Maybe you noticed the story about Austin Kinder, the Mishawaka man who was sentenced for nearly killing his 10-month-old son last fall. He told the judge he beat his child so badly the boy was airlifted to Indianapolis because he was angry the baby’s mother didn’t love him like she used to.
Or maybe you saw the news about a LaPorte 18-year-old, Casey Measles, who was arrested after police allege she shook her 3-month-old son so badly that he, too, was still clinging to life at Riley Children’s Hospital.
Or how about the 26-year-old Plymouth mother, Amanda Nethercutt, who a few weeks ago was charged with attempted murder, accused of wrapping her hands around her 6-year-old daughter’s neck and holding her under water in the bathtub in an attempt to drown her? The girl’s face had turned blue, police say, and was saved after her grandmother intervened.
Because all three have now been charged with crimes, we now know a little about the tragic near deaths of these children in our community.
What we still don’t know is whether anyone in Indiana’s child protection system had earlier clues that might have prevented these children from what will undoubtedly be lasting trauma.
We have some hints that trouble might have been spotted sooner in at least two of these cases:
* Austin Kinder’s two children had been removed from his home about six months before he was arrested for the near-fatal injuries in September 2014 — because the baby was found to have been physically abused six months earlier, as well. We don’t know the circumstances behind why baby Josiah was returned to his father’s care.