GROVELAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — The vicious murder of 3-year-old Trinity Chandler in Groveland Township has left a family devastated for more than two years.
Her brutal death at the hands of her mother's boyfriend still leaves many questions unanswered.
Now, we're uncovering new information on a sentence agreement and exposing what Child Protective Services is still keeping hidden.
Warning: The video in the player above is difficult to watch
"Why did he have to take my granddaughter?" Christine Cunningham, Trinity's grandmother, said.
She's living in pain and left wondering how a system designed to protect children, failed to keep Trinity safe from an abuser for months.
Related: CPS did welfare check on 3-year-old girl the day before she died from alleged abuse
“She had marks on her from October to December," Cunningham said.
Trinity brought joy and happiness to her loved ones.
“She was a very happy girl before all this started," her aunt, Ronda Osterberg, said.
Osterberg and Cunningham recall her beautiful smile, taken away by a real-life monster CPS case workers were warned about.
Photos shared with us by Osterberg show bruises Trinity suffered from abuse by her mother's boyfriend, Samuel Smart. They were also sent to CPS before Trinity's death.
The images didn't raise enough red flags to keep her safe from Samuel.
“I want to make sure he gets natural life in prison because he took my granddaughter," Cunningham said.
Smart had a history of violent behavior and drug abuse and was babysitting Trinity the day she died. To this day, one burning question still plagues the county's top law enforcement official.
“Did we do everything we possibly could to protect this little girl?” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said. “Particularly a very small child with a bruise on her face. We need to ask those questions and not be afraid of the answers.”
Black eyes and bruises were all documented in a Michigan State Police report we obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Smart opted to avoid trial and plead no contest to second-degree murder, torture and child abuse, agreeing to a minimum of 40 years in prison.
“This is the kind of suffering and torture that every single one of us want to make sure doesn’t ever happen again," McDonald said.
McDonald also said Smart used his cell phone to videotape his "sickening" murder, and that it was the worst child abuse cas she's ever seen.
An autopsy found blunt force trauma caused Trinity's death in December 2020.
Our reporting first exposed caseworkers from Child Protective Services came to check on Trinity at her mobile home in Groveland Township the night before her death. Only, they chose not to remove her.
“As a community, we are accountable for not protecting that child," McDonald said.
Digging deeper, records show CPS had spent months investigating child abuse, yet the alarming bruises and filthy living conditions spelled out in police reports never led to a 911 call. CPS workers simply left Trinity with Smart.
"Do you still have any questions about why those workers left?” I asked the prosecutor.
“We failed this little girl. Of course, I want to know how and why," McDonald said.
“He got mad and lost control of his temper and we’ve lost her as a result," Osterberg said.
She's appalled by a lack of answers. In the report, police don't focus on whether or not CPS broke the law by leaving Trinity with Samuel. The Office of Children's Ombudsman has done a separate review, but won't release their results for another 2-3 months. We’ve learned that process is dictated by the Oakland County Prosecutor, who asked to withhold the release of the report, until the completion of the criminal investigation, which would provide the full context.
Despite several calls to Director Suzanna Shkreli appointed by the governor, our interview requests have been denied. We were, however, given a written statement that did not address our specific questions, but talked more generally about the role of the Office of Children's Ombudsman.
“I did to what I’m obligated to do. I referred this to the correct office for investigation and that took place over a year ago," McDonald said.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees CPS, has also declined an interview.
In another bombshell, the department confirms two of the CPS workers who went home that night are still on the job. They won't say if they violated policy, were ever disciplined, or if any policies changed after Trinity's death.
“When they went over there the day before and she had marks on her, they could have removed her. But they didn’t," Cunningham said.
Furthermore, reports show CPS failed to take Trinity to the hospital to be examined for internal injuries the night before she died. State law speaks to the role of CPS having the authority to do so by saying, “The department shall have a medical evaluation made without a court order if the following occurs… The child's health is seriously endangered and a court order cannot be obtained…” -
“I believe they should be charged too because this went on from October to December. They kept leaving her there and could’ve called me," Cunningham said.
“I will continue to press for that investigation. Whether that’s a criminal investigation, I don’t direct," McDonald said.
Our reporting has grabbed the attention of State Sen. Jim Runestad, who is calling for a new law to hold CPS to a higher standard for transparency.
So far, there are no charges against Trinity's mother, who cooperated with police.
