

Abilene police Chief Stan Standridge said in an emailed statement Tuesday that the department began investigating the local Child Protective Services office after "certain CPS supervisors" refused to cooperate with officers investigating the Aug. 28 death of Tamryn Klapheke.

The girl died at an Abilene hospital after being found unresponsive at her home at Dyess Air Force Base. She weighed only 17.5 pounds and her body had chemical burns, indicating she had been exposed to human waste, according to a preliminary autopsy report from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office in Fort Worth. It said Tamryn suffered dehydration and malnutrition from a lack of basic care over a period of time.

Her mother, Tiffany Nicole Klapheke, faces three felony charges of injury to child. After her arrest, she claimed she was too stressed by her husband's deployment to care for their three young children.

Agency spokesman Patrick Crimmins said a Child Protective Services caseworker assigned to investigate allegations of medical neglect against Klapheke closed the case soon after being promoted to supervisor and just six days before Tamryn died.

In doing so, the employee violated agency guidelines that require a final face-to-face visit and someone else to sign off on the closure, he said.

"You want to see the family again because you don't know what might have changed since you saw them," Crimmins said.

The employee hadn't seen the family in about 10 months when she closed the case, he said. She resigned a couple of weeks after Tamryn died. Phone numbers listed in the former caseworker's name were either disconnected or had a continuous busy signal Tuesday.

Her former supervisor, who oversaw the investigation of the allegations, has been disciplined, he added.

"It was a bad case, admittedly," Crimmins said, referring to how it was handled. "There's no question about that."

He said a criminal investigation of the agency was "rare" and that "we are cooperating fully with Abilene police."

Standridge and Taylor County District Attorney James Eidson declined to say what charges police are considering. However, Standridge said officers executed a search warrant on the local CPS office and a supervisor's home and car Tuesday morning after finding probable cause to suggest documents and other evidence existed to support allegations of evidence tampering.

Eidson said "there is more than one person" being investigated at the office.

According to the search warrant affidavit, a regional director, a program director and an investigative supervisor are suspected of tampering with evidence. A phone number listed for one of them had been disconnected by Tuesday, and there were no public listings for the other two. Their names are being withheld because no charges have been filed.

Klapheke remained jailed Tuesday in lieu of $500,000 bond. Jail records did not list an attorney for her.

Her two other daughters, ages 6 months and 3 years when Tamryn died, were treated for severe neglect at a children's hospital in Fort Worth, about 150 miles east of Abilene. They are now in foster care, Crimmins said.

There was a backlog of cases in the Abilene office at the time of the toddler's death due to a shortage of caseworkers, he said. Instead of 16 caseworkers, there were six.

There's a shortage of caseworkers statewide, he said, and chronic turnover is an issue. As of Oct. 12, the state had 1,495 case workers _ more than 400 less than it should have, he said.

"We're, frankly, caught in a pretty vicious cycle," Crimmins said.

Klapheke's husband, Thomas, filed for divorce last week. His attorney's office said there would be no comment on the case.

http://www.wtop.com/209/3016723/Police-probe-Texas-agency-in-case-where-child-died-

Ugh...the lazy POS mother was probably too busy with the boyfriend to even pay attention to her children. These idiots need to use birth control or get sterilized. I hope she is put away for a long time. And I agree she should be charged with murder...and the caseworker and boyfriend should be charged as well for negligence.

She was more than just lazy. She screwed around with boyfriend while at the same time her husband was deployed over seas. She cared more about the boyfriend than her children or husband. She tried to blame it on depression, then stress. This little angel is dead the others mal nurished. No matter what charges are filed that won't change. I think this was deliberate murder and should be charged with the death penailty as an outcome. That gorgeous little angel is gone. It breaks my heart that a mother would treat her baby that way.

William

Military mother let her toddler daughter starve to death in squalid urine-soaked bed because she was 'depressed about husband's deployment'
Tiffany Klapheke, now 23, is charged with three felony counts of injury to a child after her 22-month-old daughter was found dead in 2012

Autopsy found daughter lacked basic care and was dehydrated and covered in chemical burns
At time of death, child weighed only 17.5 pounds
Klapheke admitted that she should have taken better care of her daughter

By Ap and Daily Mail Reporter  PUBLISHED: 02:03 EST, 30 January 2014

A Texas woman who claims her military husband's deployment overseas left her too stressed to care for their three young children, one of whom starved to death, is now standing trial.

The trial for Tiffany Klapheke, now 23, who is charged with injury to a child in the August 2012 death of Tamryn Klapheke, started Wednesday.

The child was found dead of malnutrition and dehydration, as well as covered in chemical burns, in Klapheke's Abilene home and witnesses have now testifying to the unthinkably squalid conditions in Klapheke's Abiline home.


Horrific: Tiffany Klapheke, right, is seen here after jury selection on January 27. Her trial, in which she charged with letting her 22-month-old daughter starve to death in a feces and urine covered crib, began Wednesday


'I just got tired of always changing the sheets': Tamryn Klapheke (right), aged just 22-months, suffered from dehydration and malnutrition and weighed only 17.5 pounds when she died. Her mother Tiffany (left) said it was depression over her military husband's deployment that made her do it

Prosecutors said Klapheke had kept the child locked in a room for four days before she found her dead in her crib and called 911.

Investigators told the Taylor County jury of a stench of urine and feces that prevailed in the Klapheke home when they arrived. And Abilene police Detective Earnest Moscarelli said some rooms in the house were covered in feces.

Matthew Jones, a retired Air Force master sergeant, was a Dyess Air Force Base security officer in August 2012 and the first investigator to arrive at the Klapheke home after the woman had called 911.

He said the smell of urine and feces in the house 'hit you in the face like a tennis racket.' Jones said he could not wash the stench from his uniform afterward and had to discard it.


'Hit you in the face like a tennis racket': The first responding officers testified Wednesday that the smell of urine and feces in the house could not be washed from his uniform afterward and had to discard it


Life in prison: Assistant District Attorneys Arimy Beasley, left, and Joel Wilks, right, leave the jury selection room at the Taylor County Courthouse for Klapheke's trial. Klapheke could get life in prison

Less than a week before a 22-month-old child was found dead in her urine-soaked bed, a Child Protection Services supervisor closed the case - despite it being 11 months since the home had been visited.

Tamryn Klapheke suffered from dehydration and malnutrition and weighed only 17.5 pounds when she died. She also had chemical burns on her face and body, indicating she was exposed to human waste for a long period of time.

Klapheke had told investigators that the overseas deployment of her husband, an airman at the nearby Air Force base, left her too stressed to care for their three children.


Unthinkable: Less than a week before a 22-month-old child was found dead in her urine-soaked bed, a Child Protection Services supervisor closed the case - despite it being 11 months since the home had been visited

Though neglect had been ruled out in all three, between the last visit and the time of Tamryn's death, a lot had changed within the home.

Tiffany Klapheke had given birth to a third girl, lost her job and said goodbye to her husband Thomas, who had been deployed to Oman.

'I just got tired of always changing the sheets, so it was on there a little bit longer than it should have been,' she said.

Klapheke recalled her impatience over her children's potty training, saying she left her toddler in the crib in her own urine for nearly a week.

CPS records show that she had a boyfriend in the home at the time of Tamryn's death, also an active duty service member.

In opening statements, defense attorney George Parnham spoke of sexual abuse and neglect that Klapheke suffered growing up in foster homes. He also said she suffers from reactive attachment disorder, which is usually found in children who cannot form healthy attachments with parents or caregivers because of past neglect or abuse.


Absence: Klapheke, pictured with her now ex-husband Thomas, had a boyfriend in the home at the time her child died, according to CPS


Air Force airman Thomas Klapheke has divorced his wife and the state has temporary conservatorship of the children, with their father granted restrictive custody

'Insanity is not an issue here,' Parnham said. 'We are all born into this world without a choice of the circumstances in which we are born.'

Prosecutor Arimy Beasley acknowledged that Klapheke's upbringing was traumatic and tragic, but that did not absolve her of possible fatal neglect.

If convicted, Klapheke could receive a sentence of up to life imprisonment.

Air Force airman Thomas Klapheke has divorced his wife and the state has temporary conservatorship of the children, with their father granted restrictive custody.


Felonies: The young mother is charged with three felony counts of injury to a child in connection with her 22-month-old daughter's death and the severe neglect of her two other daughters. She herself grew up in foster homes, a background that defense attorneys will likely use during the trial

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2548553/The-smell-hit-face-like-tennis-racket-Trial-begins-military-mother-let-toddler-daughter-starve-death-urine-soaked-bed-depressed-husbands-deployment.html

Grown up in foster homes, sexually abused, did not want to clean sheets, too stressed or depressed to care for all her children.  It's all about me, I, not the little angel.  Screwing around with her boyfriend was more important.  This monster should have the death penalty.  If she did not want kids or marriage then she should not have choose that life.  It's about time they had the trial.  William

KLAPHEKE TRIAL: Ex-CPS workers don't want to testify in tragic child death case

By Ariana Garza, agarza@ktxs.com
By Doug Myers, Digital Media Manager, dmyers@ktxs.com
POSTED: 2:31 PM Feb 06 2014  
UPDATED: 1:16 PM Feb 07 2014

ABILENE, Texas - Three former Child Protective Services workers don’t want to testify in the trial of Tiffany Klapheke, a 23-year-old woman on trial for the alleged severe neglect of her toddler daughter who ultimately died.

The requests come at a time when CPS continues to face scrutiny for the agency’s handling of the Klapheke case.

Attorneys for ex-CPS Investigator Tiffany Gann, who allegedly had an affair with Klapheke’s husband Thomas after the child’s death, and former CPS supervisors Bit Whitaker and Gretchen Denny have asked that their subpoenas to testify be quashed.

District Judge Lee Hamilton is expected to rule on the motions Friday.

The trial entered it ninth day Thursday.

Whitaker and Denny are persons of interest in the criminal investigation of CPS supervisors that began in 2012 following Tamryn's death.

Their attorneys said it is risky for them to testify in the Klapheke case because it is not yet clear what charges are being considered against them.

Meanwhile, Gann's attorney Jeff Probst has alleged the defense just wants to use Gann to deflect blame from Klapheke since the affair began after Tamryn's death.

The defense believes Gann and Thomas Klapheke talked about Tamryn's death and his role in the home during their alleged relationship – and that Gann was present during the death investigation.

The revelation of the alleged improper relationship involving Klapheke and Gann was reported to CPS leaders on May 23, 2013. The relationship allegedly occurred “in the fall of 2012,” CPS officials said.

Thomas Klapheke, a Dyess airman who was deployed at the time of his daughter’s death, later filed for divorce. Two other Klapheke daughters – who were 3 and 6 months old – were hospitalized after being found in poor condition.

Gann and CPS caseworker Rebecca Tapia were assigned to the Klapheke case. While Gann resigned, Tapia stepped down after officials determined she was aware of Gann’s alleged relationship with Thomas Klapheke, state CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins has said.

Two other CPS specialists Slade King and Megan Schweigert were reprimanded for being aware of and not disclosing the alleged relationship, CPS officials said. The two, however, never worked on the Klapheke case, according to CPS.

http://www.ktxs.com/news/klapheke-trial-excps-workers-dont-want-to-testify-in-tragic-child-death-case/-/14769632/24331874/-/kc4tkr/-/index.html

Klapheke Trial: Tiffany Gann Takes the Stand

BCHP News
01/24/2014 11:30 AM
02/07/2014 03:14 PM

Klapheke Trial: Day 10

2:21 p.m. Update: Tiffany Gann Takes the Stand

Tiffany Gann, the former CPS investigator who admitted today to having an affair with Thomas Klapheke, has taken the stand while the jury is out of the room.

Around 1:15 p.m., a special hearing began without the presence of the jury to decide whether Gann should testify. During this hearing, Thomas Klapheke was asked if he knew Gann was with CPS, to which he responded he did not.

Thomas said he and Gann did have sex at another CPS worker's home, though they did not talk about the case.

Gann is still on the stand being questioned while the judge decides whether she will be allowed to testify and whether Thomas will be questioned about their relationship during the trial.

According to Gann, she and Rebecca Tapia, another CPS worker, went to the home of Tiffany Klapheke on August 28 when Tamryn was found dead.

Gann took pictures, then she and Tapia both took the two girls to the hospital.

About a month later, she says they were at Cabos Billiards, now Breakers, when three guys asked them to play darts. After they accepted, they realized one of the men was Thomas.

She then admitted to having sex with him.

Gann’s attorney then halted the line of questioning, arguing that now it has been established Gann and Thomas had a sexual relationship, she does not have to answer any further questions on that point.

Tiffany Klapheke has refused to look directly at Gann while she was on the stand.

Thomas is still waiting to take the stand again.


12:32 p.m. Update: Thomas Klapheke's Testimony

Thomas Klapheke testified Friday morning that he had asked Tiffany, before he left for deployment, if she would be able to take care of the kids. According to Thomas, she said, "yes."

Thomas spoke very softly during the hearing and had to be asked to speak up by the judge.

He said that Tiffany told him she took care of the kids during the day and he believed her.

In reference to the CPS reports, he denied having any responsibility for the neglect that ultimately lead to Tamryn's death, a blame he felt the reports laid on him.

In an unexpected turn of events, Defense Attorney George Parnham asked Thomas if he was aware that his own mother, Tamryn's grandmother, had taken out life insurance on Tamryn, though not on the other two children.

The prosecution objected and the judge sustained it, so Thomas did not answer.

Thomas will take the stand again after the trial breaks for lunch.

At 1:15, there will be a hearing to determine whether former CPS investigator Tiffany Gann will take the stand.


10:55 a.m. Update: Thomas Klapheke Takes the Stand

Day 10 of the Klapheke trial is underway and Thomas Klapheke, Tiffany's ex-husband, has taken the stand, and we will have updates on his testimony as the proceedings continue.

According to our reporters in the courtroom, upon his entrance, Tiffany Klapheke cried and began rocking back and forth.

It also looks like former CPS investigator, Tiffany Gann, might take the stand later Friday.

The judge held a special hearing Thursday to determine if Gann, who allegedly had an affair with Thomas, would take the stand.

Two other special hearings were held Thursday for former CPS workers, Bit Whitaker and Gretchen Denny, though a decision has not yet officially been made on any of these.

All three may have pending criminal charges based on an investigation Abilene PD launched into CPS in October of 2012 for allegedly mishandling the Klapheke case.

http://www.bigcountryhomepage.com/story/d/story/klapheke-trial-day-9-summary/35225/XAGI6369iEaLl4cwBtRqhw