Gothamist: More Questions About 3-Year-Old's Brutal Death

jpeditor

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:28:20 -0500

"Maybe one day we can have a news story that does not unnecessarily bring Hillary Clinton into the picture" Because Hillary (and Obama) believe more not less ACS and courts will help us all. Don't we want MORE "high-quality" govt control like we are getting from ACS and the courts? They do such a phenomnemal job, as does the "dont' snitch" culture. / sarcasm off

theevilone

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:08:48 -0500

From the Daily News article linked above about the regretful neighbors: "Denise Gordon, 35, a domestic violence case manager who lives in the building, said she saw Lemar Martin, 25, at a domestic violence seminar once, "so he should have known better."" Newflash: if you saw this dude at a domestic violence seminar he was there because he has a problem with domestic violence. Duh. I would think that would prompt you to see if the girlfriend and kid looked ok, every single time you see them.

Snakefist Von Thunderplug

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:52:01 -0500

Maybe he'll eat his vegetables next time. Oh wait...

smitty

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:35:30 -0500

He would have had better luck living with me and my roommates...at least we wouldn't have abused the little guy. Ugh. So sad.

sonyactivision

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:25:53 -0500

Sadists always are looking for someone who enables them. Cheatham's beau was attracted by her scent of rut. As part of the deal, he had to participate in her sick sadistic activities. In the process, he was transformed into a glowing sadist himself. The pair will accept each other's betrayals in the trial process and eventually maintain a burning passion from their separate prisons.

Spiritof76

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:56:55 -0500

Does anyone else notice that in cases like this it's almost always one whackjob along with a partner who is either complicit or just doesn't care? Do sickos attract each other? If they like each other so much, I suggest part of the penalty is being permanently chained to each other (like the escaped convicts in the old movies) till death do them part. Which, knowing people like them, shouldn't be too long.

Peter

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:22:11 -0500

Looks like there'll be some high-level job openings at ACS soon.

Rocknrope

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:09:21 -0500

Truly terrible. He wasn't beaten to death, he was tortured to death. What kind of people are these to treat a 3-year old like that?

west side Michael

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:55:58 -0500

This kid was sexually molested from the report I saw and that alone should make us watchful if we even think a kid is being mistreated to call 911 first let the cops call Children's services to start at the very least a paper trail if not an arrest. Very sad.

Dave Hogarty

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:29:53 -0500

It's not entirely clear whether the court officially granted Cheatham custody. One of the stories over the weekend reported that Cheatham showed up at court for a scheduled custody hearing, but then left before her case had been called. I think that's why the cops were being called over visitation rights, because the godmother's custodial possession of Kyle Smith was more de facto than by law. The boy's death may have been prevented if one the neighbors manned up and called the cops when they eye-witnessed child abuse instead of pretending it wasn't any of their business. That would have gotten cops and the ACS involved on a criminal level investigation. But it takes a village to kill a child. Mission accomplished.

babyfishmouth

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:08:17 -0500

ACS most likely did something wrong here, but what about the courts who granted custody to Cheatham, when she didn't have custody of her own four children?

JRod5417

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:04:19 -0500

Agree with kane. This story underscores how deficient ACS is in following up on abuse calls. You would think that after the Nixmary Brown debacle they would be more diligent. And why did the godmother get custody of the boy when there are obviously other relatives?

kane

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:54:26 -0500

Maybe one day we can have a news story that does not unnecessarily bring Hillary Clinton into the picture...

acrocksyo

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:53:13 -0500

This may not be the place for grammar errors but "Kyle Smith was died on Friday" really? He was died on Friday? Please fix that hot mess!

matty

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:47:47 -0500

WWHCD?