Investigation continues in toddler's death

No charges filed in 'Baby Nathaniel' case

Nicole Paseka

Dakota County Attorney Ed Matney said Tuesday that he is still awaiting final reports by officials investigating the death of 20-month-old Nathaniel Saunsoci-Mitchell.

"I only have preliminary reports," Matney said. "I have a lot of verbal information. I am still waiting on the full reports."

Nathaniel, son of Jacki Saunsoci and Nathan Mitchell, died Sept. 24 at the University of Nebraska Medical Clinic in Omaha due to severe head trauma and numerous other injuries he acquired Sept. 22 while living with a South Sioux City foster family.

"I'm hoping to have the full reports in soon. We're approaching a month now since Nathaniel was initially injured ... If by the end of the week I don't have a package, I will ask law enforcement to provide me with what they do have," Matney said.

Nathaniel was a ward of the Omaha Tribe, not the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, at the time of his death, although he was not living on the reservation.

Numerous agencies, including the Mercy Child Advocacy Center, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Iowa Medical Examiner's Office at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center, will turn their final reports into police, who in turn prepare a final package for Matney to review. The South Sioux City Police and Nebraska State Patrol investigated Nathaniel's death.

Saunsoci family members expressed frustration that no one has been charged in connection with Nathaniel's death. The toddler was buried Sept. 28 at the Omaha Indian Cemetery in Macy, Neb.

"It's hard for us to understand why an arrest hasn't been made," a female member of the Saunsoci family said Monday. She declined to tell the Journal her first name.

"If they would have held (the foster parents) and questioned them in the first place, they probably would be somewhere by now," Saunsoci said.

Nathaniel's last foster parents moved to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota after the toddler's death. Matney said he did not want to comment on whether the foster family or any of its members are chief suspects in Nathaniel's death.

Matney also declined to say whether the foster family's recent move has hindered the investigation. "It's hard for me to comment on that, too, because law enforcement officers are really doing the work interviewing the witnesses," Matney said.

The Journal decided not to publish the foster parents' names unless criminal charges are brought against them.

After he reviews the official reports from investigators, "A charging decision can be made fairly quickly," Matney said. He did not speculate on when that would occur.

There are two tracks officials can take, Matney said.

If there is sufficient information gathered by investigators, officials can proceed directly with charging a person or persons in Nathaniel's death.

If there is less information, "There is the possibility the person can be charged through the grand jury process," Matney said. That process would take longer.

Nathaniel and his parents are members of the Omaha Nation. His last foster mother is Oglala Sioux; his last foster father is Mexican-American. The federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 aimed to keep American Indian children in American Indian homes because many Indian children were adopted by whites and lost all cultural connections.

Under the Indian Child Welfare Act, an Indian child removed from his or her home should be placed with extended family, a member of their tribe or an Indian foster home -- in that respective order.

Before his death, Nathaniel was shuffled between several white foster homes and the home of an aunt, Tiara Saunsoci, who is a member of the Omaha Tribe.

His biological mother, Jacki Saunsoci, completed treatment for drug and alcohol abuse and also attended parenting classes. Nathaniel's biological father, Nathan Mitchell, was in Sheldon, Iowa, on work release from jail at the time of his son's death, according to Nathaniel's maternal grandmother, Olivia Saunsoci.

Olivia Saunsoci said she wanted to care for Nathaniel, but a criminal record prevented her from becoming a foster parent.

The night Nathaniel was fatally injured, officials removed five biological children of the foster mother and other foster children from the home immediately.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe and the children's mother petitioned to have the five biological children moved to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation under the Indian Child Welfare Act.

"Their intervention was not successful," Matney said.

The five children remain temporary wards of the state of Nebraska.

Journal staff writer Nicole Paseka can be reached at 712-293-4276 or nicolepaseka@siouxcityjournal.com.