ALYSA HORNEY - 2 yo (12/2013)/ Convicted: Foster Mother; Delila Pacheco - Tahlequah OK

Tahlequah woman has been charged

Updated: 10:43 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013
Posted: 3:59 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013

A Tahlequah woman has been charged with murder in the 1st Degree, Child Abuse after the death of a 2-year-old girl, early December.

The girl's foster mother, 47-year-old Delila Pacheco, is accused of killing Alysa Horney. Pacheco is being held at the Cherokee County Detention Center without bond.

She was the foster mother but also a blood relative of Alysa. The girl's mother spoke only with FOX23 about the shock of losing her younger daughter.

"I don't know how to explain in a way that her 2-year-old sister is gone and she's not going to get to play with her anymore," said Holly Horney, referring to her older daughter.

Horney said she chose her cousin, Pacheco, to keep her daughter in August. She thought Pacheco would be a good fit as a family-related foster mom.

"She seemed outgoing, she seemed good with the kids at first -- and when this happened they found bruises on her body, bruises on her head underneath her hair," said Horney.

Investigators said Alysa also suffered from internal bleeding that led to her death.

"It's horrible, it's unbearable and I don't want to have to plan my baby's funeral, because the babies are supposed to bury the parents. Parents shouldn't have to bury their child," Holly Horney said.

She and her family are planning a funeral.

"She'll never go to school, never go to prom, never get married, never have babies," said Betty Adair, Alysa's grandmother.

"I know I got another kid that I have to help out right now, and she's still stuck there in the foster system, and it's too late for Alysa but it's not too late for Halia," said Horney.

Pacheco was also watching her older daughter, who's now under Department of Human Services care.

Horney said she wants her back.

"They failed her, they failed her bad and they need to make it right with Halia and bring her back home," she said.

Horney did see her cousin in court for her arraignment on Wednesday, but didn't speak to her.

Horney said her younger daughter broke a leg a month ago and she's been suspicious since then.

DHS told FOX23 they already had an internal investigation going about the broken leg.

Now they're also working with investigators to get to the bottom of this.

FOX23 also learned Pacheco's husband was the one who called police.

"Said Alysa fought going to sleep for most of the night, he didn't know when these injuries could've happened, he wasn't that awake (or) that aware of what was going on," said Horney.

Now she wants justice.

"I want her to spend the rest of her life in jail because Alysa didn't deserve this. Alysa's never going to get to come home again, she's never going to get to spend a Christmas, another birthday with us," she said.

Horney was due to meet with the caseworker again in February to get her daughters back.

DHS released this statement to FOX23:

“Everyone at DHS is shocked and deeply saddened by the senseless death of Alysa Horney, a beautiful little 2-year-old girl. We understand this is an emotional time for the family as it is for us and the entire community; however, based upon what we know at this time, we do not agree with allegations currently being expressed by family members as to what we did or did not do to protect this child. We are preparing a summary of our involvement with this child which will be released to the public soon.

Our child welfare specialists are working alongside local law enforcement and the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation to find answers to the questions we all are asking about this child’s death. Independent administrative reviews of our agency’s involvement with this child and family are also being conducted by the Office of Client Advocacy and the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth."

http://www.fox23.com/news/news/breaking-news/tahlequah-woman-has-been-charged/ndmXX/

Foster mother found guilty of killing toddler
Victim’s biological mother says her child endured ‘night of hell’ before dying

Posted: Friday, September 19, 2014 2:55 pm

Delila Pacheco

Jurors deliberated more than 4-1/2 hours Thursday before finding 47-year-old foster mother Delila Pacheco guilty of killing 2-year-old Alysa Horney last December.

The panel of seven women and five men recommended Pacheco serve a life sentence.

After the jury was excused, District Judge Darrell Shepherd ordered a pre-sentence investigation before formal sentencing.

Alysa’s mother, Holly Horney, wiped away tears outside the court room.

“It’s been really nerve-racking the past year,” Horney said. “I can’t even explain it.”

Horney said Alysa “suffered a night of hell” before she died. The toddler’s older sister has lost her best friend, Horney said.

Pacheco was led from the courthouse in handcuffs as her family and friends sobbed. As Pacheco passed by, Horney called her a “monster.”

Prosecutors Jack Thorp and Jacob Howell, in closing statements, encouraged jurors to use their common-sense when deciding the case.

“This case was about Alysa Horney, a 2-year-old little girl,” Howell said. “It’s about her life, her death.”

More: http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/foster-mother-found-guilty-of-killing-toddler/article_ec278528-4036-11e4-b423-1f87ee501264.html

DHS admits mistakes found after foster mom murdered 2 -year-old girl placed in her care

by Nolan Clay
Modified: March 16, 2015 at 5:00 pm
Published: March 15, 2015

An Oklahoma Department of Human Services child welfare supervisor has been demoted for mistakes found after a new foster mom murdered a 2-year-old girl placed in her care.


Alysa Horney - Photo provided

The supervisor had approved the woman as a foster parent despite warning signs that should have triggered a more exhaustive background check, DHS found.

Another DHS supervisor involved in the girl’s case resigned rather than face termination, records show. And the child’s primary case worker retired.

The girl, Alysa Horney, bled to death inside her foster home after her liver was pushed into her spine by a blow to her body on the morning of Dec. 8, 2013. The pathologist who did her autopsy reported finding 40 blunt force injuries to the outside of her little body.

The foster mother, Delila Ann Pacheco, 48, of Tahlequah, is serving a life sentence after being found guilty at trial of first-degree murder. Prosecutors alleged the foster mom killed Alysa in a bedroom of the trailer home because the girl wouldn’t go to sleep.

“Unfortunately, there is never going to be a time when DHS is entirely free from tragedies,” a DHS spokeswoman, Sheree Powell, said Friday. “We work with extremely fragile families and children at the worst point in their lives, in often unpredictable situations.

“However, we are working diligently to improve the things we can control like reducing workers’ caseloads so they can spend more time with families and increasing their training to think critically and make sound decisions.”

The Oklahoman learned of the DHS mistakes in Alysa’s case from a review of 200 discipline records from last year.

Those records show DHS child welfare workers at times fail to do simple background checks on applicants who want to be foster parents.

The DHS investigation into Alysa’s murder found supervisor William C. Busch approved Pacheco as a foster mom in August 2013 without fully checking into her suitability.

“Prior to AH living in DP’s home, you had information regarding possible violence, sex and drugs. You failed to direct staff to research and verify or to personally review the information thoroughly,” deputy DHS directors wrote in his demotion letter.

Busch was specifically criticized for never even getting a report on Pacheco’s 2011 arrest. He later told an investigator obtaining the report would have “wasted another day” and he pointed out no charges were filed, records show.

He also was specifically criticized for never reading court paperwork involving a dropped request for a protective order against Pacheco.

The arrest report shows a Cherokee County sheriff’s deputy jailed Pacheco on Nov. 28, 2011, on an aggravated assault and battery complaint. The deputy reported she admitted grabbing a large kitchen knife during a fight with her husband. The deputy reported she also admitted to using marijuana and methamphetamine in the past.

The request for a protective order shows Pacheco was accused of trying to force her sister to have sex with her husband, Longino Pacheco. “When I refused is when the threats began,” the sister wrote in her Aug. 29, 2012, request. “I called 911 — officers came and rescued me.”

The sister dismissed her request a couple of weeks later.

Busch was demoted on Sept. 8 for unsatisfactory performance, misconduct and neglect of duty, records show. His salary was cut from $4,226 to $3,563 a month. He was stripped of his supervisor duties and required to answer the DHS child abuse and neglect hotline.

Read More: http://newsok.com/dhs-admits-mistakes-found-after-foster-mom-murdered-2-year-old-girl-placed-in-her-care/article/5401491