County Caring for Sister of Rat-Bite Victim

A 3-year-old girl whose 4-month-old brother was killed by a starving pet rat will remain temporarily at a county-run facility for children, an Orange County juvenile court commissioner ruled Tuesday.

Eugene Howard, director of children’s services at the Orange County Social Services Agency, declined to release further details about a closed-door dependency hearing to decide the fate of Karissa Giguere, who was taken from her parents after her brother, Steven, was savaged by the family pet last week.

Steven J. Giguere Sr., 27, and Kathyleen E. Giguere, 30, a homeless and unemployed couple, were charged with involuntary manslaughter Monday after horrified law enforcement officials discovered that the baby had been bitten more than 110 times last Thursday as the family slept in the station wagon that served as their home.

The boy bled to death after the rodent struck an artery.

Prosecutors are awaiting results of drug tests performed on the parents, who allegedly had used much of their welfare money to buy drugs.

Howard would say little about the future custody of the child, but added that the court’s determination launches a 21-day fact-finding period to determine where the child should be permanently placed. She is now housed at the Orangewood Children’s Home, a county-run facility in the city of Orange for neglected and abused children.

Karissa is reported to be in good health, Howard said. “She’s doing as well as can be expected given the trauma this child must have gone through,” he said.

It was not known Tuesday whether the arrested father’s parents, Dennis and Dianne Giguere, had contacted authorities to seek custody of the child.

The grandparents could not be reached for comment Tuesday. They said in an earlier interview that they wanted to maintain their ties with their grandchild but had not yet decided if they would seek official custody.

“We want to keep the relationship of grandparents with her no matter what happens,” said Dennis Giguere. As for custody, he said, “We’re still talking about that.”

The grandparents filed one of five complaints against Steven and Kathyleen Giguere, alleging neglect. Theirs came just 48 hours before the fatal attack, but authorities said they were unable to find the couple to follow up on the complaint.

Orange County authorities said they had investigated earlier complaints against the Gigueres but that the children were never taken from the couple because investigators could find no immediate danger or evidence of physical abuse, Howard said.