DEMASRCUS JACKSON - 2 yo - (10/2011) / Charged: Father and mother, Antrone Smith and Latricia Jackson - Cincinnati, OH

Monday, 23 December 2013

Damarcus' dad may face death penalty





A Hamilton County social worker tried to visit a 2-year-old shortly after he was sent back to live with his biological family, but she was turned away and told the toddler wasn’t there.

The following day, on Oct. 21, Damarcus Jackson died of severe abuse that Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said happened over a prolonged period of time.

“This is one of the more heartbreaking things this office has ever seen in terms of the suffering this little boy underwent,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said. He was “subjected to abuse and torture you wouldn’t get at a prisoner of war camp.”

A Hamilton County grand jury Friday indicted the boy’s father, Antrone Smith, 29, on charges of charges of aggravated murder and felonious assault.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

The boy’s mother, Latricia Jackson, 22, who is pregnant with her sixth child, was charged with felony child endangering for allowing the abuse to occur, Deters said.

She told investigators she wanted Damarcus and his four siblings back because “If I lose custody, I lose my check,” Deters said.

On Oct. 21 Smith called 911 to report an emergency at his Walnut Hills home, saying a child was “not breathing.”

Damarcus died at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

A medical examination after the boy’s death revealed injuries from head to toe: Damarcus had bruising to his jaw, left eye, legs, arms and abdomen, cuts above his penis, on the back of his neck, above his left ear and on his bottom.

He also had an untreated burn to his hand, which Deters said likely came from a hot stove.

“He died because of trauma to his abdomen, he was probably stomped at one point,” Deters said.

Grand jurors cried after seeing pictures of the abuse, Deters said.

Smith, he said, didn’t think the child was his biological child.

Damarcus’ four siblings, also sent back to live with Smith and Jackson, were not harmed. They have seen been taken from Jackson’s care.

Deters likened the death to the death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel, the most famous local foster care death. Fiesel was in the care of Butler County Job and Family Services when he was placed with a Clermont County foster family who locked him in a hot a closet where he died. A few days later when Marcus’ social worker stopped to check on his, his foster parents said he was sick and she left.

The most famous local foster care death was that of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel in 2006. Fiesel was in the care of Butler County Job and Family Services when he was placed with a Clermont County foster family who locked him in a hot a closet, where he died.

Three investigations have been launched into why those kids were put back in the home.

Deters is investigating why Damarcus was returned home.

Hamilton County Board of Commissioners President Greg Hartmann and JFS Director Moira Weir has asked the county’s ombudsman to review the case. An internal review is done any time a child has died while in Job and Family Services care or after the agency has worked with a family.

The caseworkers who were assigned to monitor Damarcus’ family both received many excellent ratings for their job performance, according to personnel files obtained under an Enquirer public records request. their personnel files show.

In an evaluation finished in January for calendar year 2010, caseworker Karin Lerner, who was hired in 2007, was praised for the way she dealt with “difficult families.”

“She stayed the course of her decision on the cases despite the hurdles the family tried to put up,” the document says.

Likewise, Damarcus’ last caseworker, Bernita Ector, has consistently rated “achieved” or “exceeded” standards since she was hired in 1998.

In 2009, an evaluator noted that Ector had been assigned “a high caseload of children placed in foster care with multiple needs,” yet she complied with all case visitation guidelines. Ector had been assigned to work on two to four cases but shifted to a caseload of 15, eight of which were involved in the court system.

By 2010, her caseload had grown to 19, including 11 court-involved.

Everything about the case isn’t publicly known yet.

Parts of his juvenile court case are public record, but calls to the court have not been returned. Unlike other county court records, juvenile court documents are not posted online.

Hamilton County Job and Family Director Moira Weir said safety is the agency’s first concern.

“There was a lot of oversight,” Weir said. “Lots of ears and eyes. I can tell you I don’t think anyone would have predicted this.”

Hamilton County Job and Family Services placed Damarcus in foster care when he was eight days old. Deters said it was due to neglect in the home.

In August, a Hamilton County Juvenile Court magistrate – hearing no objections for social workers or advocates for the children – sent the kids back to their biological family, according to JFS spokesman Brian Gregg .But the family’s case remained open.

Weir said regular visits were made to the home, but would not say when those visits were made. Nor would she say the last time a case worker saw Damarcus.

Damarcus’ return to his biological family came over objections from Damarcus’ foster mother, Latasha Tye.

She told the Enquirer earlier this week she feared something bad would happen to Damarcus.

“The county failed me baby,” she said in that interview. “I told them he wasn’t ready to go.”




http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20111028/NEWS010701/111028008/Damarcus-dad-may-face-death-penalty-?nclick_check=1

ByCasey Glynn CBS News November 17, 2011, 3: 49 PM




Mother of murdered Ohio toddler in protective custody after death threats


DeMarcus Jackson WOIO

•  
  

(CBS/WKRC/AP) CINCINNATI - The mother of murdered two-year-old DeMarcus Jackson is in protective custody after receiving death threats in connection to her son's alleged death by abuse , CBS affiliate WKRC reports.

Latricia Jackson is charged with child endangering for failing to protect Demarcus from his father, Antrone Smith, who is charged with beating the boy to death. Jackson's charge carries a possible sentence of up to three years.

The two-year-old died Oct. 21 from blunt force to his abdomen, investigators say. DeMarcus had been living with a foster family, but was returned to his birth parents in August. He was dead two months later.

Prosecutors say that before he died the child suffered numerous injuries, including multiple bruises and cuts, and an untreated burn.

Twenty-two-year-old Latricia Jackson is now expecting her sixth baby, reports WKRC. The others were in foster care when they were sent back to her and father Antrone Smith. Latricia Jackson is expected to testify against Smith, who faces a possible death sentence if convicted in the boy's murder.

Jackson's family says her diary reveals Smith's control over her, reports WKRC. She wrote: "I play a role to get my kids back, find a way to leave and be happy." Relatives reportedly say Latricia has been "mentally challenged" since she was attacked by a dog at three years old. Her attorney, Norm Aubin, says she had brain surgery. "He ran her, ran the family. Her lower intellect is a fact and being abused. She followed along behind him."

The director of County Job and Family Services, the agency that returned DeMarcus to his biological parents, and county commissioner Greg Hartmann ordered an independent system-wide review of the case.

County authorities say they are required to make reasonable efforts to reunify a child with his family after taking certain steps, including a court-approved plan involving case workers, the child's court advocate, parents and others.

"Reports on the family's progress were all positive and everyone was in agreement on reunification," the directer, Moira Weir, said in a statement. "Because of the serious nature of this incident, I feel it is best to have someone look into whether, based on the information available, the right decisions were made."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mother-of-murdered-ohio-toddler-in-protective-custody-after-death-threats/

Jury finds SW Ohio dad Antrone Smith guilty of felonious assault, murder after toddler's death

WCPO.com Staff
Mar 5, 2013
293 days ago



Antrone Smith
CINCINNATI - A southwest Ohio jury decided Tuesday that a man accused of beating his toddler to death in 2011 was guilty of felonious assault and murder, but will not face the death penalty.

On Tuesday morning, a Hamilton County jury found 29-year-old Antrone Smith guilty of felonious assault and murder after he allegedly caused the death of his 2-year-old son, DeMarcus Jackson. The jury found that he was not guilty of aggravated murder, which does not make Smith eligible for the death penalty.

Defense attorney Perry Ancona said he thought it was a fair decision.

"We're certainly happy he doesn't have to face the death penalty," Ancona said.

Joseph Tye, who served as a foster father to Jackson, attended the jury report and remember the boy he took care of.
"It's really a no-win situation, but today was a day for [Jackson] to get justice," Tye said.

Police say on Oct. 21, 2011, Smith called 911 to report a medical emergency at his Westwood home. Jackson died one day later from blunt force trauma to the abdomen, according to reports.

Jackson had extensive injuries including contusions to his jaw, eye, legs, arms and midsection when he arrived at the hospital, said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters. Jackson also had lacerations on his genital area, his neck, ear and buttocks, he added.
The child had been in foster care for most of his life before being returned to his biological parents.

Smith had previously been indicted on charges of murder and felonious assault.

The jury heard closing arguments in the trial on Monday morning in Judge West's courtroom before the case when to the jury. The date has not yet been set for Smith's sentencing.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/state/antrone-smith-case-jury-finds-dad-guilty-of-felonious-assault-murder-after-toddlers-death

15-to-life for baby killer Antrone Smith


2:27 PM, Apr. 9, 2013


Damarcus Jackson: Antrone Smith goes to prison for 15 years to life for murdering his 2-year-old son, Damarcus Jackson.

• 
  Damarcus Jackson
  
• 
  Antrone Smith convicted
  
• 
  Toddler's foster family speaks
  

Latosha Tye now believes the book Damarcus Jackson, her 2-year-old foster son, so loved her to read to him was a message she was unable to decipher - until after his murder.

"He knew this was his destiny and he was trying to tell me," Tye, of Westwood, said Tuesday, moments before Antrone Smith, the child's biological father, was sent to prison for 15 years to life after being convicted last month of his murder.

Damarcus begged Tye to read him "Dear God," a book she read at his 2011 funeral after Smith punched his son in the stomach, causing internal bleeding, and resulting in a slow, painful death. ...

Continue reading in our paid archive

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130409/NEWS0107/304090045/15-life-baby-killer-Antrone-Smith