Boy's mother mourns in anger

Press-Enterprise, The (Riverside, CA)

Friends and family gather at funeral of her 23-month-old son.

Author: David Seaton; The Press-Enterprise

Estrella Ibarra shed no obvious tears during her son's funeral on Monday.

Ibarra is angry. She wants justice for having to see Andrew's body caked with make-up to disguise the bruises covering 90 percent of his face.

She wants payback from Riverside and San Bernardino county child protective services, which she blames for letting Andrew, 23 months, die in foster care, allegedly at the hands of foster mother Cynthia Jackson.

And she wants restitution for not being able to mother her son, whom she fought to win back by taking drug rehabilitation and parenting classes after he was taken away a year ago.

"I want to thank everybody for coming out to support me in the hardest moment of my life," Ibarra told about 40 family members and friends gathered to mourn Andrew's death at Mark B. Shaw Mortuary in San Bernardino.

In a passionate eulogy, Pastor Patricio Perez squeezed his eyes shut and let his voice surge as he urged Ibarra and her family to stay strong for her three living children, and another on the way.

Andrew's young cousins and siblings were among the mourners. Eight-year-old Miguel Angel, also in foster care, stuffed his hands in his pockets as he studied his brother's lifeless body. Andrew's tiny hands barely poked through his white tuxedo.

The family plans to file a wrongful-death lawsuit against Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the state Department of Social Services and Jackson and her husband. Preliminary claims against the agencies will be filed today, said Michael Koncz, spokesman for the law offices of Jack H. Anthony in Santa Ana. Jackson pleaded not guilty last week to seven felony counts, including murder.

Jackson says Andrew fell from a slide in a park. Prosecutors think she beat Andrew to death. He suffered a brain hemorrhage, broken rib, head bruises and a punctured lip.

"That's the worst I've seen a child," Koncz said Monday. "And I've done a lot of abuse cases."

Ibarra said Riverside County Child Protective Services took Andrew from her because the electricity to her home was turned off.

County officials said they cannot discuss the reason Andrew was placed in foster care. However, "children are not removed from their parents because of a lack of resources or a utility like electricity," said Kevin Gaines, spokesman for Riverside County Department of Public Social Services.

On Sunday, Ibarra's anger grew as she examined her child during a viewing. She flung off the veil that covered Andrew's body and stroked his hair. She rubbed his forehead, wiping away the flesh-colored makeup to reveal his bruised skin.

"This ain't even my son," she said. "Look at him. He's all made up."

Resting beside Andrew were two stuffed animals, a toy truck and a purple Teletubbie that Ibarra had hoped to give Andrew on their next scheduled visit.

Ibarra took exception to descriptions of Andrew as kinetic and hyper. He was always laughing and smiling, she said, except during the last visits when he seemed distant and withdrawn. Ibarra's sister, Jazim Ibarra, said Andrew grimaced in pain when he sat down.

Perez tried to comfort Andrew's distraught grandmother, Susanna Suady, who sobbed and wailed throughout the service. Four of her own nine children were taken from her by Child Protective Services.

Perez implored the family to not condemn Jackson.

"Wait for God and the law of God," said Perez, of the Church of God in San Bernardino.

Several of Ibarra's friends in recovery attended the funeral and burial at Mountain View Cemetery. Henrietta Cuellar knows Ibarra through family reunification classes. Cuellar hopes to win back her three boys, removed by San Bernardino County.

"It could happen to any of our kids," Cuellar said.

Caption:

1). Estrella Ibarra : She wants justice and restitution in the death of her son while in foster care.

2). Steven Medd

Rocio Luna, 9, of San Bernardino, lays a flower on the casket of her cousin, Andrew Ibarra.

3). Steven Medd

The Press-Enterprise

Pallbearers Alex Contreras, left, Monty Davis and John Zapata pray on the casket of Andrew Ibarra at Mountain View Cemetery in San Bernardino on Monday.