Will Utah child-abuse case reopen 1995 Michigan case?
Utah authorities want Michigan prosecutors to reopen an investigation into the 1995 death of a 4-year-old disabled girl who had numerous bruises on her body.
The adoptive parents of Danielle Tucker, Chris and Becky Tucker of Trenton in northern Utah, are now charged with second-degree felony child abuse involving the child's half-sister in Cache County.The malnourished 6-year-old was found Nov. 4 by a state caseworker and was taken into custody. Her father told police she had been locked in a basement bedroom since July.
She weighed just 31 pounds and was found in a room with only a bedspring, a wooden spool and dirty pan of water. She had scars on her arms and buttocks that she said came from her mother hitting her.
Utah authorities also removed a 4-year-old, a half sister to the other two, from the Tucker home.
Danielle's death is "pertinent to the current case at hand," said Randy Ripplinger, spokesman for the Utah Division of Child and Family Services. "It could show there is a heightened risk in the home."
The prosecuting attorney in Coldwater, Mich., said Wednesday he is now gathering what little evidence remains in the long-dormant case. "If it appears further investigation is appropriate, we'll ask for it," Branch County Attorney John Livesay said.
Livesay said Michigan's Family Independence Agency never reported Danielle Tucker's death to him or the Coldwater police. He said the agency, which determined the death was accidental, lacked the expertise to conduct such investigations.
"There should have been a law-enforcement agency that looked into this," he said.
The Family Independence Agency was blasted last month by the Michigan auditor general for its dismal record of investigating abuse and neglect cases.
Danielle Tucker died Dec. 8, 1995, at a hospital in Kalamazoo after falling down 16 carpeted stairs, according to the autopsy report.
The report by Jack Hunt of the Michigan Medical Examiner's office also noted: "Medical records indicate the child was so affected by the birth defect that she continuously fell down, ran into walls and suffered numerous bruises and injuries that allegedly were self-inflicted."
Like her sisters, Danielle suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome, a form of mental retardation seen in children whose mothers drink excessive amounts of alcohol while pregnant.
The Tuckers had adopted the three girls from a single woman. Each of the girls had a different father.
Chris Tucker, a Boy Scout leader, offered to adopt the girls after Michigan authorities took custody of them, said Branch County Probate Judge Frederick Wood.
The Tuckers, the biological parents of two sons, had registered as prospective foster parents with the Michigan Family Independence Agency. They moved to Trenton a year ago.
The Tuckers each face a possible one to 15 years in prison on the neglect charges. They posted $20,000 bail and were ordered Thursday to appear at a preliminary hearing on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.