SERENITY JULIA GANDARA - 3 yo (2010)/ Charged: Foster parents (Aunt and Uncle): Carla and Alberto Garcia - Bakersfield CA

A three-year-old girl was found dead in her southwest home Sunday
morning and now police are looking for her foster parents, who also
happen to be her aunt and uncle.The girl's foster family was
nowhere to be found when police arrived. According to police no one in
the home called called 911. Instead, the girl's foster mom called her
sister to say the girl was dead and then fled.Police received the
call around 9 a.m. and when they showed up to the home on Summer
Country Drive, the front door was open and the little girl was dead
inside the home.
"We arrived here just shortly after
the sister arrived and upon arrival they confirmed that the child was
deceased," said Sgt. David Chase of the Bakersfield Police Department.Police
say Carla Torres Garcia, 26, her three biological children ranging from
age 4-10 and her husband Alberto Garcia, 26, fled from the home in a
1997 Ford Expedition with California license plate #5FLC681. The vehicle
is a Gold Eddie Bauer Edition make with 17-inch rims."They took
their three children that she gave birth to and left the two foster
children," Chase said. "One of them deceased, the other one was in bed
asleep."According to a neighbor and police, the two foster kids
are Garcia's niece and nephew, and they were in process of legally
adopting the children."To my knowledge, that's how they got the
kids, is the fact that the mother was somewhat of a user," said neighbor
Gregory Reafsnyder. "They seemed like good, hard working people who
took care of their kids. Whenever I would see their kids, they would
always be well fed, well dressed and taken care of."The little
girl's body did show signs of trauma to her head and torso, but the
cause of death remains under investigation.Both Carla and Alberto
are wanted by police for felony child endangerment and questioning in
the three-year-old's death.Police have also issued an Amber Alert
for the three children believed to be with the couple as the welfare of
the children is unknown. The children are Carlos Joe Solvalvarro, 10,
Crystal Garcia, 4, and Alberto Garcia Jr., 4.

A 3-year-old girl was found dead Sunday morning and her 4-year-old
brother was found sleeping alone after a couple fled a southwest
Bakersfield home with three other children, police say.
The girl's body showed signs of visible trauma and her death is
considered suspicious, officials say. The abandoned boy wasn't hurt and
he was taken into protective custody. Neither child's name was released.
An autopsy will determine the girl's cause of death.
Officials want the public's help finding the adults, Alberto "Albert"
Garcia, 26, and Carla Garcia, 26, whose last name was Torres before the
couple's marriage earlier this year.
Neighbors who live next door to the Garcias' rented home in the 5900
block of Summer Country Drive, southeast of Harris and Ashe roads,
described the couple as seemingly loving, stable parents and said they
were shocked by the events unfolding Sunday.
Albert Garcia was the uncle of the 3- and 4-year-old, who had
reportedly been in the couple's foster care. Neighbors said the Garcias
recently adopted the children and had legally changed their names,
though police were unable to confirm Sunday whether the adoption had
been completed.
Officials were mostly tight-lipped about the details of their
investigation, declining to describe the girl's injuries or say where in
the home she was found dead.
Authorities were called around 9 a.m. Sunday by Carla Garcia's
sister, said Bakersfield Police Sgt. Mary DeGeare, after Carla had
phoned the sister to tell her to go to the house. The Garcias left
"sometime during the night," DeGeare said.
The couple took three children with them, police say: Carlos
Solvalvarro, 10, Carla's son from a previous marriage whose last name
was spelled Sobalvarro in an online court filing; and the couple's
children, Crystal Garcia, 5, and Alberto Garcia Jr., 4
Their home was cordoned off by yellow crime-scene tape Sunday as
police investigators came and went. A purple-and-white car advertising
Carla's House Keeping was parked in the driveway with other vehicles.
The open garage door revealed a cluster of children's bicycles stashed
in one corner.
Neighbors say Albert Garcia was an unemployed mechanic and Carla was
the breadwinner with her housekeeping business.
Next-door neighbor Patty Clemons said she came home early from her
driving instructor job Sunday afternoon because she kept crying. Clemons
said she was in shock and had to believe "it was an accidental thing"
the girl died.
"Everything they did was for the kids," Clemons said of the Garcias,
who have lived next door for about a year.
The family ate homemade dinners together every night, she said, and
Albert Garcia took the children on walks and wagon rides.
Clemons and her husband gave the Garcias a $50 gift certificate to
Logan's Roadhouse as a wedding gift specifically so they could get some
rare time alone. But the Garcias took the kids with them anyway, she
said.
Their children were smiling and happy, Clemons said, and she never
saw bruises or other telltale marks. Albert Garcia talked to Clemons'
husband, also an unemployed mechanic, almost every day.
Clemons' son, Greg Reafsnyder, said the Garcias were always nice and
theirs was a "very routine house." He only saw Albert Garcia drink once,
at the wedding reception the Garcias held in their backyard.
"It seems out of character," Reafsnyder said of the couple's reported
actions.
Reafsnyder said although he regularly saw the Garcias' children
playing outside, he didn't often see the 3-year-old and figured she was
shy.
Officials say the Garcias left in a white 1997 Ford Expedition with
California license plate 5FLC681. The SUV had an Eddie Bauer package and
17-inch rims. Police notified law enforcement agencies around the state
as well as border officials, said DeGeare, the police sergeant.
The situation is "just short of an AMBER Alert," DeGeare said. Since
the children are the couple's own, the incident isn't considered an
abduction and doesn't qualify for AMBER Alert status, she said.
Police want the Garcias on suspicion of felony child endangerment and
for questioning in the death of the 3-year-old. They also want to check
the welfare of the three children with them.
If you have any information, please call the Bakersfield Police
Department at 327-7111.

Bakersfield police Monday were searching for a family suspected of
fleeing to Mexico after leaving a 4-year-old boy in their home with the
body of his dead 3-year-old sister.
Officers arrived at
the home Sunday after receiving a report of a dead child and discovered
the boy sleeping in the residence and the body of the 3-year-old, the
Bakersfield Police Department said. The girl's body showed signs of
trauma, police said.Police said the children had been under the
custody of their uncle, Alberto Garcia, and his wife, Carla Mariela
Garcia, both 26. The Garcias had left the home with their three
biological children, ages 4 through 10.The family is believed to
have left for Mexico, according to Sgt. Mary DeGeare, who said
detectives were working with prosecutors and the FBI to apprehend the
Garcias. The couple is wanted for alleged felony child endangerment and
questioning in the death of the 3-year-old, DeGeare said.The
family vehicle is described as a white Ford Eddie Bauer Expedition,
license plate number 5FLC681, with 17-inch rims. Anyone with information
is asked to call police at (661) 327-7111.

The foster parents of a young girl who died over the weekend are officially wanted for murder.
Sgt. Mary DeGeare said Tuesday that Alberto and Carla Garcia are wanted on a warrant for murder and child
endangerment. She said they likely ran away to Mexico,
and police are concerned about the safety of three children who may be with them.
A 3-year-old girl, Serenity Julia Gandara, was found dead inside the
Garcia's southwest Bakersfield home Sunday morning. Investigators said Carla Garcia
called her sister to tell her about the death, and the aunt called police.
Officers found Serenity on the living room floor, and her 4-year-old
brother, who is also a foster child, asleep in another room.
"There were obvious signs of trauma, but as far as the actual cause
of death, it is preliminary for that," police Sgt. David Chase said at the crime scene.
An autopsy was performed Monday, but the cause and manner of death
are pending further investigation, according to the coroner's office.
DeGeare said the boy, Isiah, also had marks and scarring in various
stages of healing, including recent injuries.
The Garcias had apparently been foster parents to Serenity and her
brother and reportedly may have adopted them. Police said it's believed
the parents have their 5- and 4-year-old children with them. Plus, they
have Carla Garcia's son from a previous marriage, 10-year-old Carlos Sobalvarro.
Carlos' father said Monday that he's very worried.
"I feel he's in danger because, I mean, they have really short
tempers," Carlos Sobalvarro Jr. feared. "I don't know, I just hope he gets home safe."
Alberto Garcia is also reportedly the uncle of foster children.
Police said the couple was driving a white 1997 Ford Expedition with a
gold Eddie Bauer package and 17-inch rims. It has California license plate 5FLC681.
Anyone with information helpful to the investigation can call police at (661) 327-7111.

This is heartbreaking. I received an email today from Serenity's grandma....she wants justice for her grand baby, obviously. Let's see what we can do to help her.

Wow, the Grandma reported her own son and they didn't believe her? For her to stand up for those kids even though she was accusing her son is commendable. Why wouldn't they take action after she reported the abuse FGS?

Unfortunately, as we have seen in many other cases... if this crew made it across the MexiCal border it may be awhile before, and if, they are located. Then it's extradition time...
Let's hope they haven't made that leap yet!

http://interceder.net/i/SERENITY-GANDARA

Autopsy: Foster girl died of blunt-force trauma
Story Created: Aug 2, 2010 at 3:04 PM PDT Story Updated: Aug 2, 2010 at 5:35 PM PDT



BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- An autopsy has confirmed that a 3-year-old foster girl died from blunt-force trauma.

The coroner's office released the results Monday, confirming the case as a homicide.

Serenity Julia Gandara's foster parents, meanwhile, are fugitives from the law.

Alberto and Carla Garcia are wanted on a warrant for murder and child endangerment. Bakersfield police said they likely ran away to Mexico, and authorities are concerned about the safety of three children who may be with them.

Serenity was found dead on the living room floor of the Garcia's southwest Bakersfield on July 18. Investigators said Carla Garcia called her sister to tell her about the death, and the aunt called police.

Officers found Serenity's 4-year-old brother, who is also a foster child, asleep in another room.

Sgt. Mary DeGeare said the boy, Isiah, also had marks and scarring in various stages of healing, including recent injuries.

The Garcias had apparently been foster parents to Serenity and her brother and reportedly may have adopted them. Police said it's believed the parents have their 5- and 4-year-old children with them. Plus, they have Carla Garcia's son from a previous marriage, 10-year-old Carlos Sobalvarro.

Police said the couple was driving a white 1997 Ford Expedition with a gold Eddie Bauer package and 17-inch rims. It has California license plate 5FLC681.

Anyone with information helpful to the investigation can call police at (661) 327-7111.

http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/99793579.html

Serenity Gandara’s Grandmother Speaks Out Against CPS and Foster Parent Abuses, Advocates Grandparents’ Rights
Written by: Cameron
August 24th, 2010


Renee Maese, grandmother of deceased foster child Serenity Gandara, has decided what she can best do to honor her granddaughter’s memory is to fight against the abusive CPS and foster care system in California. Each year, dozens of children die in California foster care homes from child abuse. Serenity was one of these children. Her foster parents, Albert and Carla Garcia, are more than a month later still missing and wanted by police for murder and child endangerment.

Maese explains that the 3 year old girl’s death on July 18, 2010, has motivated her to work to change the system to protect children and families:

I will be the first to admit, if it wasn’t for Serenity dying, I probably would be doing my everyday life things, but now I’m advocating for Serenity. Deceased children no longer have a voice, but being her Grandmother, I will speak for her and fight for her justice.


Serenity Dead Despite Grandparents Warning CPS of Suspected Abuse

The Kern County medical examiner has reported that Bakersfield foster child Serenity Gandara, a 3-year-old girl living in the home of relatives, was found dead on the living room floor of the home on July 18, 2010. Blunt-force trauma injuries are named as the cause of death.

Grandmothers Maria Garcia and Renee Maese both state that other relatives wanted to care for Serenity and her abandoned brother Isaiah. Isaiah is still alive, but was found with injuries consistent with ongoing physical child abuse. Kern County CPS refused to place the kids with other relatives, preferring to leave them with Albert and Carla Garcia despite child abuse complaints by multiple relatives including both grandmothers.

Mom Selected Brother As Foster Parent

Renee Maese explains that after Serenity and Isaiah were taken from their mother Yesenia Garcia over drug abuse allegations, many relatives wanted to help. Maese’s own father was pursuing a license as a foster care parent and hoped to have the kids live with him. But their mother selected her brother, Albert Garcia, to care for the kids. While she probably thought her brother and his girlfriend would be good choices for care providers for her kids, she may not have had enough information to be making a safe choice. CPS went along with this choice, apparently doing an inadequate job of screening and qualifying the family and not considering other options.

When my grandchildren Isaiah and Serenity went into the system, numerous people tried to get custody of them. The kids’ mother asked her brother Albert Garcia if he could take the kids. He had a girlfriend at the time named Carla Torres.

…

They put an application for placement. They had 3 children of their own. 2 kids by Albert and one from Carla’s previous marriage. They were placed in their custody in less then a week.

While drug addiction is a problem for some parents, this case and others like it raise questions as to whether children would be safer in the home of a biological parent battling a drug addiction than in foster care. The allegations about Yesenia Garcia appear to reflect past drug use and perhaps did not reflect an ongoing problem.

Maese believes that Carla wasn’t a US citizen at the time but later attained citizenship via marriage to Albert and pending adoption of Serenity and Isaiah. We as yet have not found other information to confirm or deny this.

Child Abuse Suspicions Grew Over Time

The possibly of child neglect and abuse gradually became more evident over the months the grandparents were able to visit the kids. Initially, the concern seemed to be the children’s appetite and emotions indicated they may not have been fed adequately or cared for well by the foster parents, Albert and Carla.

Once my grandkids were placed, the visits started. I spoke with the social worker (Shannon) and was told I could visit my grandchildren twice per month with the parents. I asked her about the children being placed with my parents and was told Albert and Carla were a better fit and she would not change their placement. Once my son began visiting, he would take food, fruits, and juices for the kids. I noticed he would come home with an empty backpack. I would question, “Did the kids eat all the food”? He replied yes. That sent up red flags. Prior to this my grandkids were very happy and outgoing. When my visits began, they were so happy to see me. They clung on to me. Isaiah even went as far to say, “No more bye byes” and cried in front of Shannon. I questioned it but nothing was done.

Grandparents Have No Rights In California

Over time, many visits were cancelled due to alleged illnesses. On some visits, the children had injuries such as black eyes and scratches that were suspicious. Carla claimed Isaiah’s black eye was from falling on a tub and the scratches were caused by other children. Maese believes that her questions about their injuries made Carla nervous.

Carla soon raised opposition to continued contact between Serenity and Isaiah and many of their relatives. Eventually, the social workers told both grandmothers, Renee Maese and Maria Garcia, that grandparents have no rights and they won’t be allowed to see the kids any longer because Carla and Albert would not allow it.

Carla said those were her kids. She even went as far as marrying Albert and becoming a U.S. Citizen by adopting Isaiah and Serenity. Albert was even unemployed at the time of the court’s decision. I now know that that you need to meet certain financial requirements to adopt and are not to live off of the foster care money to be used to support these kids.

…

I can’t say why Serenity died and Isaiah and her were abused. All I can say is why did they deserve it? If the foster parents didn’t want them or couldn’t afford them, they should have given them back! Back to CPS, a hospital, police department, or even their grandmothers. This tragedy didn’t need to happen.

Carla prohibited Serenity and Isaiah from seeing their own parents, too. This seems particularly unreasonable and emotionally abusive. Children deserve a relationship with both of their parents. For CPS to permit foster parents to ban children from contact with their biological parents and other relatives is indicative of how CPS truly does not care for children. Essentially Kern County CPS is enabling and participating in parental alienation child abuse. In this particular case, the alienators were not even either of the biological parents. Yet the effect on the children is very much the same.

Their mother Yesenia and father Pedro Gandara were both at the funeral for Serenity. But they and many other relatives had not seen her in over a year, since spring of 2009. If more relatives had been involved in these children’s lives to provide both their love and more eyes on the problem the kids were experiencing, perhaps Serenity would not be dead today.

(from Relatives say goodbye to Serenity)

The girl’s mother, Yesenia Garcia, 22, said she used to see her daughter twice a week when she was in the care of Child Protective Services, but after her brother, Alberto Garcia and his wife, Carla, took the child into their home, Carla stopped the visits.

Maese believes the CPS social workers were negligent and questions why grandparents are treated as having no rights in California.

My thoughts are where these social workers minds were. Were they blind? It doesn’t take a person with a Masters degree to know something was wrong. I do believe grandparents should have rights and I hope to help change that in California.

Police Still Searching for Albert and Carla Garcia

The Garcias are reported to have fled with three children from their home after Serenity’s July 18 death in a white SUV with the following description:

1997 Ford Expedition
white with Eddie Bauer package
17 inch wheels
California License Plate 5FLC681
Two of the children are Albert’s two biological children, Carlos and Crystal. The third is Carla’s biological child from a previous marriage.




Investigators believe the family may have crossed the border into Mexico. Anyone with information helpful to the investigation can call police at 661-327-7111.

http://angiemedia.com/2010/08/24/serenity-gandaras-grandmother-speaks-out-against-cps-and-foster-parent-abuses-advocates-grandparents-rights/

Foster parents arrested in Mexico for Bakersfield toddler's death

By KBAK - KBFX - Eyewitness News - BakersfieldNow.com
Published: Mar 8, 2012 at 7:02 PM PDT
Last Updated: Mar 9, 2012 at 1:48 PM PDT

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — After nearly two years on the run, a Bakersfield couple serving as foster parents have been arrested in Mexico, accused of killing a 3-year-old girl in a southwest Bakersfield home.

"I'm happy, ecstatic, overwhelmed!" said Renee Maese, grandmother of 3-year-old Serenity Gandara.

Serenity was found dead of blunt-force trauma on her living room floor in July 2010. Her 4-year-old brother Isaiah, who was also a foster child, was asleep in another room.

The foster mother, Carla Garcia, called her sister to tell her about the death, and Garcia's sister called police. By the time police showed up, Carla Garcia and her husband Alberto were gone, suspected of fleeing south of the border.

The death of her granddaughter left a deep emotional impact on her family, said the child's grandmother. And, while she said she no longer holds anger toward Alberto and Carla Garcia, the grandmother said she does want an explanation of what happened that day.

"I hope that they will be honest enough, not cowardly, to tell me what happened to my grandchild," said Maese.

Thursday, the FBI confirmed that the Garcias have been taken into custody for the toddler's murder. It is working with Bakersfield police to extradite the couple to the United States.

The FBI couldn't say if the Garcias had their other children with them when they were taken into custody. In the summer of 2010, police believed the couple had taken their 5- and 4-year-old children with them, in addition to Carla Garcia's son from a previous marriage.

http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/Foster-parents-arrested-in-Mexico-for-Bakersfield-toddlers-death-142002913.html