SAVANNAH CROSS - 2 yo (12/2012) - / Charged: Allison Ann Clement and Ryan Alan Reed - Phoenix, AZ/Salida, CO

Colorado man takes body of abused 2-year-old daughter home in casket on 15-hour trip from Phoenix


Following the death of Savannah last week, Stephen Cross drove from Phoenix with the body of his child in a casket in the back of his Jeep to Salida, Colo., where she will be buried.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, December 19, 2012, 2:23 PM

Stephen Cross took off on a 15-hour journey Tuesday — with his 2-year-old daughter's body in a casket in the back of his Jeep and many unanswered questions in his mind.

Daughter Savannah died last week while being rushed to the hospital from a Phoenix day care center. A pair of day care workers were arrested and face felony charges of child abuse, but little Savannah was so badly beaten that authorities are having trouble determining a cause of death.

Savannah's mother lived with her daughter in Phoenix, but apparently left the girl with the suspects, Ryan Reed and Allison Clement, for months at a time after finding the day care service in a Craigslist ad, according to 12 News in Arizona.

Authorities have not charged the mom, whom they are not identifying, but they are trying to learn more about the relationship she had with Reed and Clement.


AZ Central


Stephen Cross was shocked to hear his daughter had been abused.


Cross, who lives in Colorado, said he did not know that Savannah was being abused or that her mother was spending a lot of time away from her, 12 News reported.

Savannah's mother also did not show up for a private viewing Monday at Green Acres Mortuary and Cemetery in Scottsdale, Stephen Cross told 12 News. The couple was never married and agreed on joint custody even though the girl lived with her mom in Phoenix. Cross lives in Salida, Colo.

“I’m pretty upset right now,” Cross told the station before leaving on his trip home. “I’m going through a whirlwind of emotions, and it’s hard to, you know, keep a straight face on this and push on.”


AZ Central


The coffin containing the body of Savannah is placed in the vehicle belonging to Stephen Cross.


Cross felt the only way to grieve for his daughter was to bring her home to Colorado himself, with the permission of authorities. Savannah would have turned 3 later this month.

“We’ve got the permits (for the casket), we’ve got her, and you know, we’re gonna take her home where she’s loved,” he told 12 News. “Taking her home to be with family, I think, is going to be one of the happiest moments she’s had in a long time.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-drives-home-body-daughter-2-article-1.1223614#ixzz2FbErdQqU

Daycare owner 'beat girl, 3, to death after toddler's stripper mother did not pick her up for weeks'

• Ryan Reed 'stomped on Savannah Cross' stomach while she was in his care'
  
• He 'ignored her groans throughout the night' and she died the next day
  
• He 'previously beat her as fellow daycare owner looked on and did nothing'
  
• Girl's mother had not picked up her daughter since Thanksgiving
  
  

PUBLISHED: 11:32 EST, 13 December 2012 | UPDATED: 13:07 EST, 13 December 2012

Two daycare owners have been arrested after one allegedly repeatedly beat a three-year-old girl, eventually killing her, while the other watched and did nothing.

Savannah Cross died on Tuesday after she was left to languish in the care of strangers after her mother, a stripper, had not picked her up from the in-house daycare in Phoenix, Arizona since Thanksgiving.

Ryan Reed, 27, told police he repeatedly hit, kicked and grabbed the girl at the home, while Allison Clement, 28, failed to report the abuse or seek medical aid, police spokesman Sgt. Trent Crump said.





'Abuse': Ryan Reed, left, allegedly repeatedly beat a toddler in his care while Allison Clement watched

On Monday night, Reed stomped on the child's stomach while she was on the ground and she curled up and spent the rest of the night in that position, the Arizona Republic reported.

Throughout the night, Reed heard Savannah groaning but only called authorities at 7am on Tuesday when he found her unresponsive, police said. She died on the way to hospital.

Crump added that Savannah's injuries were so severe that it will take further investigations to discover what killed her.

Investigators found the girl was covered in bruises on both side of her body. They were at different stages of healing, suggesting long-term abuse, Maricopa County Superior Courts documents noted.


Victim: Savannah Cross, 3, died after Reed allegedly stomped on her stomach following months of abuse

She had been in the care of Reed and Clement since July. Her 27-year-old mother, Ashley, returned sporadically to visit the child and pay the couple, Crump said.

The girl's father said he had also left his daughter as he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and feared he might hurt her - but he had no idea she was being left at the strangers' home.

Stephen Cross, a former marine who lives in Colorado, said Savannah's mother told him the child was only with babysitters when she went to work.

'If I would have known that she was being left with complete strangers for weeks on end, I would have been down there in a skinny minute to get my daughter,' he told CBS5.




Abandoned: Savannah's mother Ashley, left, had not collected her from the daycare since Thanksgiving, while her father, Stephen, right, could not care for her as he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder



Innocent: Other relatives said they were unaware Savannah had been left at the daycare for weeks on end

The girl's grandmother, Cathy Cross, added: 'You don't drop your kids at daycare and never come back except to pay them. What is that, paid abandonment? What is that?'

Family friend Frank Warneka told ABC15 he lived with Savannah and Ashley until a month ago, but knew the woman often did not pay her childcare bill.

'They [Reed and Clements] sent a note home to Ashley saying she owned them $1,200,' he said.

'I called them and said Ashley doesn't live here anymore and that they should call CPS because it isn't their responsibility to take care of Savannah.

'I think Ashley thought she loved Savannah, but I don't think she knows how to love anything.'


Regrets: Cross, pictured with Savannah as a baby, said he wished he had known she needed him


Scene: The couple advertised their 'babysitting' service on Craigslist and had two children of their own

Ashley has not been charged but Crump said more charges may be filed after the medical examiner's office reports back to police.
'If there is any of these injuries that may have been long term or extended than we might hold somebody else responsible,' he said.

It is believed the couple advertised their daycare services on Craigslist.

A child-care facility only needs a license if it is caring for four more children other than their own. Investigators found three children and two belonging to the couple at the home.

The children have been taken into the custody of Child Protective Services.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2247567/Savannah-Cross-Daycare-owner-stomped-girl-3-death-toddlers-stripper-mother-abandoned-weeks.html

Charges dismissed in death of Phoenix girl

Judge cites missing forensic reports, rules charges can be refiled



Tue Sep 24, 2013 8:10 AM

A Maricopa County judge dismissed murder and child-abuse charges against a couple indicted in the death of a 2-year-old girl left in their care after prosecutors failed to produce crucial forensic reports related to the fatality.

The dismissal left prosecutors a chance to refile the charges at a later date, and the victim’s family is confident that they will.

Savannah Cross died in December after she was taken to the hospital with bruises from head to toe. The 2-year-old girl was living with baby-sitters Ryan Alan Reed, 27, and Allison Ann Clement, 28, who were arrested hours later.

But the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office failed to produce a key autopsy report about Savannah’s death, and a prosecutor formerly assigned to the case repeatedly told a judge that the report was in the works — statements that turned out to be incorrect.

With prosecutors facing a statutory deadline to take the case to trial, and demands from Clement’s attorney to produce the autopsy report, prosecutors offered Judge Warren Granville the option of dismissing the murder and child-abuse charges.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in court documents blamed “significant miscommunication” between the pathologist and former prosecutor regarding the status of the forensic report, but the office also stated there was no intentional effort to mislead Granville.

The Medical Examiner’s Office said the complexity of child-abuse homicide investigations, the office’s high caseload and low staffing levels all contributed to the delayed report, which an out-of-state lab is completing.

A spokesman for the County Attorney’s Office said the autopsy is complete, but investigators are waiting for special tissue tests before they can move forward.

“This particular part of it, the review of those tissues, is something everyone’s waiting for now,” Jerry Cobb said. “What was said in court, clearly, was that the samples had gone out. All the parties were operating under that belief, but that didn’t happen.”

News of the dismissal was not completely unexpected for Savannah’s family members, who have been in frequent contact with investigators and prosecutors. But anticipating the possibility did nothing to ease the shock of learning that the charges were dismissed, said Cathy Cross, Savannah’s grandmother.

Cross blames Granville for the decision to dismiss the charges but said she remains confident that Reed and Clement will be back in court.

“The wheels on the bus turn slow, but that is no reason to overlook a grand-jury indictment just because it’s inconvenient for them to be sitting in jail,” Cross said. “I hope every night when they close their eyes they’re going to hear Savannah cry and moan in pain like she wailed all night long the night before she died.”

Savannah’s death in December caught the community’s attention due in part to the babysitting arrangement that left her in the constant care of Reed and Clement, and allegations about the extreme abuse and pain she endured before her death.

Clement told police that Savannah’s mother had left the girl in their care for 24 hours per day for five months before she died, with Savannah’s mother stopping by twice weekly to pay for the child care but otherwise showing little interest in her daughter.

Police were called to the home Reed and Clement shared in the 5400 block of South 45th Street in Phoenix shortly before 7 a.m. Dec. 11 and found Savannah receiving CPR when they arrived. She was pronounced dead at Maricopa County Medical Center about 30 minutes later, and hospital staff found she was covered in bruises when they examined her, according to court documents.

Reed told police that he put Savannah in her crib — a playpen on the floor with boxes of laminate flooring that served as a lid — and that he thought Savannah opened a box of sleeping pills the night before she was discovered.

“The box- and pill-card-style containers appeared pristine with the exception of the exact spot where the two pills were opened through the plastic side,” an investigator wrote.

Reed later told police that he disciplined Savannah by “smacking her with his open hand and flicking her with a coiled finger,” according to court documents.

Clement later “spontaneously” told investigators that Savannah bruised easily, and then admitted she was protecting Reed because she had seen him abuse Savannah.

Investigators later found evidence that Savannah was sexually abused, according to court documents.

Clement’s attorney, Chris Winchell, said some of his client’s statements to police have been mischaracterized and that she had no knowledge of Reed abusing Savannah until the morning police were called.

Clement will try to maintain custody of her own children when she is released from jail, Winchell said.

Both Clement and Reed remained in jail on Monday evening, but neither had outstanding warrants or probation violations, giving authorities no reason to keep them in custody once their paperwork is processed, according to a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

That process typically takes up to 24 hours, he said.

The pending dismissal of the charges against Reed and Clement has done nothing to affect the status of the investigation into Savannah’s death, said Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump, a department spokesman.

“We are prepared to see this case through,” Crump said. “Our ultimate goal is to seek justice for the victim in this case.”

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/20130923charges-dismissed-death-phoenix-girl.html?nclick_check=1

Anonymous launches new operation demanding justice for raped and murdered toddler


Published time: November 08, 2013 21:39



Members of the internet-based collective of vigilante pranksters known as Anonymous have rekindled a campaign intended to get prosecutors in Arizona to re-open charges against a couple suspected of sexually abusing and killing a two-year-old girl.

The leaderless and largely considered loose-knit group of activists announced on Thursday that they’ll be further pursuing a call-to-action campaign first launched last month in an effort to raise awareness of the case of Savannah Cross, a toddler who died in December 2012 while in the custody of a couple who had been caring for her for months. According to court documents, the couple was being compensated for their child care services for nearly half a year upon the apparent direct of a disinterested young mother and nurse, Ashley Dattoli Livengood, when paramedics were deployed to their residence just shy of last Christmas. Cross was taken to a hospital in a severely bruised state and later pronounced dead.

Authorities would go on to charge the babysitting couple, Allison Clement and Ryan Reed, with child abuse and murder counts, though a Maricopa County, AZ judge dismissed the charges in September after prosecutors were unable to deliver in time an autopsy and other test results ordered by the court.

Reed, then 27, told investigators shortly after the incident that he abused the young girl, and Clement, who was 28 at the time, acknowledged to authorities that she was aware of the neglect. A probable-cause statement within court documents obtained by the Phoenix News Time says the medical staff who attempted to save the girl’s life “described the bruises as ‘too many to count’” and “could not have been caused by a single traumatic event.” Reed admitted to disciplining the girl, including on the night of her death, by slapping her and stomping on her, and court filings cited by the paper suggest the child was sexually abused before her death as well.

And though evidence abounds, a budget shortfall and communication snafu between the parties involved has ensured neither Clement, Reed nor Livengood have been held accountable for Cross’ death. In September, Arizona’s The Republic reported that the couple were let off the hook after prosecutors offered Judge Warren Granville the option of dismissing the case because they couldn’t produce forensic reports about Cross’ death in time.

“The Medical Examiner’s Office said the complexity of child-abuse homicide investigations, the office’s high caseload and low staffing levels all contributed to the delayed report, which an out-of-state lab is completing,” JJ Hensley wrote then for The Republic.

After an attempt by Anonymous to raise attention to the matter last month fell largely on deaf ears, a new statement attributed to individuals identifying with the collective surfaced on the web Thursday in which they call for immediate justice.

“To the media of Maricopa County, the state of Arizona, the United States and the world, you can not continue to ignore this,” the statement reads. “This is a child in your community, a child in your city, a child in our country. If you don't stand up for her, then who will? If not now, then when? There is nothing more important than seeking justice for an abused and murdered child. Step up to the plate and bring this horrendous story the attention it deserves.”

“Anonymous reiterates our demand that the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office stop playing budget politics with this case and get your job done so the County Attorney can re-file charges forthwith,” they warn elsewhere in the statement uploaded to the memo-sharing site Pastebin this week. “You have had more than enough time. If the lab is the problem, then get on the telephone and fix the problem. Your seeming ineptitude is criminal in its own right.”

“OpJustice4Savannah continues to be engaged,” Anonymous warns, but not without cautioning the Phoenix VA Hospital where Livengood works to reconsider her employment.

“You need prove no misconduct to terminate her employment. Our Nation's veterans deserve far better than to be ‘cared’ for by this uncaring monster who reportedly told co-workers she would ‘see her when I see her’ regarding Savannah.”

The group goes on to give the hospital one week to release Livengood, and warns that a response in the form of a major demonstration could result from their refusal to cooperate.

“If you want protests on your campus, continue to ignore this demand. We will not ask again,” Anonymous writes. The New Times in Phoenix published Anonymous’ claims on Thursday with a headline acknowledged that the group prepared to protest at Livengood’s place of employment.

Cathy Cross, Savannah’s grandmother, told The Republic in September that she was hopeful that Reed and Clement would again be charged.

“The wheels on the bus turn slow, but that is no reason to overlook a grand-jury indictment just because it’s inconvenient for them to be sitting in jail,” Cross said. “I hope every night when they close their eyes they’re going to hear Savannah cry and moan in pain like she wailed all night long the night before she died.”

Until then, however, Anonymous has taken the reigns of the campaign, but if history is any indication then they have a very likely chance of raising awareness of their “Justice4Savannah” campaign to such a degree that authorities will listen. Although Anonymous is often associated in the media for alleged operatives’ role in various high-profile hacks, including many targeting government, law enforcement and corporate entities, their morally-driven campaigns have been quite successful as of late. Just last month a prosecutor in Missouri said he’d re-open a rape case against the group propelled the story to all corners of the Web, and similar successes have accompanied the group’s efforts during the last several months.

Anonymous says in their statement that they could take action off the Web and on the streets as early as next Thursday.

http://rt.com/usa/anonymous-savannah-cross-arizona-454/

This is hard to believe.  Poor little murdered baby.

Toddler’s death ruled murder by Phoenix medical examiner

Savannah Cross


Allison Ann Clement


Ryan Alan Reed

By D.S. Woodfill, Justin Price and Chris Williams The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:44 PM
Medical examiners said a 2-year-old girl who died a year ago was murdered while she was in the care of a Phoenix day care.

The final medical report released Thursday in the December 2012 death of Savannah Cross, who was weeks away from her third birthday, said the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries, acute methamphetamine exposure and dehydration.

Two baby-sitters were arrested soon after the girl’s death and indicted on counts including child abuse and murder. Those charges were dismissed in September because prosecutors lacked adequate evidence, officials said.

Ryan Alan Reed, 27, was rearrested in November after new forensic details emerged showing that he molested the girl, according to authorities.

Reed and Allison Ann Clement, 28, were living together and ran the home day care at 48th Street and Southern Avenue for five months. Savannah was placed in the day care for weeks and months at a time by her mother, who was an erotic dancer.

Clement remains free, and it’s not clear whether prosecutors plan to refile charges against her.

Jerry Cobb, a Maricopa County Attorney’s Office spokesman, said it is the office’s policy not to comment on whether criminal charges will be filed against a person, and police would not comment on the likelihood that detectives will rearrest Clement.

“We continue to work with both the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office,” said Sgt. Trent Crump, a Phoenix police spokesman. “We will keep (the media) apprised of any developments in the case, as appropriate.”

According to information released by the medical examiner on Nov. 27, investigators linked semen found during the investigation to Reed.

Further autopsy details outlined in the documents show injuries to the child’s genitalia, likely the result of trauma. Reports also indicate high levels of methamphetamine were in Savannah’s system.

Cathy Cross, Savannah’s grandmother, who lives in Indiana, told 12 News that the medical examiner’s report is hard to read.
“I’m having to (read) it in small portions,” she said. “But ... I am confident that this will be prosecuted swiftly.”
.
Savannah’s biological mother, Ashley Livengood, would leave her daughter at the day care for extended periods because of her work schedule, according to the documents.

The night before Savannah’s death, Clement took her own two children and another child she was baby-sitting to Reed’s mother’s house to use a computer, the documents indicate.

Savannah was left at home with Reed because she didn’t finish her dinner, the reports said.

According to a statement from Reed outlined in the documents, Savannah was lying on the living room floor at one point when Reed walked over and inadvertently kicked her and stepped on her.

Reed moved Savannah to her crib, where she remained throughout the night, according to the documents.

Reed called police the following morning, when he found Savannah unresponsive with labored breathing, according to the documents.

The baby-sitter then took Savannah into the bathroom where Savannah vomited and continued being unresponsive, reports indicate.

Police responded to a 911 call from the home and found the child’s crib filled with materials and pillows that inhibited her from fully lying down, while boxes of wood flooring on top of the crib prevented her from getting out, according to the documents.

Savannah was transported to Maricopa Medical Center, where she died shortly after.

During an examination at the hospital, authorities found bruises all over Savannah’s body.

Reed is cited in the documents as telling detectives he was “excessive” at times when disciplining Savannah.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/20131213toddlers-death-ruled-murder-by-phoenix-medical-examiner-abrk.html

It speaks ill of our justice system that nothing is done about a raped and murdered baby until a grassroots uprising.

Couple indicted in 2012 murder of Phoenix girl

Matthew Casey, The Republic, azcentral.com
7:33 p.m. MST July 14, 2014

Two people who ran an unlicensed home day care in Phoenix have been indicted in the December 2012 death of a 2-year-old girl, a spokesman with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office confirmed Monday.

Allison Ann Clement and Ryan Alan Reed are each charged with second-degree murder in the death of 2-year-old Savannah Cross, court records show. Reed also faces two counts of sexual conduct with a minor and four counts of child abuse. Clement faces two counts of child abuse.


Ryan Alan Reed(Photo: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)

Savannah, who was weeks away from her third birthday, attended the home day care operated by Clement and Reed near 45th Street and Southern Avenue. She died from multiple traumatic injuries, acute methamphetamine exposure and dehydration, according to a November 2013 report from the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner.

Reed has been in custody since November, according to Jerry Cobb, a Maricopa County Attorney's Office spokesman. He was arrested after investigators linked semen found during the investigation to Reed, according to authorities.

The couple were indicted soon after Cross died. But the charges were later dismissed.

Clement made an initial court appearance on Monday afternoon. It wasn't clear when she was arrested.


Allison Ann Clement(Photo: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)

Waiting more than a year-and-a-half for the case to move forward has been agonizing, said Cathy Cross, Savannah's grandmother.

Cross called Savannah "the angel that sits on my shoulder" and said she hopes to attend the trials of Clement and Reed.

"It's certainly been a long time in coming," she said from Fort Wayne, Ind. "It really has been a roller coaster."

Clement and Reed were indicted soon after Savannah's death. Cobb said the charges were later dismissed because additional testing needed to be done before completing the medical examiner's report.

"The bottom is line is, we found ourselves in court with a hard trial date and without the necessary evidence to disclose to defense within that speedy trial time frame," Cobb said.

In December 2012, Clement left Cross with Reed while she went use a computer at Reed's mother's house, according to police records.

While they were gone, Reed told police he inadvertently kicked and stepped on Cross as she lay on the living room floor, according to police record. He told police he moved Cross to her crib, where she lay throughout the night.

Reed told police he found Cross unresponsive with labored breathing the following morning and called 911. He took her to the bathroom, where she vomited and remained unresponsive, records show.

When police arrived, they found Savannah's crib filled with things that kept her from lying down flat, according to the documents. Boxes of wood flooring that were placed on top of the crib kept her from getting out.

Savannah was taken to Maricopa Medical Center where authorities discovered bruises all over her body. She was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2014/07/14/phoenix-couple-indicted-savannah-cross-abrk/12652129/

Thank heavens they were finally arrested.