A 3 year old killed by her mother's boyfriend.
Alas, such stories are too common (and one suspects a lot of the kids killed don't get noticed, or were listed as accidental deaths.).
NCSL statistics:
Nationally, in 2014, there were approximately 1,546 child abuse and neglect fatalities, according to the Child Maltreatment 2015 Report, released by the Children’s Bureau. A recent federal commission, charged with examining child abuse and neglect deaths, estimates that the actual number could be much higher and that approximately four to eight children die from abuse and neglect each day. The issue is continually at the forefront of decision-makers’ minds in all branches of government. While these numbers are staggering, they are often considered undercounts due to reporting differences across states, as well as varying definitions of child abuse...
alas, as doctors we see quite a few of these cases: mainly non fatal injuries or neglect, but I've had a few cases where the child died after being brought to the hospital...
Two tf the deaths were "Shaken baby" syndrome (and in a third case the kid lived). In two of these cases, the father of the kid had been investigated for prior abuse but there wasn't enough evidence to jail him: he was not supposed to be near the kid, and the mom knew this, but left the guy back in her life anyway, and left him alone with the kid to babysit... in the third case, the father was a known druggie and had beaten up his girlfriend but hey, she loved him so she never pressed charges so he was left back in her life.
Often drugs and alcohol and disorganized families are the cause, and no one wants to say: Uh, maybe legalizing pot so more people can get stoned and neglect their kids isn't a good idea.
Sigh.
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