exposing the dark side of adoption
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Bakersfield woman arrested in death of 5-year-old

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A Northwest Bakersfield woman is under arrest for the murder of her 5-year-old adopted son. The coroner's office says Kevin Michael King died of blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen.

Kawanna Adkins could barely hold back tears as she and her sister, Sekenna, talked about the boy they knew as Daniel.

"I miss my baby. I miss him a lot," says Adkins.

"I was screaming and crying," says Sekenna Adkins, the boy's aunt. "That woman killed my nephew."

Police say 58-year-old Gloria Grayson, the boy's adopted mother, called 911 from her Rosedale home and requested an ambulance after he was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor.

The boy was taken to Mercy Southwest Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

"An autopsy was performed (Tuesday), which determined the child was the victim of a homicide," says Sgt. Greg Terry of the Bakersfield Police Department.

"Detectives have interviewed the child's (adoptive) mother ... and she has been placed under arrest."

The boy's aunt, Sekenna, says Grayson was not very friendly, and worried about the boy.

"Everybody was saying yesterday, 'don't say nothing, she was a good woman. She took him to the doctor. She did this, this, and that. She lived in a nice neighborhood,' says Adkins. "But what looks good, ain't good."

Kawanna Adkins says the last time she saw her son was last year, at her mother's funeral.

She says she will always remember the good times.

"He loved to sing, he liked to dance, he liked to watch TV," says Adkins. "His favorite show was Elmo on Sesame Street. My baby didn't deserve it. He was innocent. An innocent, sweet child. He never hurt nobody."

www.kget.com
2009 Mar 11