Biological mother of child found chained to shed wants him back

By Lauren Squires

MEMPHIS, TN -

(WMC) - The mother of a child found chained up in a backyard shed says she wants her parental rights back.

It's a fight that came to a head last week when she saw her son being taken from his adoptive parents on WMC Action News 5.

Dionne Robinson had her parental rights terminated five years ago after she deserted her children in a drug-fueled haze.

"I had a drug problem back then and that caused them to take them," she said.

Now she wants a second chance at being a mom.

"It was very heart breaking for me. I just broke down in tears, because that's nothing a child should ever have to go through," said Robinson.

On July 3, Memphis police rushed the home of Melvin and Kenya Bloomingburg on Gaywinds Avenue after a young girl called 911 to report that her brother was chained up in the backyard shed.

Robinson says the boy and girl are her biological children; they were taken from her in 2006 after she left one at a homeless shelter and the other with a neighbor and never returned. Court records show that in 2009, Robinson lost all parental rights and her children were adopted.

Robinson—who is now sober, educated, and employed—says in April of this year, her now 14-year-old daughter reached out to her on Facebook. In a private message, the teenager revealed her address and new name.

"When I saw it I was thinking, I was just waiting to see what the address was and when they said Gaywinds and Bloomingburg, I knew then that it was my babies," said Robinson. "And when they said it was the sister that called in, I knew."

Now it's a waiting game for a mother fighting to regain her parental rights after seeing her children removed yet again.

"I just want my babies home with me, where they can be loved and taken care of like they should be," she said.

Six children were removed from the home on Gaywinds last week, and Robinson has contacted an attorney.

The Department of Children's Services said in a statement Monday, "We still have a lot of work to do to understand the circumstances. We will still be working closely with law enforcement and prosecutors."

So far, no arrests have been made, and there has been no explanation as to why the child was chained up in a shed.