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well nearly a decade ago a baby named Joel was beaten he recovered but then it happened again the i-team has taken a closer look at how the system failed baby Joel and how it forever changed a once vibrant and healthy child this was Joel at two years old after he recovered from a severe beating when he was two months old foster parent Paula Cheney nursed him to health after Joel and his older sister who was not physically harmed were placed in her home through protective custody he did get a lot better a lot stronger and then he started to just just come around in the car and he was really thriving Joel's father Hobart Weathersby pleaded guilty to gross misdemeanor child abuse and neglect the sentence 12 months in jail according to Metro Police Joel's mother Alicia Corte gave detectives inconsistent statements about how Joel got hurt but she was never charged a series of events would later unfold that would place Joel in harm's way again you're blaming yourself somehow even though you've stepped up so much why because I feel like I could have done more the children's mother worked with Child Protective Services or CPS and had increased contact and visits with both children in two years after they were placed in Paula's home she received unexpected news both children would be placed back with their mother my heart stopped because I wasn't prepared for that Paula says Joel was attached to her a CPS spokesman tells the i-team it's up to the biological parents on whether foster parents can stay in touch with the children Paula says she offered to help the mother but she was warned by a CPS supervisor to stay away it's like a death I don't know if you have explained it's like a death two months later I just had a feeling that something wasn't right Paula learned from a CPS worker Joel had been again and he was just so little and you know I just stopped playing him saying Lord he may not make it through the night Joel did survive but his life would never be the same Joel's mother was arrested and convicted of felony child abuse according to a CPS spokesman the supervisor who Paula says warned her to stay away from the children is still employed making a 94 thousand dollar salary I think that she should have a sale right next to the mom CPS does not release information about specific cases but a spokesman released a statement about reuniting children with parents which reads in part these decisions are reviewed internally by supervisors and/or a multidisciplinary team that includes clinical staff the DA's office and other child welfare experts and then by a judge who can overrule our recommendations a single supervisor does not make decisions on their own regarding removals or reunifications that second beating left Joel wheelchair-bound nonverbal and legally blind he's also fed through a tube in January he turned ten years old for Joel and his sister home is with Paula she adopted them my heart desire is to make sure that this little boy has the best opportunity and the best that life has to offer he you know we as a little as adults failed him the first time we did Alicia Corte is expected to be released from prison later this year and she may be deported Vanessa Murphy 8 News now tomorrow night right here on 8 news now Joel's story does continue a tragic child abuse case led to a bond between the prosecutor and a foster mother two the i-team's Vanessa Murphy shows us how that valley woman is now in need after years of giving so much this little boy Joel had already been through so much at just two years old he had recovered from a severe beating when he was two months old his father was sent to jail then as a toddler it happened again Joel's mother was sent to prison this time but that second beating left the once healthy child needing around-the-clock care ready for some water man Paula Chaney starts her day just after 5:00 in the morning to work with suctioning medicine bathing and more oh you think it's funny how she gets Joel ready please have an oatmeal for breakfast you had to school then I'll put him some banana in there the first time Joel was hurt he and his older sister Jennifer who was not physically harmed were placed in Paula's home through protective custody she was a foster parent Child Protective Services then placed both children back with their mother after the second time Joel was hurt he was expected to be placed in an out of state facility the biological relatives they only wanted but they didn't want him Paula adopted both children at this point I'm thinking I gotta do something I can't let him go this time Paula took on a little boy who was never going to walk again never going to be able to eat on his own never be able to go to the bathroom on his own and machined even blink twice at it so to say that that is rare it is an overstatement like she is truly such a special person Jacqueline Bluth was the prosecutor on Joel's mother's case but her involvement with the family didn't stop when that criminal case was over always saying is there anything she could do a chief deputy district attorney has helped the family and even showed up with Christmas gifts but there is one thing she's hoping the community can rally together for they need a wheelchair accessible van I was good get out here Joel is about 80 pounds and growing paula is 72 years old because it's so difficult for paula to low joel in and out of her car all right even a medical appointment is a struggle you wait right here so Joel's mainly restricted to home in school I think she blames herself a little bit for that as well because she wants him to go out right she wants him to live as normal the life as possible that second time Joel was beaten he was expected to die Paula stayed by his side and prayed when Joel did survive he was expected to be in a complete vegetative state but with Paula's care he's improved more than anyone could predict he calls you mama momma yeah momma yeah what does that like to hear that from that little boy well just the sium overall it's just it's just so heartwarming just to see him and and you see how happy is that baby in January Joel turned 10 years old I just think that there are certain cases out there and certain people that are so special that they stand out not to say that I haven't worked with amazing families because I have but very very few have struck me like Paula has Vanessa Murphy I think she just deserves so much more than I could ever give her 8 news now pretty amazing woman right prosecutor Jacqueline Bluth has started a GoFundMe page to help raise money to get Joel and Paula that wheelchair accessible van she really needs if you would like to help you can go to our web site at las vegas mount comm and click on this story tonight a story that will warm your heart and really restore your faith in humanity 8 news now had a front-row seat to a kind of generosity not seen very often thank you for joining us at 11:00 i'm bryan loftus and I'm Denise Valdez we recently introduced you to Joel and his adoptive mother Paula they needed help and tonight the i-team's Vanessa Murphy reminds us just how their life could be and shows us a miracle no one saw coming [Music] Paula Jenny's dedication to her adoptive son Joel knows no bounds ready for some water me two months old he was placed in Paula's home through protective custody after he was beaten Joel was placed back with his mother two years later and was abused again a second beating left the once healthy child unable to walk and needing around-the-clock care Paula adopted Joel and his older sister who was not physically harmed my heart desire is to make sure that this little boy has the best opportunity and the best that life has to offer Jacqueline Bluth who prosecuted Joel's mother for child abuse has stayed in touch with the family helping with Christmas gifts and support for Paula as she cares for Joel I think she just deserves so much more than I could ever give her she noticed how Paula who's 72 years old struggles to transport Joel who's in a wheelchair he's ten years old and weighs about 80 pounds they need a wheelchair accessible van the i-team reported the chief deputy district attorney has been trying to raise money for it our two stories on how the system failed Joel and about Paula's dedication to the boy got the attention of viewers like Paul Jarrah Milla Paul lost his ability to walk about five years ago after being diagnosed with PL s primary lateral sclerosis which progressively causes weakness in muscles the disease has also taken his voice Paul's son James also uses a wheelchair due to an accident 14 years ago the family which runs par-3 landscape and maintenance a long time in successful Las Vegas business contacted the i-team to say Paul would by Paula and Joel event I'm so grateful that this story impacted my my dad to the extent that it did and and were able to be involved now the i-team visited Paul on Monday one week after the first story aired for what she thought was an update on how the community responded with comments and calls I'm telling you has just been really really good surprising Paula didn't know what was waiting outside I'll let you get the door hey Jacqueline walked Paula outside for the big reveal though so this right here over here we have the Jeremy Lowe family this is Paul so Paulie he saw you on the news and he was so moved by your story that he went and he bought this family life will be different for Paula and Joel now with this 2016 Honda Odyssey I need to meet Joel now hey buddy he won't be confined to school and home anymore it's something that hits close to home for our family and and my dad watched the broadcast last week on the news that Vanessa did about your situation and he was touched and wanted to do something what I appreciate it I really do appreciate it I just don't have the words this don't show well you don't you don't need any words just take the keys it's all yours buddy in addition to the jeremy lowe's 8 news now viewers donated more than $50,000 to a GoFundMe account called wheels for joel we set up the fund with the idea of getting a van but thank you to the jeremy'll niels we didn't have to use that money and so i'm setting up a trust for joel that we can put that money in for his future treatment or for your needs and taking care of him the Las Vegas Valley stepping up after a tragedy it was an act of evil and malevolence that put Joel in this situation it takes an angel like Paula in order to pick up the pieces and help him lead a normal life and take care of them Vanessa Murphy Oh news now it's pretty great right the GoFundMe page remains active for anyone else who would like to contribute for Joel's care prosecutor Jacqueline Bluth says for anyone who's donated and wants their money back since the jar millas paid for the van they can contact her and she will give them their money back for more information you can visit the online version of this story at Las Vegas now com well the family gets a sentiment with Clark County after the death of a child it is a follow up to a story that the i-team first brought you last year Vanessa most recent mechanism ya viewers really responded to this original story we first did last year and now Clark County will pay one hundred thousand dollars - Abigail Bennet's family metro police say the three year old was beaten to death by her father court transcripts revealed there were warning signs the child's grandparents tried sounding the alarm and CPS failed to take appropriate action the family sued and now taxpayers will foot the bill for the agency's failure the settlement was approved by Clark County Commissioners this morning as the i-team reported last year CPS hired an outside agency to work with the family that agency was not prepared to deal with such a potentially dangerous situation Abigail was killed in 2016 court records show she was beaten so badly her heart exploded and she was suffering from a broken back and ribs days before she died we interviewed Abigail's grandmother last year who was obviously heartbroken the father Justin Bennett is awaiting trial for murder Abigail had two siblings this money is expected to go to an estate and the two surviving children we reached out to the county for a comment about the settlement and to ask whether changes have been made within the agency or whether anyone has been held accountable as a result of this failure a spokesman says they're not permitted to discuss specific cases or personnel matters it's an answer we are used to hearing or an on answer that is horrific thank you so much a Las Vegas mother is trying to hold Child Protective Services or CPS accountable after the death of her son she says CPS could have helped prevent his murder the i-team's vanessa murphy has this exclusive story you'll only see here Paul Jones was on probation for child abuse when his son and daughter were taken from their mother and placed in his care months later Jones would be arrested for the murder of his son 13 year old Aaron is hard to believe my son is there DNA Thomas is Aaron's mother she and her attorney Marjorie Hoff sat down with the i-team it's not something that I would ever understand Thomas says Aaron and his sister were removed from her care by Child Protective Services or CPS because she could no longer take medication for mental health needs due to a pregnancy she claims Paul Jones had no prior relationship with the children before they were placed with him in June of 2016 this court document states he was awarded custody by CPS he lived in this one bedroom at the Siegel Suites with his wife and according to a police report 11 other children the year before he was arrested for abusing his stepdaughter who claimed he hit her with a cable court records reveal he didn't even follow the rules for probation he ended up doing it again this is why CPS shouldn't have never trusted that according to an arrest report Jones did do it again this time to Aaron detectives say they learned from several people Jones would punish Aaron by making him stand against a wall with his arms up while other children were encouraged to hit him with anything they chose Aaron wasn't allowed to protect himself by December of 2016 Aaron was missing but no one told police and according to detectives Jones kept cashing Aaron's social security checks in April of 2017 family members began a search of their own near the Jones home and discovered human remains come to find out when they tested the bone of the teeth it was that's really hard to think about that is that is Paul Jones spoke with 8:00 news now from jail shortly after his arrest in 2017 police say Jones later admitted to striking Aaron in the head and when the boy wasn't responsive he put his body in this desert area now DNA thomas is suing jones along with clark county cps and several employees the lawsuit alleges cps didn't do a background check on jones and never visited the two children after they were placed with him about a single father whose fault is that that is CPS s fault what about the argument that CPS didn't harm the child Paul Jones did CBS did harm the child a child can't decide where they're gonna where they're going to live or where they're gonna be placed CPS absolutely made the decision to take this child and and his sister and put them in a dangerous environment that was not their choice it was not their mother's choice to CPS employees are specifically named in the lawsuit both still work there according to a CPS spokesman Carol Falcone is a senior Family Services specialist making nearly eighty five thousand dollars a year Paula hammock is the assistant director making nearly one hundred twenty-three thousand also a plaintiff Segal Suites there's no way these kids were going through the horror that they were going through without there being some alert to the people that owned that property the i-team reached out to CPS about this case a spokesman said he could not release specific information due to Nevada state law he directed us to a child welfare disclosure form which reveals numerous contacts with the family since 2006 heartbreaking it's heartbreaking Hof insists this lawsuit is aimed at fixing this system which could have saved aaron failing at protecting our children and if
people like DNA are brave enough to take them to task for it it'll continue to happen Vanessa Murphy 8 News now we gave the County numerous chances to respond to the story on the record and our request was repeatedly declined the District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty against Paul Jones Jones's attorney is arguing that he is intellectually disabled and therefore it cannot be given the death penalty a hearing to decide that is scheduled for March the i-team has been shedding light on how the system which is supposed to protect children in some cases has failed them according to two Clarke County Commissioners though an effort is underway to fix Child Protective Services vanessa murphy talked with them and is here with their story Child Protective Services has had a history of problems and who suffers children now this is the first time any commissioners have responded to the stories we've worked on over the past year and a half we also have a warning some of the content in this story is graphic and disturbing we ought to see these the kinds of things you've shown us as serious tragedies and there ought to be a continuing commitment to find cracks and Phillip we're always making changes would I tell you that any system is perfect absolutely not the Clark County Commission oversees Child Protective Services Jim Gibson and Marilyn Kirkpatrick are the only commissioners who agreed to sit down with the i-team after we exposed system flaws a lack of internal communication employees not researching cases and as a result some children being left in abusive homes I miss her Bernadine Morimoto says she tried to warn CPS about her granddaughter's father but in 2016 3 year old Abigail was killed according to the child's autopsy she was beaten so badly her heart exploded and she had broken ribs and a broken back days before she died Justin Bennett is in jail awaiting trial the family sued CPS Gibson and Kirkpatrick were not on the committee at the time of Abigail's death but they did approve a $100,000 settlement with the family one child losses one to men governor steve says alack did serve on the Commission at the time of Abigail's death politics now co-anchor Steve Sebelius asked him about CPS at an 8 News Now debate during his run for governor I mean it should be an immediate he should be given a higher priority the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services also oversees CPS the now governor Sissel Act kept Richard Whitley as the director a position he's had since 2015 the i-team took a closer look at the governor's budget proposal and noticed only a slight increase in funding for CPS we see a lot of the same kids and different agencies it would be great if the state would fund my friends of the state would probably took me right now but if they would actually fund a system or you could have all of that in one kirkpatrick says work is already underway to improve the computer program CPS employees use she also points to better communication between CPS and the court system and Gibson says changes are underway with how cases are reviewed both insists this isn't just an agency problem though they say it's a community problem any time one child dies that's too many right it's a tragedy I couldn't imagine I couldn't imagine that scenario whatsoever but we have to remember that there is somebody that's accountable for that but the parents right they have a responsibility but when parents fail the agency tasked with stepping in to protect children and help prevent deaths like Abigail's is CPS as tough as it is to sit for instance in this seat and have some unique responsibilities for Family Services and all of the things that are a part of that I think it's also important that the public is fully aware because I think that an informed public is a public that can help step up and one recommendation from Commissioner Gibson if you think a child is in an abusive situation rope horded we have information on how you can reach CPS on our website at Las Vegas now com so clearly for that story you talk to two clark county commissioners you were also trying to talk to the head of the CPS in clark county for this report what happened with that we reached out to Tim Burt's through a spokesman and the spokesman said well you already talked to two commissioners so he's not gonna sit down with you okay we also requested an interview with governor Sissel akka more recent interview we were instead provided a statement that is on our website well for years the i-team has been exposing failures at Child Protective Services and how abuse children sometimes just fall through the cracks but a state review of CPS paints a different picture the i-team's Vanessa Murphy is here with this story that you will only see on eight news now the families of 27 children who died and 24 others who nearly died in 2017 and 2018 in Nevada had previous contact with child welfare agencies the Legislative Council Bureau or LCB which reviews state agencies to make sure they're working like they should zeroed in on the deaths and near deaths a combined 51 cases the result no system failures here you couldn't possibly come to that finding realistically this memo states quote based on our review of the case files provided to us through December 31st 2018 we found no evidence that the fatalities and near fatalities were caused by the agencies not complying with state and federal laws and quote but 13-year old Aaron Jones died during the time period the LCB claims it reviewed he was placed with his father who was already on probation for felony child abuse months later the child was dead attorney Marjorie Hoff is representing the child's mother in a lawsuit filed against Clark County's Child Protective Services which alleges the county and CPS workers could have prevented Aaron's death it's hard to believe my son is dead it's not something that I would ever understand our interview with Danae Thomas aired on February 25th two days later this memo became official I was not aware of this legislative council bureau audit letter until you had brought it to my attention and now that you've read it what do you think now that I've read it I think it's extremely surprising and inaccurate here's what we know about the Aaron Jones case in June of 2016 the 13 year old boy was removed from his mother and placed with his father and a court record states respondent was awarded custody by CPS Thomas says Aaron and his sister were removed from her care by CPS because she could no longer take medication for mental health needs due to a pregnancy the father Paul Jones was on probation for felony child abuse for hitting his stepdaughter with the cable the year before he also lived in a one-bedroom apartment with his wife and 11 other children according to records by December 2016 Aaron was missing but no one told police and according to detectives Jones kept cashing Aaron's social security checks in April of 2017 the boy's bones were discovered and soon after Paul Jones was accused of murder there are some systemic failure that a case like my clients could fall through a crack and say that that was not a preventable death Hof believes CPS didn't do a background check on Paul Jones before Aaron was placed with him and says no CPS workers checked on Aaron after he was placed with him she along with I team sources question whether the LCB reviewed complete case files including Aaron's so the i-team asked the LCB and in an email a legislative auditor wrote staff review all documentation relevant to the specific circumstances of the case three pages is not enough to determine what happened to these children an arrest report describes police say happened to Aaron Jones would punish Aaron by making him stand against a wall with his arms up while other children were encouraged to hit him with anything they chose Aaron wasn't allowed to protect himself Hoff says CPS could have protected him but there's no mention of that in this review and if Aaron's case wasn't included here could there be others the i-team's repeated requests for an interview with the head of Child Protective Services in Clark County were denied Vanessa Murphy 8 News now a trial date for Paul Jones is set for January we do have the full copy of the review at Las Vegas now.com as well as emails from the Legislative Counsel bureau a two year old boy is dead his father and his girlfriend are accused of murder thank you for joining us at 5 on bryan loftus and I'm Denise Valdes the child's grandmother tells the i-team that she reached out to Child Protective Services prior to the boy's death but her calls for help were not addressed the i-team's vanessa murphy sat down Brian and Denise two-year-old JJ Newman died in February but just this month his father and his girlfriend were arrested for murder the Clark County Coroner rules JJ's death a homicide due to multiple blunt-force injuries to the head and neglect of care medical staff said this was one of the worst cases of malnourishment they've seen meaning JJ was starving his grandmother tells the i-team the coroner told her JJ also had the drug methamphetamine in his system 27 year old Chad Neumann and 36 year old Haiti Rizzo face first degree murder child abuse and conspiracy charges JJ died on February 5th according to jail records they were arrested July 19th today we sat down with Shelby Menino JJ's maternal grandmother her grandson was living with his father Chad Newman his girlfriend Haiti and her five kids in a mobile home in North Las Vegas Menino says she reached out to Child Protective Services and police because she was concerned about JJ she feels like her concerns were not being taken seriously now her grandson is dead what do you think they should have done I think they should have we're not gonna checked on him and demanded to see him the only public document available after JJ's death from CPS lists two previous contacts with the family from December 2016 alleging abuse which was found unsubstantiated and from January 30th of this year just a week before JJ's death a referral was coded information only we reached out to CPS for any additional information or a comment and a spokesman said via email state law does not allow us to comment on individual cases coming up at six the i-team did obtain the arrest report for the couple detailing JJ's final days tough story back to you child after child slipping through the cracks the i-team has been investigating child protective services highlighting the system's failures and because of our stories one County Commissioner is trying to take action commissioner tick Sager bloom wants a review of child fatalities in Clark County the i-team's Vanessa Murphy is here with this exclusive update anytime there's a child death there's a problem let's face it commissioner takes a gur blooms sat down with the i-team on August 12th to talk about Child Protective Services I think everyone is committed to trying to make things as good as possible but but you're just dealing with with problems that I mean and they're just very incredibly difficult and now a couple of weeks later he is asking his fellow commissioners to get on board to create a panel which would review child deaths the i-team has reached out to commissioners about Child Protective Services and the system failures we've reported on commissioners Marilyn Kirkpatrick Jim Gibson and Sager Blum the only ones willing to discuss CPS Saker Blum says it's a challenge to oversee the agency since information about child cases is protected by state law truthfully it is very frustrating for all of us to be able to say well it looks like everybody says yes we did a good job but we can't tell you what it was currently CPS faces a lawsuit after davon Brandon banks was killed by his foster father in 2017 Craig Dickens was convicted for murder and is in prison and the mother of Aaron Jones who died the same year is suing the child was placed with his father who was on probation for felony child abuse Paul Jones is charged with murder in 2018 the county agreed to pay $100,000 to the family of Abigail Bennett who was killed in 2016 her grandparents tried to warn CPS about her father Justin Bennett who's now accused of murder and faces the death penalty the i-team has interviewed family after family who argued CPS needs to change just last month this grandmother told us she believed CPS could have protected her grandson JJ who was killed in February in July his father and girlfriend were arrested for murder what do you think they should have done I think they should have were not done checked on him and demanded to see him this is my grandson I just want justice for JJ Vanessa Murphy 8 news now and after that story aired about JJ's death and how his case was handled vanessa reached out to all of the commissioners as well as the governor she did not hear back from the governor's office nor most of the commissioners the clerk County Commission decides there is enough oversight of Child Protective Services thank you for joining us tonight at 6 I'm Kirsten joy and I'm Denise Valdes commissioners declined to move forward with the creation of a panel that would have reviewed child deaths the idea was proposed after system failures were expose by our own I team but essa Murphy here now with an update tonight Vanessa yeah a lot of this is based on trust commissioners admit due to state law details about cases cannot be shared with them so they're putting faith in county management CPS higher-ups and oversight already in place to try to make sure abused children aren't falling through the cracks I've seen that the TV reports I've read newspaper articles and truthfully that does raise questions that that I think deserve answers commissioner takes a group loom proposed the creation of a blue-ribbon panel to review child deaths and how Child Protective Services handled cases Tim birch the director of CPS in Clark County told the Commission Monday 69 children died in 2018 and CPS had prior contact with families of 16 of them commissioners admit getting answers is a challenge essentially I don't think we as a commission have ability to go in there and do the dive into it the way we here's an example in July the i-team reported on the death of JJ Newman his father and his girlfriend are accused of murdering him his grandmother said she sounded the alarm before JJ's death and she believes CPS could have saved him but when the i-team reached out to CPS and commissioners to follow up on the grandmothers claims 432 B comes up a state law which requires case information to be kept confidential even with commissioners who oversee the agency that was through the through the roof very upset at the last death that I saw on Channel eight was very heartbreaking but I've also been advised that there is just so limited information that could be given to me it's hard to talk about things you really don't know the details about a system county manager Kevin Schiller told commissioners oversight is already in place at the state and federal levels he pointed to continuous improvement through internal and external reviews and litigation eight news now has reported on two current lawsuits and a $100,000 settlement involving families whose children were killed after CPS handled their cases Burch pointed to changes already recently made we've made over 18 policy changes in the last 18 months because we've been listening commissioner Larry Brown pointed to the volume 32,000 children and their families having some sort of contact with the system last year other errors other mistakes made absolutely but that's again that's life commissioners chose not to create a blue-ribbon panel to review child deaths but they say they are trusting systems and managers already in place because I have confidence in them and keeping an eye on them I asked hard questions myself and and a lot of it came from my very first interview with Vanessa and then I went back and started investing in the time the director said last year CPS received 20,000 calls 11,000 of them turned into investigations Denise back to you it's a big workload all right Vanessa thank you Las Vegas parents are accused of child abuse and the allegations include neglect of a sick child as the i-team discover
d there were warning signs even while Child Protective Services was supposed to be monitoring the family the i-team's Vanessa Murphy has this exclusive story you only see here now we do want to warn you the details in this report book on Samia read and chance Campbell's Facebook pages they appear to be proud parents but they're accused of abusing their children including one with medical needs so badly the kids were hospitalized did you actually abuse your kids I'm not abusing you did you leave your kid unattended the i-team tried talking to the couple moments after they appeared in a Las Vegas courtroom Monday for their criminal case say so they're both present out of custody good morning and we're setting a status check as to what in August metro police say two of the couple's children were diagnosed with an infection medical neglect and malnutrition one had possible cigarette lighter burns across their stomach the other had bruises one child told police the couple would leave the children alone in an apartment with no phone while they went to a casino according to police red admitted to hitting her kids with an extension cord and belts and also that their four-year-old daughter was missing her feeding tube for a whole month food and water would come out of the child's stomach red claimed she had a lot going on meaning too much to get medical treatment for her child did you leave your kid unattended and go to the casino the allegations of abuse are bad enough but the i-team has uncovered how Child Protective Services was monitoring the family in the five months leading up to the police investigation there were visits to the home and at least six reported contacts with CPS and medical professionals CPS was aware their child did not have her feeding tube for weeks then finally on August 20th a home health care nurse noticed extreme weight loss within a week for that child and took action that led to the children being taken to the hospital and later the parents arrests did you leave your kid with a hole in her stomach without a feeding tube and go my card you guys don't have another comment a Clark County spokesman says the CPS worker assigned to the case is still employed making nearly 70 thousand dollars a year as for the case CPS cites privacy laws and doesn't comment on specific cases so we don't know how the children are doing in Las Vegas Vanessa Murphy 8 News now doctors and nurses say a toddler's death is one of the worst cases of malnutrition they've ever seen and it's a story the i-team first broke and tonight we're learning more details about the final days of the boy's life the i-team's Vanessa Murphy has a story you'll only see here on eight news now and we do want to warn you the content of this story is disturbing Shelby veneno remembers her grandson JJ as a happy and healthy baby so bright so loving you know you said come give me a hug and he would JJ died on February 5th investigators say the two-year-old was starved beaten from head to toe and had methamphetamine in his system it's unfathomable a medical examiner testified JJ died from blunt force trauma and neglect of care contributed to his death and JJ didn't suddenly pass away he was abused over time and he slowly died while living in this mobile home with his father and his girlfriend prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for 27 year old Chad Newman and 36 year old Heidi Rizzo they're charged with murder and child abuse they declined on-camera interviews with the i-team but grand jury transcripts reveal what they told North Las Vegas police new men moved in with his girlfriend and her five kids around September 2018 Rizzo said JJ had quote white boy complex photos of her biological children show them well fed with no bruising again look at JJ Newman blamed Rizzo he said she mistreated and abused JJ and after one incident JJ told him dad JJ go meaning the toddler wanted to leave but Newman kept his son in that home he said he noticed a downward spiral in JJ's health in the two to three weeks before his death but never took him to the doctor that's just sad it's sad that somebody could do this to this baby Menino is JJ's maternal grandmother she says her daughter gave up her parental rights growin up Ali never really wanted to be a mom but Menino herself tried to stay in JJ's life she says she last saw him on September 24th 2018 and after that Newman wouldn't respond to her while razza wouldn't let her see JJ she tells the i-team she reached out to Child Protective Services for help according to this document a referral was received on January 30th and it was coded information only that was one week before JJ died it appears no one from CPS entered the home where they would have found JJ suffering I think they should have not been checked on him and demanded to see him CPS will not comment on specific cases it's unclear whether any CPS employees were held accountable for failing to check on JJ the i-team reached out to the Clark County Commission which oversees CPS about JJ story but it appears CPS won't even share case information with these officials citing privacy laws in September commissioner tick Sager Blum proposed more oversight of CPS but he was told there's enough oversight to Menino it wasn't enough to save JJ's life I'm afraid that JJ thought toward the end like you know my girl is not coming back for me the i-team reached out to CPS again before this story aired a spokesman said state law prohibits them from discussing specific individuals and cases and we shouldn't interpret that answer as a confirmation of any information he also said every year CPS receives quote thousands and thousands of calls that do not allege abuse or neglect of a child we investigate all calls in which there is allegation of abuse neglect related to a specific child end quote
