Summer Phelps
by Gem at
Gem with faraway eyes
The picture shows a little red headed girl
with a smile that could light up a room.
She has broken more hearts than any movie
star or beauty queen.
Her name's Summer and her sunny smile and
the color of her hair reminds you of a bright,
warm, August morning. You can almost hear her
giggle, almost see her dancing through a field
of buttercups and daisies, laughing, twirling
around with her Easter hat in her hand, the
ribbons on her hat and dress flying in the breeze,
head back, laughing at the clouds in the sheer
joy of being a child in the sun. The way it should be.
She was four years old. How much trouble could
she be? She was developmentally delayed, disabled,
they say. Or was the inability to behave like a
normal four year old, a result of the alleged
sexual abuse and the six months of physical and
mental torture, perpetrated on this small helpless
creature, the reason she was labeled this way?
If this baby was born mentally disabled, doesn't
that mean she needed extra compassion, extra patience,
extra love? Shouldn't she have been in a special school
for special children? Shouldn't her parents also have been
educated to meet her special needs? Shouldn't the
child have had a caseworker to help the whole family?
Summer Phelps died Saturday night, March tenth 2007,
after what police officers alleged was nearly 24-hours
of sustained physical abuse that some described as torture,
with some of her scars showing signs that the abuse had
been going on for several weeks, perhaps months. Hardened
police officers, and nurses on the front lines wept at
the site of this child's battered and wounded body.
Someone called it the worst case of abuse they had ever seen.
The state Department of Social and Health Services issued
a brief statement late Tuesday afternoon regarding Summer
Phelps' death, acknowledging it has investigated claims
against the Lytle family involving Summer Phelps in the past.
Summer had an eight month old half brother. There must
have been some red flags, because they had a visiting
nurse come by the appartment where Summer and her family
lived. Where Summer was tortured and died in a bathtub
filled with water and urine.
Why didn't the visiting nurse take a moment to
check on Summer's health and welfare?
There are more questions than answers.
There's been 12 child deaths since 2000 here
in Spokane County linked to abuse. Where the
hell are those people, who are paid very well,
to protect those at risk children?
While there is no acceptable excuses for Summer's
parents to use a dogs shock collar to "discipline"
or to exchange a bite for a kick on a four year old,
or using any weapon to beat a child. There is also no
excuse for the department of social and health services/child
protective services for not being on top of this child's
situation. The child's parents are guilty of abuse and
murder and DSHS/CPS is guilty of gross neglect and dereliction of duty.
Summer's family asked that donations be sent to the
agencies that protect children. Perhaps donations
should be used to make the agencies that didn't protect
Summer, or the other eleven children who have died as a
result of abuse, responsible for not doing the job they are already paid to do.
This is a link to the news station that also has the police
documents on the abuse this baby suffered at the hands of her parental units.
Be warned it's painful to read.
Summer
My sincere thanks to Gem for allowing me to use her work on my site.
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