Houston Tragedy

A 12-year-old has been arrested for the murder of a 10 month old baby in Houston.

HOUSTON - A 12-year-old suspended from school for fighting killed a 10-month-old baby by throwing him to the floor at a home where several young children were unsupervised, officials said Wednesday.

The preteen boy, whom authorities won't name because of his age, was charged as a juvenile with capital murder. A judge Wednesday ordered him held in juvenile detention.

The 10-month old, Deandre Washington, was injured on March 12 and died two days later at a hospital, said Child Protective Services spokeswoman Estella Olguin.

Authorities still are trying to determine how many children were in the house in a working class section of southeast Houston when the mothers of the two sets of siblings left them alone. They also don't yet know whether the 12-year-old, who was the oldest in the group, was specifically left in charge.

Terrible.  And what's worse, the newspaper and press won't name him because of his age, but yet the DA is seeking capital murder charges?

Today, there's a story in the Chron detailing how the family is stating that the grandmother is trying to frame that 12 year old boy and that really, it was the 7 year old who threw the baby down the stairs.  I ... it just breaks my heart anyway you cut it. I'm flabbergasted by the adults statements.  The adults are actively laying blame on yet another child, and meanwhile the mother of the child can't remember if she was home when the infant was killed or not.  And then the first paragraph of the Chron story says that the Grandmother was home with the kids?  What?

I highlighted the "working class section" of Houston because ... what does that mean? Is that some sort of code for the poor side of town? That's how I'm taking it. It's just one of the first times I've read something like that. Maybe I don't spend enough time with the Chron. There are several parts of Houston that are "working class" so maybe they had to find a more PC term for "wrong side of the tracks."

One other thing that bothers me about the Chron story is this ...

Child Protective Services spokeswoman Estella Olguin deferred to the Houston Police Department and the district attorney’s office regarding the claims.


“You would probably have to ask the police or the DA’s office what kind of evidence they had to arrest him, but obviously they had enough to make an arrest,” she said.

Earlier this week, she said the children all said the 12-year-old threw the baby onto the floor.

Yes, obviously.  Because the system is always fair, 12-year-olds always know all their rights, and DA's never, ever, ever arrest the wrong people.  Ugh.  She's supposed to be the kids advocate.  Is she really just allowed to "deffer" the child's welfare to the PD?

And as to all the kids saying the 12 year old did it ... yes, because a 4, 5, and 7 year old make entirely credible witnesses.

The adults in this situation need to be held accountable.  It's just so tragic.