9 Arrested in Severe and Deadly Case of Child Neglect

When I see a news story on TV, I try not to judge to quickly. They say that we are all innocent until proven guilty, but those who still believe that are simply fooling themselves. Depending on the severity of the case, the court of public opinion will have judged you guilty before you ever step foot in a court room.

In August of 2006, the body of 14 year old Danieal Kelly was taken from her home. Two years later, prosecutors have laid charges on the head of 9 adults, some of whom are being prosecuted for perjury or involuntary manslaughter and more.

As I said before, I try not to judge quickly in most cases. In court, multiple forms of evidence are presented and it helps to paint a clearer picture than anything we can see on the news. However, I cannot withhold judgment in this case. No defense attorney can convince me that his client is innocent of the horrible crimes that she has been accused of.

Danieal Kelly was disabled due to cerebral palsy and she was completely dependent on the care of others. Her mother Andrea Kelly is one of the people who are charged in her death, along with her father Daniel Kelly, a man who did not live with them.

I cannot give the benefit of the doubt in this story to anyone. Most of all, I cannot give it to Andrea Kelly. Memorable quotes from the news story will forever sicken me. Quotes such as:

"Danieal, whose emaciated body was found in her mother's squalid house covered with bone-deep, maggot-infested bedsores"

Her mother "repeatedly prevented one of her other children from calling an ambulance "for his obviously dying sister."

I will NOT give the benefit of the doubt to Andrea Kelly because she allowed her disabled daughter to suffer for months without, care, and medical treatment. Helpless Danieal Kelly was allowed to waste away and suffer as her sores spread to her bones. Death is what ended the silent agony of this child.

Among the charges thrown at the mother and father, charges are also filed against others who ignored the duty that they owed to Danieal Kelly. Social workers never checked up on her. Workers from the Department of Human Services simply avoided their jobs, and fudged paperwork to make it seem as though they actually cared. More workers hired by the city also failed this child who so desperately needed their help. This child did not simply die; she was tortured by the neglect and allowed to suffer more than a death row inmate, whose time has run out.

In Florida, I was extremely disturbed to hear a news report about a neglected dog. The family moved out of their home but their new residence did not allow pets. Instead of taking the animal to a shelter, finding a good home for it, or simply opening the door and letting it loose, the family opted to leave the animal locked in its small case in the abandoned home until its emaciated body was found months later, still locked in the cage. I sat stunned as I wondered how someone could let a living creature suffer that way. Yet I realized that they took the easy way out. Out of sight, the dog was out of mind.

Coming back to Danieal Kelly, I finally had to give her mother Andrea Kelly the benefit of the doubt on one single thought that flashed through my head. Reading the first few lines of this news story disturbed me, reading through all of it horrified me, but I have to believe that Andrea Kelly closed a door on her daughter and put her out of mind, because if I believe that she passed each day and watched her daughter slowly deteriorate before her eyes, that...that would destroy me.