Foster Mother Charged in Death of 2-Year-Old

Canton, MI - The foster mother of Allison Newman, the 2-year-old girl who died due to head trauma in September, was officially charged with felony murder, first-degree child abuse and involuntary manslaughter on October 2nd.

Allison died on September 22nd, after being removed from life support. Mrs. Poole called 911 around 2am to report that she wasn't breathing. Around 14 hours later, she took her last breath at University of Michigan's Mott Children's Hospital. Investigation revealed that she died of a traumatic head injury.

Poole was arrested in part due to her conflicting stories on how Allison was injured. Later investigations have revealed what appears to be a pattern of abuse. A former employee at the child care center that was caring for Allison, Childtime Learning Center in Plymouth, stated that she had come to the center with injuries for months prior to her death. According to sources, the center never reported Allison's injuries to authorities.

Craig Hirsch, maternal grandfather of Allison Newman, stated that she had other injuries at the time of her death.

Carol Poole's husband was out of town at the time of the incident. Mrs. Poole and her husband were licensed through Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, through which they received Allison Newman and a 3 month old boy who was removed from the home on September 22nd. Neighbors have stated that Mrs. Poole and her husband intended to adopt Allison, though the mother's rights had not been terminated.

Mrs. Poole's attorney, Mark Satawa, stated that the recent rash of child deaths in Michigan have led to the charges that his client faces. Indeed, several children have died in Michigan in the last several months.

Raven Jeffries, age 7, was reported missing on August 4th. Her body was found about a week later in a field.

On August 10th, Kenneth Thomas, age 4, shot himself in the home of Detroit Police Officer Louis Anderson. Anderson has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

On August 16th, Isaac Lethbridge, age 2, was found beaten and burned in the home of the foster mother in charge of his care. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Children's Hospital of Michigan.

All of this just before the murder trial for the adoptive parents of a previous foster child, Ricky Holland, was set to begin. Ricky Holland was 7 years old at the time of his murder.

No charges have been pressed in the cases of Raven Jeffries or Isaac Lethbridge at this time.

Anne Hirsch, mother of Allison Newman, has retained Geoffrey Fieger's firm in connection with her daughter's death. The parents of Isaac Lethbridge have also hired Mr. Fieger. Mr. Fieger's firm has filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of Isaac Lethbridge against the Lula Belle Stewart Center and other parties in mid-September. The Lula Belle Stewart Center was shut down almost immediately after Isaac's murder due to multiple licensing violations. They are appealing their licensing suspension.