Nassau County Mother Kills Children, Questions Abound

In the wake of the deaths of three children on Saturday, apparently killed by their mother, the Nassau County Children's Protection Services supervisor was suspended today.

Caseworkers had gone to Leatrice Brewer's apartment to investigate complaints, but she was not in. According to Newsday, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi said CPS supervisor Eddie Arrendondo failed to send caseworkers on Saturday to follow up, "despite the warnings by relatives that the children were in mortal danger."

On Saturday morning, Brewer called 911 and told the operator she killed her three children. When the police arrived at her home, they found Jewel Ward, 6, Michael Demesyeaux, 5, and Innocent Demesyeaux, 18 months, laid out on a bed in an upstairs room. Initial medical examination showed that the children had been stabbed, drowned, and poisoned. Brewer jumped out of a second floor window when police arrived, injuring her vertebrae.

Family members had called CPS 10 times in prior months and neighbors described her as a troubled woman, who occasionally had problems with illegal drugs. One of the children's fathers, Innocent Demesyeux Sr., estranged from Brewer since 2004, has been trying to get custody of his kids because of her mental instability. He and Brewer were scheduled to meet in court yesterday for a custody hearing, but instead he told the Daily News, "Nassau County killed these kids. She wanted to kill them. I let the court know that. But they took only one side."

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By Dave Hogarty in News on February 26, 2008 2:20 PM

Comments [rss]

CHARLIE WILSON

The New York Administration for Childrens' Services ("ACS") is a completely corrupt and broken system, usually and routinely allowing sick, demented, drug addicted, alcoholic, violent, single mothers to keep their children simply because they are female, even though there is usually very often a very good, responsible, caring, and stable father of those kids somewhere out there. ACS continues to sweep the warning signs under the rug, even when they know that some of those crazy single mothers are dangerous to their kids, or even when there are photoraphs or other evidence which document, support, and prove that those children are either being abused, neglected, or molested. The New York ACS is owned, bought, and paid for, and very often is used as a tool for political reasons, and very rarely do they give a damn about the safety and welfare of the poor children, until and unless one of them winds up molested, beaten up, or dead. And ACS Caseworkers and Investigators of Child Abuse, Neglect, or Molestation are often total whores, who are routinely bribed, intimidated, their investigations are interfered with, and they are often offered high paying and lucrative "job offers" after they get out of this government service by many bogus tax-exempt "battered women's clinics," so they constantly kiss those agencies' asses against the best interests of the poor abused children.

pcalma2075

This is not "isolated". Our elected "representatives" are taking bribes in the form of "campaign contributions" to favor the Mother regardless of her mental state, judges routinely "award" custody to Mom, even when there are issues with child "protective" services. Judges on L.I. are there for fourteen (14) years and are untouchable, That means they can ruin many lives.

JenChungsBaby

Weirdest part of this story: The 18-month-old girl and the father are both named Innocent.

Dave Hogarty

At least one dad was fighting for custody of these children. This is hardly a question of birth control or self control. These kids deserved to live, even if their mom was mentally disturbed. Their death isn't an accident, oversight, or misstep. It's just a tragedy of a sick woman taking her kids down with her.

Barbj8

Maybe self control, too.

GOP

Where is (are?) the dad(s)? Birth control should be free in the ghetto.

smitty

Awful.

BongoBoy

Back to the copy editor.

Why would the Westchester County Executive comment on a case in Nassau County?

Are you all time-pressured Bob Cratchits out there?