Search Warrant Served In Homeless Child Death
By Mark Bellinger
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Court documents reveal new information about the homeless baby who died in the care of foster parents. The court documents obtained exclusively by NewsChannel 5 come from a search warrant served at the foster parents' home on January 26, 2010.
The documents reveal what Early and Cheryl Green have told police. The warrant said there is possible evidence that the baby was abused.
Neighbors in their Donelson neighborhood said they're shocked something like this could have happened in such a quiet neighborhood. The Green's were foster parents to 12-week-old Cherokeewolf.
The Tennessee Department of Children's Services placed the newborn in the home back in November after he was born to a homeless woman on the street.
On the night of January 9 paramedics rushed the child to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. Earl called 911 and said the baby had trouble breathing.
At the hospital doctors put Cherokeewolf on life support. He died Tuesday. Metro Police believe the child died of an internal head injury.
Police spokesman Don Aaron said Youth Services Detectives are investigating the case as a homicide. Court documents reveal what Vanderbilt doctors told police.
Police quote a medical record from Vanderbilt which states Cherokeewolf's injury is a non-accidental traumatic brain injury. The same report said the baby had bleeding on the brain, and it may have happened more than once.
"From the police department's investigation thus far we are still unclear as to how this head injury occurred," said Aaron.
An autopsy was performed Wednesday at the Medical Examiner's office, but police said they're still waiting on the results.
Court documents also show what the Greens told police the night Cherokeewolf stopped breathing. Cheryl said she put the couple's 2 year old daughter to bed. She wasn't feeling well and also went to bed.
Earl told police he stayed up and fed the baby. Then he placed him in a car seat. Green said the baby vomited a short time later. He said he got Cherokeewolf out of the car seat and patted him on his back, and at this point Cherokeewolf vomited some more.
Green told police the child was having trouble breathing and went limp. That's when he called 911.
The baby had only been in foster care for a couple of months, but homeless advocates question whether he should have been there at all.
Denis Huey, a homeless advocate with Operation Stand Down, said regardless of what happens with the police investigation DCS needs to answer some questions.
DCS did not return NewsChannel 5's phone call.
When they served the search warrant police took several items from the Green's home. They took three computers, a children's car seat and a blanket.
Wednesday when the child was removed from life support his biological mother was there. A friend said Kimberlee Diedrich is no longer homeless. The same friend said Diedrich is too distraught and upset to talk about what has happened.
NewsChannel 5 attempted to talk with the Greens, but their phone has been disconnected and a neighbor said they haven't been home for two or three days.
Court records indicate the couple has hired an attorney.