SUMMER DUNHAM- 14 Months (2009) - Greene County MO

The death of a 14-month-old girl in August was a homicide, the Greene County Medical Examiner's Office has concluded.
Now, those tasked with caring for the girl could face criminal charges.On Aug. 11, officers were called to a home on the 2300 block of North Fort Avenue when the girl was found dead in her crib.An
autopsy report was finalized earlier this week, and the girl's death
certificate indicates she died of blunt force trauma to the head,
according to Assistant Greene County Medical Examiner Tom Van de Berg.
The manner of death is homicide.According
to court documents filed in August, both the child's mother and the
mother's boyfriend reported the girl had banged her head on a step the
previous Sunday, while at a relative's home on the 600 block of West
Nichols Street.The
mother's boyfriend stated he was alone with the girl when she fell, the
document said. But the mother told officers she and other family
members had witnessed the fall.The
pair allegedly told officers they brought the infant home, and that she
remained there until her death. "None of the family members that (the
mother) said were present admitted to witnessing the child fall from
the porch," the affidavit said. "Based on (the mother and her
boyfriend's) statements that the child remained in the home, it is
believed that the fatal injury was inflicted in the residence ..."An
autopsy showed the infant had an approximately 2-inch-long skull
fracture on the back of her head. Greene County Medical Examiner Doug
Anderson noted the injuries were not consistent with what officers had
been told about the child's death, according to court documents.An
inventory of property seized from the girl's home shows police took
various infant-care items, "a personal letter," a bank statement, hair
samples from a wooden shelf and a baby bottle.

Nothing on this

SPRINGFIELD -- City police say the death of a baby girl last month was no accident. Summer Dunham was only 14 months old when her life was taken by what the medical examiner calls blunt force trauma to her head.
Investigators say the only people in her home on the night that Summer was killed were her mom, her mom's boyfriend, and her 2-year-old sister.
"They were always clean, never looked abused or like anything would be wrong or anything,” said Mike Barron, a neighbor of Summer’s family on North Fort Avenue.
"They asked me if I could watch her; they said something was wrong with Summer,” said Barron. “He said she was gone or something, because I asked what he meant. I thought she was gone, like ‘Somebody took her’ gone."
Springfield police say what was taken was little Summer's life. Officers found her dead in her crib last month. Now they label it a homicide.
"The cause of death was determined to be a subdural hematoma due to a blunt force injury,” said Greene County Deputy Medical Examiner Tom VanDeBerg.
"It’s not a surprise to us. This actually just confirms what we thought at the scene. There were initial indications at the scene that this death was not natural and, from the very beginning, we worked this as a homicide,” said Springfield Police Lt. David Millsap.
Millsap says the investigation reveals the only people at the home when Summer was killed were those charged with taking care of her: her mom, Ami Decker, and Ami's boyfriend, Michael Wright. Both are on probation, Millsap says, for unrelated charges.
Both adults have a criminal history. The Missouri Department of Social Services says social workers have been in the home and the children at one time were placed in foster care, but both were returned, at least for a short time. Since Summer's death, her 2-year-old sister has been in state custody.

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A 14-month-old girl who was apparently killed in her home in August spent the first six months of life in state custody, state records show.

Authorities took Summer Dunham from her mother days after her June 10, 2008, birth, after the baby tested positive for marijuana, according to documents from the Missouri Department of Social Services.

Summer's mother eventually admitted to smoking the drug late in her pregnancy and to using methamphetamine in her first trimester. She had earlier pleaded guilty to a felony charge for using drugs while pregnant with her first child.

But the 23-year-old woman complied with authorities' demands, and by January had resumed caring for Summer and her 3-year-old sister.

Eight months later, the baby was dead, a fracture on the back of her skull.
[...]

On New Year's Eve, a judge placed the children back in the woman's care, though they were still technically in state custody.

Reports from periodic visits by state workers indicate the girls were in good health and seemed to be well cared for.

In early April, it appears, the woman moved from her mother's house to a home on North Fort Avenue. It's around this period reports begin mentioning the woman's new boyfriend, who was staying in the home.

The man has several drug and forgery convictions, but DSS officials found no indication of past child abuse. State workers were apparently pleased with the man's interactions with the girls.
[...]

According to court documents filed in August, both the child's mother and the mother's boyfriend reported the girl had banged her head on a step the previous Sunday, while at a relative's home.

The mother's boyfriend stated he was alone with the girl when she fell, the document said. But the mother told officers she and other family members had witnessed the fall.

The pair allegedly told officers they brought the infant home, and that she remained there until her death. "None of the family members that (the mother) said were present admitted to witnessing the child fall from the porch," the affidavit said. "Based on (the mother and her boyfriend's) statements that the child remained in the home, it is believed that the fatal injury was inflicted in the residence ..."

An autopsy showed the infant had an approximately 2-inch-long skull fracture on the back of her head. Greene County Medical Examiner Doug Anderson noted the injuries were not consistent with what officers had been told about the child's death, according to court documents.

An inventory of property seized from the girl's home shows police took various infant-care items, "a personal letter," a bank statement, hair samples from a wooden shelf and a baby bottle.http://www.news-leader.com/article/20091009/NEWS01/910090337/Child+in+state+custody+prior+to+death
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