By David Lohr

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March 15, 2007

CRIME LIBRARY — All this week, you have read about murders that could have been prevented.  Writers generally distance themselves from the cases they cover; however, when it comes to children, that task becomes difficult.  Even though I did not personally know any of the children I wrote about this week, I will never forget them:  Ariana Payne, Sariyah Garcia, Sebastian Lopez and Summer Lytle will always have a special place in my heart.

When I started out this week, I did not intend to point a finger at Child Protective Services (CPS).  My goal was to tell the victims' story — to give them a voice — so that the heinous crimes that had been committed against them would forever be known.  However, as I researched each case, one thing became very clear.  The system, a system that had been created to protect these children, failed them miserably.

Since Monday, my inbox has been overflowing with emails from readers demanding answers.  Many want to know why we are seeing a sudden rise in child murder cases.  The answer is quite simple.  We are not.  As horrific as these recent cases are, they are no more frequent or shocking than other cases Crime Library has published over the past 10 years. 

Take for example the case of Teresa Moses in California.  Last year, Moses was arrested for torturing her son, 8-Year-Old Raijon Daniels,to death.  In the months leading up to the murder, officials with the Contra Costa County Children and Family Services agency were called in on three separate occasions to investigate allegations of abuse.  Nonetheless, the CPS workers failed to find "sufficient evidence" to take action.  According to Raijon's autopsy, his abuse had been ongoing for at least a year prior to his death.

In 1993, a San Francisco CPS agency was informed that Winnfred Wright was neglecting his children.  When the CPS workers arrived at Wright's residence, they were not allowed to enter.  Apparently, when he shut the door on them, they considered the case closed.  They never went back.  In 2001, Wright was arrested for the murder of his 19-month-old son.  It was later revealed that Wright and his harem of women had tortured and starved his 19 children.  Wright later plea-bargained and was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison for felony child abuse.

Next Page

Christopher Payne Arrested for Murdering His Five-year-old Daughter, Ariana

Valerie Lopez Arrested for Murdering Baby Daughter, Charges Pending in the Death of Infant Son

Jonathan and Adriana Lytle Charged with Torturing, Murdering Jonathan's Daughter

Contact  David Lohr at           crimewriter74@hughes.net

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