Child Homicides in County Drop but Suicides Increase

Reported abuse and murders of children in Los Angeles County declined but their suicides and accidental deaths showed an alarming resurgence, according to an annual report being released today.

Children under 5 were at greatest risk of being killed by their parents or caretakers, but the abuse they endured during their tragically short lives often went unnoticed by relatives, neighbors and the welfare authorities who could protect them.

Those are some conclusions of a study by the county’s Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect. The findings, based on statistics gathered in 1999 by child abuse experts, law enforcement and social welfare agencies, provide a detailed analysis of children killed by caregivers, accidental deaths, youth suicides and abuse reports.

Overall referrals of abused children in Los Angeles County were down 6.7%, falling to 146,583 in 1999 compared with 157,062 in 1998. Child homicides were down 10% to 44 in 1999 from 49 the year before.

But other findings were troubling: Accidental deaths rose 41% from the year before to a total of 134, and youth suicides climbed 80% to a total of 27.

The number of juvenile suicides has seesawed in recent years and was as high as 44 in 1993. Several of the suicide victims in the latest report were quite young, including one 10-year-old, two 12-year-olds and one 13-year-old.

Authorities do not know what to make of the surge in 1999. However, the report encourages all public and private schools in the county to adopt written suicide prevention policies as part of their safety plans.

In addition, the council is forming a suicide review team to examine the circumstances of those deaths and what might have been done to prevent them.

“We want to know what kinds of warning signs were present, who knew what, whether the public agencies who might have known something spoke to each other, so we can learn how to intervene earlier,” said Michael Pines, a psychologist in the Los Angeles County Office of Education who will head the team.

The rise in accidental deaths was led by an increase in the number of children hit by cars. Of the 134 accidental deaths reported in 1999, 31 involved automobiles and young pedestrians--a 68% increase over the previous year. Drowning was the second leading cause, followed by deaths of newborns because of maternal drug use.

Although child homicides were down this time, the numbers have averaged in the mid-40s for several years, and that consistent level continues to vex officials. One possible explanation jumps from the statistics: 91% of child homicide victims in 1999 were under the age of 5 and there had been a prior referral to child protective services in less than half of those cases.

Six cases involved newborns killed by their mothers shortly after birth. With infants and toddlers, neighbors or relatives or others were less likely to pick up on signs of abuse, said Deanne Tilton-Durfee, the inter-agency council’s executive director.

“The public service system is not seeing these children,” she said. “Nor are those who might have the opportunity to notice a child in distress.”

As described in the report, the plight of those victims is harrowing.

In one case, a young mother and father brought their unconscious 3-year-old daughter into Childrens Hospital Los Angeles at 1 a.m. saying she had been complaining of headaches. She was put on life support but died a short time later.

Hospital officials noticed bruises and suspected that the girl had been physically abused, but the parents said she was prone to bruising and excessive bleeding.

Under police questioning, however, the deception was exposed.

The mother admitted that she had hit her daughter with a belt and pulled her ear when she had wet herself the previous day. The father also broke down, admitting that he had hit the girl in the abdomen several times and dropped her on the floor after she soiled herself.

An autopsy revealed a history of abuse--bruises of varying ages and old scars indicating that she had been hit with a belt or cord. The mother was charged with willful cruelty to a child and the father with murder. Both were convicted and are in prison.

Another case illustrates how the weaknesses of the child protective system can be fatal. The Department of Children and Family Services had investigated a father suspected of sexually and physically abusing his two children, ages 5 1/2 months and 4 years. The evidence proved to be inconclusive, and the children were returned to the home. Both were killed by their father nine months later when he drowned them, wrapped their bodies in plastic and dumped them in a trash can.

The youth suicides in the study evoke equal sorrow. The 10-year-old placed a belt around his neck and told his 7-year-old sister that he was going to kill himself because “no one loves me.” His sister ran to get their mother out of the shower and 911 was called. The emergency team found the boy hanging from his bunk bed by his belt with no respiration or pulse.

In the preceding year, the two siblings had been referred to protective services because of suspicions that they were abused by their stepfather. The allegations could not be substantiated and the case was closed--10 days before the boy killed himself.

Such stories point to families who are often stressed, depressed and ill-prepared to care for their young, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, the council’s chairman.

“We have to come to grips in America, and particularly Los Angeles County, that how we raise our children should be a No. 1 priority,” he said. “Much of the evidence of our report establishes that many parents don’t have the training to deal with problems.”

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Child Deaths in L.A. County

Accidental child deaths in Los Angeles County have increased markedly in recent years, while the numbers of child homicides and adolescent suicides have fluctuated.

Adolescent Suicides

Source: Los Angeles County Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect LYNN MEERSMAN / Los Angeles Times