Police: Foster mom delayed helping girl

Affidavit indicates she waited for hours before going to hospital

HOLLY YAN

The Dallas Morning News

As 6-year-old Katherine Frances suffered from a skull fracture, brain damage, internal bleeding and bruising to her eye, hip and arms, her foster mother was at a coin-operated laundry washing the blanket on which she had been beaten, police say.

A probable-cause affidavit for the arrest of Joyce Luvern Burks, 41, of DeSoto indicated that she waited several hours before taking Katherine to a hospital last month. Officials say Ms. Burks could have prevented Katherine's death.

"Had she been brought to the hospital from the beginning, she probably would have lived," DeSoto police Capt. Ron Smith said.

The foster mother was arrested about 6 a.m. Friday at her workplace on suspicion of injury to a child. She was being held at the DeSoto city jail Friday in lieu of $500,000 bail and could face up to 99 years or life in prison.

The arrest comes five weeks after Ms. Burks' 14-year-old biological son, who has a different last name, was taken into custody on suspicion of murder. Police say he repeatedly body-slammed Katherine on Dec. 3. She died two days later.

Ms. Burks could not be reached for comment Friday.

The accused teenager's aunt has said the 14-year-old is innocent and that her family will be vindicated.The boy is not being named because he is a minor.

Katherine is the third child fatally injured in a foster home once run by Mesa Family Services Inc. of Harker Heights, Texas. Mesa had recruited Ms. Burks and her husband as foster parents last summer. After the state moved to revoke Mesa's license in November, Therapeutic Family Life took over about 140 of the firm's foster homes, including Ms. Burks' home.

Child Care Licensing has accused Therapeutic of "gross failure" in protecting Katherine, saying the company ignored reports that the 14-year-old boy had hit her and her siblings. The company denies the allegations.

Place in foster care

Katherine and her three siblings were removed from their Plano home on July 31 after allegations of neglect by their mother. They were placed with Ms. Burks and her husband the same day that Mesa approved them as foster parents.

On Nov. 25, DeSoto police were called when Katherine and her 8-year-old sister were hospitalized for bruises. Katherine suffered severe bruising on her forehead, both cheeks, neck, shoulders, arms, back and chest, in addition to injuries on her pelvic bone area, directly above her pubic area and on her buttocks, court records show.

Katherine, her sister and her foster mother told investigators that the girls were fighting, Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said. Police were investigating whether the teenager encouraged the fight.

CPS temporarily removed Katherine and her siblings from the DeSoto home. Six days later, Austin-based Therapeutic determined that living conditions in Ms. Burks' home were safe and sent them back.

"The information that we have is that appropriate approvals were obtained" to return the children, said Eli Bell, an Austin attorney for Therapeutic.

Ms. Gonzales said, "The plan that had been put in place was they shouldn't be unsupervised so they couldn't harm each other."

But the affidavit states that the children "repeatedly complained to Joyce Burks regarding their physical abuse by Joyce Burks' fourteen year old biological son. Joyce Burks would not believe the foster children due to the denials of her ... son."

Katherine's biological mother, Marbella Frances, told an investigator that during supervised visits with her children they told her that Ms. Burks' 14-year-old son had been assaulting them or encouraging them to fight each other, according to the affidavit.

Ms. Gonzales said Ms. Frances did not report the alleged abuse to CPS officials.

After she was hurt

The day that Katherine was fatally injured, Capt. Smith said, Ms. Burks was not home "the whole time." She works two full-time jobs, and her husband works long hours, officials say. Police say the foster father was not home at the time, and he has not been charged.

The affidavit states that the 14-year-old called his mother to tell her that Katherine was vomiting. Capt. Smith said investigators now believe she was aware Katherine was ill for at least three hours before taking her to the hospital.

The affidavit, obtained Friday, did not explicitly mention the body-slamming but described what happened in the hours after Katherine was injured, including details of conflicting accounts from Ms. Burks.

"Joyce Burks initially advised that the victim began to vomit between 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ... Joyce Burks then called Therapeutic Family Life Agency to report the incident at 8:36 p.m. and immediately transported the victim to Charlton Methodist Hospital," the affidavit states.

But later in the interview with police, Ms. Burks said Katherine was sick about 5 p.m.

Katherine "had the classic signs of a concussion: dizziness, nausea, vomiting, convulsions," Capt. Smith said. Her siblings said Katherine "looked as if she was sleeping with her eyes open" and had "one of her arms stiff in a locked straight position with her hand balled up in a fist," the arrest warrant affidavit states.

At some point, Ms. Burks returned home. She bathed and changed Katherine before putting her in bed, Katherine's brother told investigators. He said the children watched several TV shows or movies before Ms. Burks took Katherine to the hospital.

"He advised that the victim began to vomit while they were watching Scooby Doo the Movie. While the victim was in the shower Drake and Josh was on. The victim was in Joyce Burks' bed while The Mask was on. They went to the hospital when the show Zoey 101 was on," the affidavit states.

But before arriving at the hospital, Ms. Burks took the children to a Cedar Hill laundry facility, two of the children told police. There she washed the Mickey Mouse blanket that was on the floor when Katherine was body-slammed, police said.

Examining the injury

Katherine was taken by Ms. Burks to Methodist Charlton Medical Center and then by helicopter to Children's Medical Center Dallas.

A doctor "advised that the 6-year-old victim had findings of severe, irreversible brain tissue injury at the time of her initial medical evaluation. ... This type of brain tissue injury develops over the course of many hours. If she had been brought to medical care immediately following the traumatic event it is probable she could have survived the trauma," the affidavit stated.

DeSoto police say they have not ruled out charging Ms. Burks with additional crimes, such as tampering with evidence.

Court documents say two of Katherine's siblings told police the 14-year-old was angry at Katherine because she had wet her bed.

Mesa, the agency that approved and oversaw Ms. Burks as a foster parent, was barred by the state from placing children after a 16-month-old died of head injuries in Corsicana and a 3-year-old girl died of head injuries in Arlington.

In November, the state moved to revoke Mesa's license as a child-placing agency. It was then that Therapeutic took over many Mesa homes.

Mr. Bell, the attorney for Therapeutic, says he'll fight the state's allegations that the foster-care contractor wrongfully recruited irresponsible foster parents, allowed corporal punishment and improper discipline by a minor, allowed lax supervision, abuse and failed to protect children's rights.

Katherine's death prompted a broad review by the state of the welfare and well-being of all children formerly with Mesa.

Staff writer Robert T. Garrett contributed to this report.

E-mail hyan@dallasnews.com