A Los Angeles family has been broken up after the death of a 1-year-old baby. While her cause of death hasn’t been determined yet, it is known that she was left in the care of her siblings. At first, the baby’s mother put her 18-year-old son in charge of the baby. But following a fight about lack of food and care, she put her 11-year-old son in charge of the 1-year-old baby.
There is evidence of multiple calls to DCFS and visits by social workers. But every time someone came to visit the family, the kids did not seem to be in distress. Now, both the baby’s family and government agencies must deal with the repercussions of the baby’s death and the possibility of neglect.
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The eldest brother repeatedly reported that the family didn't have food.
The Los Angeles Times exclusively reported on the story, speaking with the 18-year-old brother of the baby who died. Alvondo Williams Jr., who was a senior in high school at the time, told the counselors at Canoga Park High School that his mother was disappearing for days at a time, leaving him and his three siblings without food. His siblings included an 11-year-old brother, and two sisters, ages 3 and 1.
The school gave the teen a cooler full of food, and his counselor called Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services to report possible neglect.
A case was never opened, despite multiple calls to DCFS.
On the day the police showed up, Williams had recently unpacked the food he got from school.
The LAPD officer told DCFS that none of the children “appear malnourished or unhappy.” He added that the teen was holding “a bag of food” during his visit. He also happened to show up on a day when Williams’ mother, Jennifer Wood, 37, came to give the kids food.
When a social worker visited the next day, it was more of the same. “They showed up literally five minutes after I got back from the school,” Williams said. “When they came, it looked like we had food.”
The next day, Wood had kicked her oldest son out of the house, leaving her 11-year-old in charge of a baby and a toddler.
James, 11, was left in charge of a toddler and baby all by himself. On Saturday, June 29, 2024, James told a social worker he gave his baby sister Thryi, french fries. He then gave her the “last bottle of milk” and some jelly “because that was what he knew they had that she would be able to eat,” a DCFS report read.
The baby couldn’t crawl or stand up on her own according to the tween. He claimed that her stomach looked “sucked in” and that she had a “black spot” on her head.
The baby was extremely sick, and her brother couldn't help her.
By Sunday, they were out of food. James knew that he couldn’t give the baby water, so she went hungry. On Monday, he texted his mother asking for the money for milk for the third time in almost as many days. She finally sent some.
When he went to check on his little sister, she was in the crib with her head back and her eyes open. Her arm was stiff, according to the DCFS report. When police were called to the home, which was covered in trash, Thyri had been dead for 18 hours.
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Cause of death has yet to be determined.
According to the outlet, prosecutors are still waiting on information from the coroner’s office on how the baby died. The autopsy didn’t reveal cause of death. After Thyri’s death, authorities removed James and his 3-year-old sister, Penelope, from the home. James is in foster care, while Penelope lives with her father’s family.
As for Wood, she was arrested on July 11, on suspicions of child neglect. She was released four days later. Wood has not been charged with a crime.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child), or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
