HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Too many young lives are cut short due to abuse or neglect.
A recent report issued by the Virginia Department of Social Services highlights child maltreatment death investigations in the year 2022.
Experts say many times, those deaths are preventable.
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The News 3 Investigative Team uncovered a concerning number of child death investigations in the Hampton Roads area.
In 2018, 4-year-old Larkin Carr was found with 100 bruises on his body, internal bleeding, and signs of starvation when he died after being beaten by a 14-year-old boy who was supposed to be watching him.
The 14-year-old was the son of Catherine Seals — the girlfriend of Carr’s father Hank Smith Jr.
The teen was convicted in the child's death along with Smith and Seals for not getting the little boy proper medical attention.
Larkin's mom, Tracey Quinones, said her two sons were taken from her due to drug issues, then eventually sent to live with the dad.
“They went from July to November being beaten, tormented, strangled, and starved,” said Quinones.
She said she complained to state workers about suspected abuse before Larkin’s death.
“My son lost his whole life and my other son lost his best friend,” said Quinones.
Another horrific case: Back in 2020, Norfolk police were called after DuWayne Warren killed his 14-week-old son and stabbed his girlfriend 25 times.
The News 3 Investigative Team obtained disturbing police body camera video of that day.
Child Protective Services and police were at his house a year prior after his 12-week-old daughter was found unresponsive, but at the time, there wasn’t enough evidence to arrest him.
Warren was eventually charged with killing all three of them and is currently serving a 50-year sentence.
These are just two extreme cases, but dozens of cases are investigated every year.
According to a recent report issued by the Department of Social Services, local CPS agencies across the state investigated 164 child death cases suspected of being caused by abuse or neglect in 2022.
The report states that 101 of those cases were unfounded — which doesn’t mean the abuse didn’t happen, but that there just wasn’t enough evidence to prove it.
Of the founded cases, it reports that 79% of the kids who died were under the age of 3 years old and 52% had prior or active child welfare involvement.
Hampton Roads had some of the highest numbers of cases investigated. Topping the list across the state is Newport News with 11 cases. Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Chesapeake had six cases per city, and Hampton and Portsmouth had five cases each.
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The News 3 Investigative Team sat down with two members of the Eastern Region Child Fatality Review Team, which investigates these kinds of cases.
“These kids are being abused in some way every day, in similar ways every day, all over everywhere,” said Betty Wade Coyle, a member of the Eastern Region Child Fatality Review Team and the Executive Director Emeritus for Champions for Children: Prevent Child Abuse Hampton Roads. "It’s very sad because we don’t have better alternatives. We need better daycare options for families, mental health options for parents and children. We need more resources devoted on the young. It’s very sad."
Wade Coyle is a long-time child advocate in Hampton Roads. She says our region has a higher number of cases because they are investigated more thoroughly compared to other parts of the state.
She wants more resources to be put towards the issues that continue to be a problem every year.
“The recommendations don’t change: enhance public awareness campaign related to safe sleep practices, gun safety, and substance abuse, all targeting underreached populations,” said Wade Coyle.
In the recent report, unsafe sleeping practices were the top cause of death for infants in our region.
Norfolk State University assistant professor Stephenie Howard is also a member of the team. She said, “Families are exhausted, and that is creating situations that can increase the risk of fatality.”
She said the lack of affordable housing also causes people to live and sleep in crowded living spaces, which contributes to the problem, among other issues.
The Office of the Children’s Ombudsman is working with parents, CPS, and people in the medical community and reviewing current policies to see if there are areas where improvements can be made.
They want to make the public more aware of the issues and work to reduce the number of child deaths.
For Quinones, she admits wrongdoing but says she constantly lives with the pain of losing her son and wishes there were more resources available for parents who are struggling.
“If Virginia would offer services to help us, families who have drug addiction problems, or give us more options to help us rather than taking our kids away from us,” said Quinones. "It would make life so much easier on everybody."
The full report from the Virginia Department of Social Services can be accessed here:
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