Articles

Indiana father charged with neglect in sons’ drownings

The father of two Indiana boys who drowned in a river has been charged with felony neglect in their deaths after allegedly telling police he had used heroin before taking his sons to the waterway. Eric J. Patillo, 34, was indicted Thursday on two counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in death.

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COA: Accident affirmation in baby’s death upholds conviction

An Indianapolis man’s conviction for causing the death of his infant daughter will stand after the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected his argument that the evidence of him placing a pillow over the baby should not have been admitted at trial because he never affirmatively said her death was an accident.

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Neglect or not? (Shutterstock.com)

Neglect or not? DCS study takes aim at CHINS statute

It’s not uncommon for the Indiana Department of Child Services to hear it doesn’t have enough evidence to support its child welfare cases. Children in need of services cases that enter the court often leave shredded by judges for lack of a sufficient reasoning as to why they came before the bench without enough evidence to back up the claims.

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COA: Errant CCS judgment entry can’t void murder retrial

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that retrials are not barred if a judgment of conviction is erroneously entered on a chronological case summary, letting stand a murder conviction after the retrial of a man charged with the death of his girlfriend’s infant daughter.

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Crown Point couple charged with neglect after boy shoots self

A Crown Point couple has been charged with neglect after a young boy they were babysitting found a gun in a bedroom and fatally shot himself. Rachel Lynn Griffin, 24, and Brett A. Beatty, 29, were charged Tuesday in Lake Superior Court with neglect of a dependent resulting in death and neglect of a dependent related to the death of 4-year-old Eric Cole.

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Father sues DCS over son’s death in Morgan County

A father is accusing the Indiana Department of Child Services of being complicit in the death of his 5-year-old son, who died in the care of his mother and her boyfriend. A lawsuit in Morgan Superior Court contends the agency received at least 11 reports of suspected abuse before the 2016 death of Brayson Price.

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COA reverses felony neglect conviction

The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a man’s felony neglect conviction after finding there was insufficient evidence to prove the man knew he was placing a dependent in danger by leaving the scene of a car accident.

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Babysitter’s serious neglect convictions, sentence affirmed

A babysitter convicted of inflicting a life-threatening head injury on an infant in her care lost her appeal of her felony convictions and sentence after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined neither court error nor insufficient evidence warranted reversal.

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