DeSEAN TYRESE WADE - 3 yo (2009) - Waldorf MD

A Charles County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman says a Waldorf man
wrestled a 3-year-old boy until the toddler "failed to wake up."

Twenty-five-year-old Myron Gibson was arrested Monday and charged with child abuse resulting in death.

Police spokeswoman Diane Richardson says a teen at the home where
DeSean Tyrese Wade died called police "after the child failed to wake
up" Aug. 19. Gibson was allegedly wrestling with the boy in the 3000
block of Heathcote Road in Waldorf.

Richardson said Gibson "admitted he inflicted the injuries." He became
a suspect after a number of people in the home corroborated how the boy
was injured during police interviews.

Gibson is the boyfriend of Wade's mother and is being held at the Charles County Detention Center.

A Waldorf man was charged Monday with child abuse resulting in the
death of a 3-year-old boy after an autopsy showed the child had a
broken rib and swelling in his brain, court records show.Myron Antonio Gibson, 25, boyfriend of the toddler's mother, told
police he injured the child while wrestling with him the morning of
Aug. 19 at their Heathcote Road home, according to charging documents.Gibson reported using his elbow to hit DeSean Tyrese Wade about 10
times on the back and said the toddler also fell forward and hit his
forehead, court papers state. After Gibson struck DeSean on the side,
the boy "seized up," went limp and fell, the Waldorf man told
detectives in an Aug. 22 interview. Gibson reportedly said he was
scared and moved DeSean back to his bed.He told investigators that he asked DeSean's sisters, 11 and 14 years
old, to call police because the boy was unresponsive, said Diane
Richardson, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office. Police and emergency
workers went to the home at about 8:30 a.m. and found DeSean warm but
not breathing.
The boy was pronounced dead at Civista Medical Center.
On Aug. 19, Gibson told detective R. Cadrette that he found DeSean unresponsive when he tried to wake him up at 7:45 a.m.When DeSean's autopsy revealed injuries indicative of child abuse,
including a fractured rib, hemorrhages on his back, forehead and head
and a brain swelling, detectives interviewed Gibson again. Gibson told
investigators he believed he caused DeSean's death, according to court
documents.Gibson was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree child abuse
resulting in death, second-degree child abuse, first-degree assault,
reckless endangerment and second-degree assault. He is being held in
Charles County jail without bond.On May 30, DeSean's father, who lives in a different home, took the boy
to the sheriff's office and asked that he be checked for physical
abuse, initiating a joint investigation by police and social workers,
according to a statement from Maryland Department of Human Resources
Secretary Brenda Donald. Authorities found DeSean had partially healed
burns, but weren't able to determine how the boy had been injured,
Richardson said. Child welfare workers and the family agree to a plan
for keeping DeSean away from the home where he was allegedly abused,
according to the statement by Donald. "It appears that the safety plan
was not followed," Donald said in the statement.DeSean's relatives live in Charles County and Prince George's County,
and social service workers in both counties have been involved with the
family members over the past five years, Donald said in the statement.The Prince George's County Department of Social Services provided
in-home services to the family in 2004 and 2005 after the children were
left unsupervised and closed the case in 2006, the statement indicated.

http://www.thebaynet.com/news/index.cfm/fa/viewstory/story_ID/14545

Efficacy of 'Safety Plans' for Children Questioned
Death of 3-Year-Old in Waldorf Sparks Debate Between Advocates, Officials Throughout Maryland

By Matt Zapotosky
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 10, 2009

Nearly three months before his son was killed, Dennis T. Wade told authorities that the boy came home from a visit to his mother's house with a suspicious mark on his buttocks. A social worker made Wade and other family members agree to a "safety plan" that would keep the child from the allegedly abusive home.

The plan wasn't followed, and advocates for children's safety and others are questioning the efficacy of Maryland's system of safety plans, which are used in the state's most serious cases, in which the child might be in danger.

Last month, police charged Myron A. Gibson, 25, with first-degree child abuse in connection with the Aug. 19 death of 3-year-old DeSean T. Wade, Dennis Wade's son.

Gibson, who dated DeSean's mother and lived with her in Waldorf, told investigators he was wrestling with the boy and had elbowed him 10 times before he fell unconscious. An autopsy showed DeSean, who occasionally stayed with his mother in her townhouse in the 3000 block of Heathcote Road, had a fractured rib, bleeding on his back and head and swelling in his brain.

The death has riled child-advocacy groups and policymakers across Maryland.

Brenda Donald, Maryland's secretary of human resources, issued a statement in the days after the boy's death saying DeSean's family had not followed the prescribed safety plan. Child-safety advocates say that although that might be true, it leaves key questions unanswered.

Matthew Joseph, executive director of the Maryland-based Advocates for Children and Youth, said the department has not specified whether the social worker "fully and adequately" explained to Dennis Wade what his rights and obligations were under the safety plan. Wade, who was DeSean's primary caregiver, has said he thought the plan was a recommendation without legal force. He did not return a phone message seeking comment for this report.

"The caseworker should be involved in making sure that the parties understood the safety plan," Joseph said. "She needed to feel confident that this safety plan was going to keep the child safe."

Joseph questioned what role the department played in following up with the Wade family in implementing the plan. He said in general, the department does a poor job training caseworkers and providing extensive in-home services. In DeSean's case, Joseph said, it is unclear, what, if any, contact department workers had with the family after the safety plan was issued. The department also did not specify who signed the agreement.

Top officials in the department declined to comment on DeSean's case specifically, citing confidentiality laws governing their work. They said, however, that safety plans are binding agreements, signed by all family members involved in a child's care. If families don't follow the agreements, officials said, the department will sometimes take legal action to remove a child from a home. Workers can follow up with phone calls or in-home visits, officials said.

"It's clear that this is serious business," said Steve Berry, manager of in-home services for the department. "We don't have safety plans in every case."

DeSean's death raises another question: Should children in abusive homes be allowed to stay with their family? Joseph and the department agree that, in general, they should but with extensive monitoring and support.

Joseph said he worries that support is not being provided, as evidenced by the fact that although foster-care placements have declined, the department's "in-home services" have not increased.

"They've been allowing more children to stay in their homes," Joseph said. "The question we ask is: 'What did you do after that?' "

Department officials say that comparing foster-care placements with in-home services is unfair. Carnitra White, executive director of the social services administration, said in-home services have remained consistent with reported signs of abuse and neglect. Abuse and neglect cases, not foster-care placements, is how the department measures the need for in-home services, she said.

Human Resources Department officials said their refusal to discuss specific cases is not an attempt to hide missteps. Nancy Lineman, a department spokesman, said Donald went before the legislature last session to advocate for a bill that would have given the public more information about cases in the wake of children's deaths. The bill died in committee, Lineman said.

"The law really governs a high level of confidentiality because of the sensitive nature of the work the agency carries out," she said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/08/AR2009090803792.html

Indictments
Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009
http://www.somdnews.com/stories/12162009/indycri152210_32237.shtml
A Charles County grand jury has issued the following indictments:
Myron Antonio Gibson, 26, currently residing in the Charles County jail, was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse resulting in death for events that occurred Aug. 19.

Attorneys debated Monday over statements made to police by a Waldorf man
who said he was wrestling and elbowing a toddler when the child "seized
up" and stopped breathing.
After the arguments, a Charles County judge denied a defense motion to
suppress the statements, deciding Myron Antonio Gibson voluntarily spoke
with detectives in a follow-up interview several days after the death
of DeSean Wade.
Detectives had testified they had to hospitalize Gibson, 27, following
the Aug. 22, 2009, interview because he had taken a large number of
painkillers the previous night, although police didn't learn about it
until partway through their interaction with him.
Up to that point, Gibson had been telling police he found DeSean, 3, his
girlfriend's son, lying unresponsive in his bed at about 8 a.m. Aug.
19, the officers said at the hearing.
Three days later, Gibson changed his account, detectives testified.
In fact, DeSean had woken up Aug. 19 and watched television for a little
with Gibson at their home on Heathcote Road in Waldorf, Charles County
sheriff's detective Robert Cadrette said Gibson told him. That's when
the two started wrestling on the floor, Gibson reportedly said.
During the interview, Gibson smacked his right elbow into his left hand
to show Cadrette how he had repeatedly jabbed DeSean's side, the
detectives testified. He also put the toddler in a wrestling hold and
swept the child's feet out from under him, causing DeSean's forehead to
hit the carpeted floor, he'd told police.
"[Gibson] put his elbow into DeSean's back, and at that point, DeSean
seized up. He said DeSean's body went straight. He took five or six
breaths and started convulsing," testified sheriff's detective Jack
Austin, who also interviewed Gibson.
The statement resulted in Gibson's arrest on a charge of first-degree
child abuse, officers said. Gibson later was charged with second-degree
murder.
But Gibson's defense attorney, Kenneth E. McPherson, argued on Monday
that his client had been in no physical or mental condition to waive his
Miranda rights on Aug. 22.
During the interview, detectives had noticed Gibson was sweating
profusely, and at one point, a sheriff's officer saw him rocking back
and forth and muttering, "Die, die, die. Kill, kill, kill," they
testified.
DeSean's mother, who had driven with Gibson to the sheriff's office
headquarters in La Plata, told authorities at some point that her
boyfriend had written a suicidal note and had been up the night before
vomiting because he had ingested a large number of pills, according to
court testimony.
Gibson first spoke to Austin about wrestling with DeSean, and it was
after this conversation that detectives told him they were taking him to
the hospital, they told the judge. However, Cadrette then obtained a
written statement from Gibson before he went to the emergency room, the
detective said.
"[Gibson] is suffering from an attempt to commit suicide, and they have
to take the time to get a written statement out of him," McPherson said.
"I'm not ascribing ill motives to the officers. What they did
effectively coerced Mr. Gibson into giving a statement that he was not
otherwise able or willing to give."
However, far from being an inducement to speak with police, the mention
of hospitalization was unwelcome to Gibson, Charles County Deputy
State's Attorney Jerome R. Spencer pointed out. In addition, Gibson's
mind was clear enough to voluntarily speak to officers, as evidenced by
his ability to converse coherently during the interviews, the prosecutor
said.
"You have a defendant who at all points responds appropriately to the questions the detectives asked him," Spencer said.
Charles County Circuit Court Judge Helen I. Harrington ruled with the
state, agreeing that officers did not use threats or inducements to
extract the statements.
"I cannot find offering to take Mr. Gibson to the hospital is anything close to an inducement," she said.
Gibson had gone to the sheriff's office with his girlfriend in their own
car, and a detective told him at the outset that he was free to leave
at any time, the judge said. He was not in handcuffs during the
interview, and medical reports later showed Gibson was suffering from
some mild abdominal pain that day, she said.
Attorneys will take up issues surrounding an additional statement to police at a future motions date, they decided Monday.
Gibson's trial is set for April 25. He is being held at the Charles County jail on no bond, court records show.
http://www.somdnews.com/stories/03232011/indytop91952_32397.shtml

Man gets 10-year term for killing 3-year-old boy


Jun. 29, 2011

Charles County Circuit Court Judge Helen I. Harrington was having a hard time making sense of the case before her.
On the one hand, she had family members of Myron Antonio Gibson telling her that he was a kind, affectionate man, the kind of person you could rely on for anything and who would not hurt a fly, let alone a child.
And yet in May a jury had found Gibson, of Waldorf, responsible for the death of DeSean Tyrese Wade, the 3-year-old son of his then-girlfriend.
“I have been trying for months, Mr. Gibson, to understand this case and I still don't know why DeSean is dead,” Harrington said.
In the end she sentenced Gibson, 27, to 10 years in prison, suspending two of those years, and five years of supervised probation for involuntary manslaughter. Unable to reconcile the testimony of Gibson's family with his history of violent outbursts, Harrington offered her own theory.
“What's going through my mind is, are you a Jekyll-and-Hyde type of person?” she asked, wondering whether Gibson's diagnosed attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder prompted fits of rage. “You seem to have a propensity for violence.”
DeSean had just celebrated his 3rd birthday when he died the morning of Aug. 19, 2009, in his Waldorf home on Heathcote Road. At home with DeSean were his two older sisters and Gibson.
Gibson originally told police he had gone to wake up DeSean but found him in bed not breathing and yelled for his sisters to get help while he tried to resuscitate the boy, according to testimony given during Gibson’s trial.
But two days later, Gibson and DeSean’s mother, Reshonda Wade, spoke to detectives at the Charles County Sheriff’s Office in La Plata, where Wade told police that Gibson had taken a number of painkillers and written a suicide note the night before.
Following six hours of questioning, Gibson signed a statement admitting he had wrestled with DeSean on the morning of his death, elbowing the boy in the side up to 10 times and sweeping him off his feet, causing his head to hit the floor, according to court testimony.
After being elbowed, DeSean stood, “seized up” and fell, at which point Gibson picked the boy up, moved him back to his bed and called for help, according to the statement.
An autopsy revealed that DeSean had a fractured rib and three hemorrhages between his skull and scalp, along with other signs of internal bleeding.
Originally charged with second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse, Gibson was convicted May 2 following a six-day trial of two counts of involuntary manslaughter by gross negligence and by unlawful act and second-degree child abuse.
“Since all this happened, my life had pretty much been destroyed,” said Dennis Wade, DeSean’s father, at Gibson’s sentencing hearing Tuesday. “I just can’t seem to get it all back on track.”
Both Dennis and Reshonda Wade said they had come to forgive Gibson.
“Not only did I lose my son, but they could lose their son,” said Dennis Wade, motioning to members of Gibson’s family seated in the courtroom.
Emphasizing the tragic nature of the case, Charles County Deputy State’s Attorney Jerome R. Spencer asked Harrington for the maximum 10-year sentence.
“There’s nothing this court or any human can do that would be justice,” Spencer said.
Defense attorney Kenneth E. McPherson repeated the central tenets of the case he presented at trial and indicated that he had chosen not to delve into signs of past abuse to DeSean, which he said had been caused by others.
“There were a lot of other strategies and tactics that could have been employed,” McPherson said.
Gibson will appeal his case, McPherson said.
Three members of Gibson’s family testified to his high character, each convinced that he would never intentionally harm a child.
“This is a tragic case on all sides,” Harrington said. “There’s no way to turn back the clock and make things right. There just isn’t.”

http://www.somdnews.com/article/20110629/NEWS/706299704/1055/man-gets-10-year-term-for-killing-3-year-old-boy&template=southernMaryland