Child Abuse
The unfortunate and very disturbing events taking place in this world not only sicken me but put me in a state of worry. For the life of me I can not understand why these occurrences are taking place and people choose not to act instead of reacting in these circumstances.
One situation that should not have taken place is the murder of a little girl by the name of India Durant. Here is the tragic story of her passing.
3-year-old girl murdered in the Bronx, stepfather suspected of crime surrenders
BY ERIK BADIA, MATTHEW LYSIAK AND CHRISTINA BOYLE
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Friday, September 16, 2011
Cops identified the victim as 3-year-old India Durant.
A Bronx man wanted in the death of his 3-year-old stepdaughter surrendered to cops Friday afternoon.
Kenneth Williams, dressed in tan jeans and a red hoodie, turned himself in at the 48th precinct stationhouse in the Mount Hope section of the Bronx just after 4 p.m. He was accompanied by his lawyer and didn't speak.
His stepdaughter, India Durant, was found unconscious just before 10 a.m. Wednesday in her Crotona Park East apartment. She was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital where the toddler died about an hour later.
The medical examiner's office determined Friday that India died of "blunt impacts of torso with internal injuries." Her death has been ruled a homicide.
Williams, also known as Billy Bob, was the only adult with India when she lost consciousness. He immediately called 911 -- an account disputed by relatives -- and waited for an ambulance to arrive, according to his best friend, Brian Newton.
"He was hysterical, crying," Newton said of the stepdad. "He couldn't catch his breath."
India's stepdad, who has eight prior arrests for drugs and trespassing, told his pal that the child started shaking. He thought she needed some air and put her on a chair. Williams later told cops the girl fell off the chair, while he was in another room checking on a 1-year-old boy he shares with India's mother.
Williams heard a loud thump and came running, he told Newton. India was on the floor and going into convulsions.
The tot's mother, Lauren Durant, was at work at the time.
The girl's biological father, Marquis Eaddy, 28, challenged the stepdad's version of events and believes Williams wasted crucial time before calling 911.
"He calls Lauren first and he waits for Lauren to come all the way home from work," Eaddy said.
"All the way from uptown, she had to take the train, the bus, in the meantime the girl could have been saved."
Friends said India's mother and Williams have been together for several years but are not married. Durant is two months pregnant with their second child. Durant also has two daughters from a previous relationship.
A spokesman for the Administration for Children's Services said the agency is investigating the death and the remaining children in the family have been placed with relatives.
EMS tried to resuscitate India as she was brought out of the apartment on a stretcher and Billy Bob was beside her, a witness said.
A neighbor who lives below the couple said she's heard constant chaos from their apartment for two years.
"There was screaming and yelling coming from up there 24/7," the neighbor said, who wouldn't give her name. "It was non-stop. I wish I would have called someone. I wish I would have said something. Maybe the little girl would still be alive."
A makeshift memorial was set up outside the apartment building Friday with flowers and handwritten messages saying "RIP India" and "I love you."
"She was just so sweet and innocent, a little baby," India's grandmother, Sharon Eaddy, said.
mlysiak@nydailynews.com
The statistics of child abuse "Nation Wide" are not misleading in any fashion, but rather staggering in every way known to individuals that possess a soul.
In this entry I've choice to share them with you from the "National Child Abuse Statistics" site.
>A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds
> More than five children die every day as a result of child abuse.
>Approximately 80% of children that die from abuse are under the age of 4.
>It is estimated that between 50-60% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates.
>More than 90% of juvenile sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator in some way.
>Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.
>About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.
>About 80% of 21 year olds that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder.
I hope my latest entry could reach you. I pray if you know a child that is suffering from this terrible dilemma, that you find the heart to reach out and help them!
If you or someone you know is a victim suffering from child abuse, call this hotline:
The National Child Abuse Hotline
1-800-4-A-Child
And remember... Love is not fear nor pain being inflicted on children.
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