Tag: CPS

Episode 154: Averylee Hobbs (Mega Episode)

In episodes 47 and 48, I told you the story of 4-year-old Averylee Hobbs. Avery was not even a month old when her mother, Britney Roll Mayes, fractured Avery’s skull and spent time in prison. After Britney was released, she was awarded visitation with Avery, who began returning to her paternal grandparents covered in bruises, burns, bite marks, and other inflicted injuries. Even though multiple family members reported the obvious abuse, Avery’s caseworker and guardian ad litem took Britney’s side and even convinced a judge to give Britney custody of her daughter. On July 29, 2016, Avery arrived at the hospital, unresponsive, and she died three days later.

In this mega episode, you’ll hear all of my previous coverage of Avery’s case, including episodes 47, 48, and a snippet from a case update special I released in December of 2021. Then, you’ll hear several more recent updates in Avery’s case, including her mother’s attempt to appeal, the ways her family has kept her memory alive, and the tireless advocacy Avery’s grandma, Tammy Risen, continues to pursue in the name of her little Cupcake.

This is the tragic, infuriating, preventable story of Averylee Hobbs.

Tammy’s petition: https://www.change.org/p/modernization-of-children-s-rights-under-the-care-of-child-protection-services

D.E.A.R. Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1159854537727295

Center for Judicial Excellence: https://centerforjudicialexcellence.org/

“That Old Table” by Tammy Risen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJVbsT76mTw&ab_channel=TammyRisen

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/STLC, and get on your way to being your best self.

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $5 per month can listen to my weekly episodes ad free, while $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

You can also support the podcast at Ko-Fi.com/STLCpod.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 141: Cali Anderson

On May 15, 2018, police responded to a self-storage facility in Sacramento, California, where, in one of the storage units, sat a box containing a blue plastic barrel, inside which was a duffel bag. In that bag were the remains of a small child who appeared to have been dead for at least two weeks. Police tracked down the couple who left the box in the storage unit, Tyler and Averyauna Anderson of Reno, Nevada, and arrested them for the murder of Tyler’s five-year-old daughter, Cali.

This is the story of a little girl whose stepmother hated her so much that she kept Cali handcuffed in a dog crate in the bathroom and slowly, over the course of several years, starved the little girl to death. It’s also the story of a man who doesn’t deserve the title of “father,” because he did absolutely nothing to protect his own daughter.

This is the horrific story of Cali Anderson. 

Links discussed in this episode:
Explore With Me documentary, 16 Pounds At 5 Years Old: The Sickening Case of Cali Anderson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFUcRn00sPc 

justiceforjudah# on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/5145688765446786/

Tree-planting ceremony/luncheon event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/548616974006072/

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

You can also support the podcast at Ko-Fi.com/STLCpod.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 140: Judah Morgan Updates

In episodes 87 and 88, I told you the story of four-year-old Judah Morgan, who spent the first three-and-a-half years of his life in a foster care kinship placement with his second cousin, Jenna Hullett, and her family. Despite multiple warnings from Jenna and other family members, Judah was returned to his biological parents, Alan Morgan and Mary Yoder, in April of 2021. Six months later, he was dead, and Alan and Mary were both arrested.

In this episode, I’ll provide you with  the many updates that have transpired since I last talked about Judah’s case. You’ll also hear my recent conversation with Judah’s “real” mom, Jenna Hullett, who continues to push for change in the name of the curly-haired boy she loved like her own.

This is the Judah Morgan update episode.

justiceforjudah# on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/5145688765446786/

Tree-planting ceremony/luncheon event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/548616974006072/

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

You can also support the podcast at Ko-Fi.com/STLCpod.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 125: Hazel Homan (Part 2)

Last week, I told you the story of three-year-old Hazel Homan, whose brain was fatally injured while she was in the care of her father’s girlfriend, Kamee Dixon. This episode features two special guests. First, you’ll hear my conversation with Stephanie D., the jury foreperson at Kamee’s murder trial, who is the first juror I’ve spoken to on the podcast and who had a very valuable perspective of the case. 

Next, you’ll hear from Ashlee Barnes, Hazel’s aunt and the sister of Hazel’s father, Brandon Homan. Ashlee has been the de facto family spokesperson since Hazel’s death, and she told me all about the sweet little girl her family cherishes to this day, whose memory they will never allow to fade.

This is part two of the heartbreaking story of Hazel Homan.

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 124: Hazel Homan (Part 1)

On November 27, 2019, 27-year-old Kamee Dixon called 911, saying her stepdaughter had choked and was unresponsive. Sadly, the damage to three-year-old Hazel Homan’s brain was not survivable. After police found evidence of a pattern of abuse, Kamee was arrested and charged with her murder.

This is the story of how child protection agencies failed a little girl who was removed from her parents’ custody, placed with her grandparents for a year and a half, and returned to her father’s home in June of 2019, only to die five months later. It’s also the story of a precious three-year-old girl with long brown hair, pinchable cheeks, and big brown eyes who loved Baby Shark, chicken nuggets, and playing with her toy ponies. 

This is part one of the heartbreaking story of Hazel Homan.

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 104: Heaven Watkins (Part 2)

 

Last week, I told you the story of Heaven Watkins, an eleven-year-old autistic girl with cerebral palsy who was well known to the child protection system in her home state of Minnesota. When her family moved to Virginia, however, Heaven fell off the radar of those tasked with protecting children, and despite the warnings of concerned family members, Heaven was beaten to death in May of 2018 by her mother and her live-in boyfriend.

In this episode, you’ll hear my conversation with Heaven’s aunt and kinship caregiver, Dr. Sheronda Orridge, an incredibly accomplished woman who has never stopped fighting for her special niece and whose efforts have paved the way for new laws to help better protect other children like Heaven.

This is part two of the tragic story of Heaven Watkins. 

Links discussed in today’s episode:

Kimberly Flower on YouTube

Tammy Risen’s book, In the Best Interest of a Child

H.R.485 – Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act

Heaven’s Law (Virginia)

You can also follow the podcast on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.