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Thread: Sherill Small, Foster Mother, Charged In Murder Of 2-Year-Old Texas Girl

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    Sherill Small, Foster Mother, Charged In Murder Of 2-Year-Old Texas Girl

    A Texas foster mother has been accused of murdering a 2-year-old girl placed in her care.

    Sherill Small called 911 the evening of July 29 and reported that the child, Alexandria Hill, had stopped breathing. The girl was taken to a Rockdale area hospital, where she remained in a coma until she was taken off life support Wednesday.

    Rockdale Police Chief Thomas Harris told KWTX that Small tried to hide what caused the girl's injuries, but the truth soon came out.

    "Initially the story was [that] the child was running backwards and fell," Harris told the station. "You don't get these types of injuries from a 2-year-old child running backwards and falling."

    Doctors said she had brain hemorrhaging and retinal hemorrhaging in both eyes. Small later told police that she has shaken the girl and accidentally let her go. She was arrested on Aug. 1.

    The victim's father, Joshua Hill, told KXAN that his daughter was placed in foster care "because her mother and I smoked pot at the time." An examination of court records by the station revealed that the girl's mother had a medical condition that did not allow her to be left alone with the child.

    In a separate interview with KVUE, Hill said he and his wife only used marijuana while their daughter was asleep, and that she never came to harm while in their care.

    ?We never hurt our daughter. She was never sick, she was never in the hospital, and she never had any issues until she went into state care,? Hill told the station.

    Hill said that his daughter moved in with Small after he and his wife complained that a previous home wasn't safe.

    "She would come to visitation with bruises on her, and mold and mildew in her bag," Hill said.

    According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Small was a licensed foster parent through the foster care agency Texas Mentor, and gained custody of the girl in January. As part of her licensing, Small was required to undergo training through Texas Mentor.

    TDFPS spokeswoman told KXAN that Small's foster care record included "one allegation of a previous foster child in her care that had bruising and lead poisoning, but no deficiencies were found."


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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    August 8th 2013.
    A two-year- old Round Rock girl died last Wednesday night in a Temple hospital and a 54-year-old Rockdale woman was arrested the next day and charged with murder.

    Rockdale police said Sherill Small admitted slamming Alexandria ?Alex? Hill to the floor of the San Jacinto Street home where she and her husband, Clemons Small III, made their living by keeping foster children.

    Lt. J. D. Newlin said Mrs. Small told police the slam was an accident, that she was ?playing a game? with the child, but also admitted to being ?frustrated? with the girl, initially because the youngster got up early that morning to get herself food and water.

    DECISION?The Hill family, of course, is in shock. ?We?re just getting by on the grace of God,? grandmother Diann Hill of Lexington told The Reporter.

    Her son, Joshua Hill, is Alex?s father. The family? including the child?s mother, Mary Sweeney who is engaged to Joshua?was together in Alex?s hospital room Wednesday night when the decision was made to turn off the life support system.

    ?I was so proud of my son for the brave way he made the hardest decision anyone should ever have to make,? Hill said. ?The reality was that she was never going to wake up.?

    Rockdale Police received the 911 call from Mrs. Small just after 7 p.m. July 29 saying there had been an ? accident? involving a child at 507 San Jacinto".

    Firefighters, police and an EMS crew arrived, found the child ?not breathing and unresponsive,?

    Alex was treated at Richards Memorial Hospital, Rockdale, then flown to McLane Children?s Hospital at Scott & White where she remained for two days before dying about 10:20 p.m. Wednesday, after the family's decision to disconnect life support.

    ?We got a call from Child Protective Services (CPS) saying that there had been an ?accident? involving Alex and that we needed to come to Temple,? Diann Hill said. ?I think at that instant I knew it was bad,

    They were joined at the hospital by Alex?s parents who kept a vigil over the next two days while the extent of the child?s injuries were determined and hope faded.

    LAST VISIT?Alex had been taken from her parents last year after an investigation by CPS that included the parents? use of marijuana in their Round Rock home.

    Alex was initially placed with a different family, but was taken away after Joshua Hill raised concerns over bruising on his daughter and sanitary conditions.

    Then she went to the Smalls, who moved to Rockdale from Austin a month and a half ago. They were selected by Texas MENTOR, a foster care agency which contracts with CPS to place children in foster homes.

    Diann Hill said her son had taken Alex to an Austin- area McDonald?s four days previously.

    ?He believed they were going to get her back within a few months,? Mrs. Hill said.

    Instead, there were funeral services held for Alex Monday in Pflugerville.

    ?ACCIDENT??Police immediately began questioning the Smalls Monday evening.

    ?Mrs. Small?s first story was that Alex was ?running backwards,? fell and hurt herself that way,? Newlin said. ?Those injuries were much too serious to have been caused that way.?

    Police didn?t buy that version of events and further questioning produced a different story.

    ?Mrs. Small told us she was playing a game, holding Alex high up over her head, swinging her down almost to the floor, then swinging her back up,? Newlin said.

    ?She told us she did it once, twice and then on the third time lost her grip and the child hit the floor,?

    Newlin said police got Small to demonstrate her actions using a doll.

    ?When the doll was slammed to the floor of the interview room it was loud,? Newlin said.

    Newlin said autopsy records showed Alex received her mortal injury essentially from a blow to the top of her head

    ?She also received a bruise to the right side of the face and had a lacerated liver,?
    Newlin said.

    Mrs. Small was arrested at 11 a.m. Thursday and charged with murder. She turned herself in after police

    She remains in the county jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.

    TIME OUT? Newlin said police have interviewed two persons, relatives of Mrs. Small, who spent several hours in the home during the afternoon in question and investigators have pieced together a timeline of

    ?They arrived about 3 p.m. and noticed Alex was in a darkened room in what was described as a ?time-out? situation,? Newlin said. ? They were told by Mrs. Small the girl was in time-out because she had gotten up that morning before the couple and had gotten herself food and water.?

    ?At one point, apparently, Alex had waved to one of the visitors and Mrs. Small got up and moved her to a different place, where she couldn?t be seen,? Newlin said.

    Newlin estimated the child was in the time-out for three to four hours during the day.


    HUSBAND?Police can?t talk about past convictions but in the wake of the media firestorm that followed the arrest, an Austin television station obtained records showing Clemons Small had an arrest sheet that included charges for marijuana delivery, forgery and cocaine possession.

    Newlin said Clemons Small was also interviewed but is not being charged in connection with Alex Hill?s

    ?Unless something new comes up in the case, it does not appear that Mr. Small will be charged,? Newlin

    Newlin said Clemons Small told police he had a 7p.m. meeting to attend at a Rockdale restaurant, just about the time the incident occurred, and the restaurant?s video surveillance shows him entering the restaurant at 7.05.

    ? The video shows he only stayed three minutes,? Newlin said. ?He gets a call, which he told us was the one from his wife informing him of what had happened at home, and leaves the restaurant at 7:05.?

    AFTERMATH?Questions of accountability have arisen in the aftermath of the incident.

    The Texas Department of Family Protective Services said it was taking a closer look at how Texas MENTOR made the decision to license the Smalls.

    Texas MENTOR said the organization was ?appalled by the allegations involving one of our foster parents.

    Joshua Hill said he and Alex?s mother are working together to prepare a lawsuit against the state and the foster agency.

    An eight-month-old child, who was also in the Smalls? foster care, was removed from the home.

    Newlin said he believes the Smalls have had as many as five foster children in the home.

    Grandmother Diann Hill told The Reporter the family appreciates the care Alex received at the hospitals in Rockdale and Temple. ?I know they did everything they could for her,? Hill said.

    ?All anyone can do now is to pray for her,? Mrs. Hill said.

  3. #3
    Senior Member animosity's Avatar
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    this makes me fume! they took the kid from her parents because they smoke pot and placed her in home(s) where she was way worse off? so horrible!

    before anyone gets upset with me... i'm not a pot hater and i'm not a pot lover. if it's between pot and your kid, you should choose your kid. that said, i don't really thing you should lose your kid over pot in the first place, unless you're selling it and having all manner of people over all the time smoking out and playing tv.

    the parents are with it enough to be upset with the first placement... i feel really bad for them. i do wonder about the medical condition that keeps the mother from being alone with the child though.
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  4. #4
    This is so sad and the baby is precious.
    I was in foster care when I was a teen and even then I was placed in a few unspeakable homes. So sad this still goes on.

  5. #5
    http://www.kvue.com/news/Father-of-m...218037541.html

    Texas News along wiht a video of Dad & Alex before her death. RIP baby <3

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    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by animosity View Post
    this makes me fume! they took the kid from her parents because they smoke pot and placed her in home(s) where she was way worse off? so horrible!

    before anyone gets upset with me... i'm not a pot hater and i'm not a pot lover. if it's between pot and your kid, you should choose your kid. that said, i don't really thing you should lose your kid over pot in the first place, unless you're selling it and having all manner of people over all the time smoking out and playing tv.

    the parents are with it enough to be upset with the first placement... i feel really bad for them. i do wonder about the medical condition that keeps the mother from being alone with the child though.
    Yes, this is fucking disgusting. There's a huge difference between occasionally smoking weed, which is what it sounds like these people did, and growing a pot farm. That would be like reporting someone because they drank a beer every weekend.

    This is a huge. huge system fail. First of all, I bet anything CPS was tipped off by someone who has a personal grudge against these people, because there are severely abused kids that CPS doesn't get around to checking on. Second, the woman who killed her was running a foster farm! How do the social workers not note this?????

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    Senior Member M Joy's Avatar
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    My ex- husband works for TX CPS. Times like this when I want to ask him WTF. But we don't talk so, it would be weird.

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    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by M Joy View Post
    My ex- husband works for TX CPS. Times like this when I want to ask him WTF. But we don't talk so, it would be weird.
    One of my friends works for CPS in L.A and tells me about the shit she deals with. At least it's some comfort that she's never had anyone taken out of a home where it wasn't super obvious they needed to be removed....however, what she did say is that probably kids get overlooked because there are so many hoarders neglecting their kids, and that is a lot more obvious than when they come across a nice house where someone thinks things aren't right with the children.

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    Senior Member animosity's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
    Yes, this is fucking disgusting. There's a huge difference between occasionally smoking weed, which is what it sounds like these people did, and growing a pot farm. That would be like reporting someone because they drank a beer every weekend.

    This is a huge. huge system fail. First of all, I bet anything CPS was tipped off by someone who has a personal grudge against these people, because there are severely abused kids that CPS doesn't get around to checking on. Second, the woman who killed her was running a foster farm! How do the social workers not note this?????
    yeah, it also said the foster mother had been investigated for possible abuse before. i wonder what the screening process for foster parents is with these smaller agencies. my step sister works for one. i should ask her.

    i've always wanted to foster kids someday when i'm stable. it sounds like hard work though and you have to have a great character to do a good job. i wish these 'foster farms' were just a myth.

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    Some more pictures of the precious lil Alex. RIP baby.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml

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    That picture of Alex in the burgundy dress is just so sad. Her eyes show a lot of pain and despair to me. As for her mother not being able to be with her, she may have an epileptic condition or narcolepsy where she cannot anticipate being incapacitated. As for the story of foster mom playing that game of swinging the baby is AB-SO-FUCKING-RIDICULOUS!

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    Cousin Greg Angiebla's Avatar
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    If one child was already removed from the foster home, why would they let the other children stay there?

    If a foster parent has a record, they shouldn't be allowed to take in children and receive funding for "taking care" of these children. Some of these foster parents see a child as a paycheck and don't give a shit about them. Having that little girl in time out for 3-4 hours? The punishment didn't fit the crime. This woman sounds like sadistic bitch to me. She probably starved this poor baby, and was pissed the little girl ate some of "their" food.

    "The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man" -Charles Darwin

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    Senior Member TupeloHoney's Avatar
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    http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/f...24815bc40.html

    Five testify in foster mom's murder trial

    (Oct. 30, 2014) Mary Sweeney held her 2-year-old daughter, Alexandria Hill, for 15 minutes after she was taken off of life support on July 31, 2013, a medical specialist testified Wednesday during Sherill Small's capital murder trial in a Milam County courtroom.

    Dr. Lori Wick, a pediatric critical care specialist at McLane Children's Hospital, was one of five witnesses to testify Wednesday in the trial, which resumed in Judge John Youngblood's 20th District Court in Cameron.

    Small is accused of dropping Alexandria on her head on July 29, 2013, while in foster care. Two days later, the toddler was taken off life support, and Small was arrested the following day. The 55-year-old grandmother could face life in prison if convicted of capital murder by the jury.

    Wednesday's testimony began with a cross-examination of Rockdale police Lt. J.D. Newlin by defense attorney Norman Lanford.

    District Attorney Bill Torrey later called Wick and a Scott & White forensic nurse to the stand, both of whom treated Alexandria when she was flown by helicopter to McLane Children's Hospital in Temple on July 29.
    Wick told the jury that the bruises on Alexandria's chin, arms and buttocks were similar to those obtained in a car accident.

    Also taking the stand for the prosecution were two of Small's sisters, who testified that Alexandria was put in time-out for nearly two hours on the day she was injured. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services recommends foster parents put children in time-out for "approximately one minute for every year of the child's age."

    When questioned about the reason for the time-out, one of Small's sisters said it was because Alex had gotten out of bed early to get some food and water before anyone in the house was awake.

    A day before, the jury watched an interview between Newlin and Small in which she said Alex had only been in time-out for a few minutes when her sisters came to visit. She also said her sisters were only at the house for "maybe 45 minutes or an hour."

    A child abuse expert and the Dallas County medical examiner who performed Alexandria's autopsy are expected to take the stand Thursday, after which the prosecution will rest its case. The defense is expected to begin presenting its case to jurors Friday morning.

    "If we wind down early tomorrow, then we're probably a little bit ahead of the curve," Torrey said.

    Lanford said he is reserving comment until after closing arguments, which should begin next week.



    http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/c...c134215fa.html

    Child abuse expert says foster mother's story doesn't match injuries

    (Oct. 30, 2014) CAMERON -- A pediatric abuse investigator testified Thursday that none of the claims made by Alexandria Hill's foster mother can explain what caused fatal injuries to the toddler in 2013.

    Dr. George Edwards, a board certified expert from Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin, told the jury that there was substantial evidence from Alexandria's medical records that showed she was physically abused before she died on July 31, 2013.

    The capital murder trial of foster mom Sherill Small, 55, continued in the 20th District Court in Cameron, with the prosecutors wrapping up their case just before noon Thursday. Edwards and Dallas County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jeffrey Barnard both reviewed the results of Alex's autopsy, revealing several signs of severe trauma, including two lacerations to her liver that caused massive internal bleeding.

    Barnard said Alexandria lost about one-third of her total blood volume from the injury. Edwards said the internal bleeding complicated Alexandria's head injury by preventing blood from carrying oxygen to her swollen and hemorrhaging brain.

    Both concluded that the blunt force trauma to her head was the cause of death.

    On Tuesday, a video of an interview by Rockdale Police Lt. J.D. Newlin showed Small saying that she was playing with Alexandria, lifting the toddler high over her head and bringing her down between her legs with a lot of force. Small said on the third time, she lost her grip on Alexandria and dropped her on the carpeted floor, which sits on a concrete slab. Small said she heard a loud thud when Alex hit the ground.

    Edwards said he was certain Alexandria's injuries were inflicted. When asked by Assistant District Attorney John Reddington what the injuries were similar to, Edwards said it was like a large TV fell on her head and her injuries were consistent with a child that was shaken.

    Defense Attorney Norman Lanford asked Edwards about a 2001 medical study that concluded that a child could die of a fatal fall only a few inches from the ground. Edwards said that study found less than .5 percent of fatalities were from small heights.

    The defense is expected to call its first witness Friday morning.
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    Senior Member UncomfortablyNumb's Avatar
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    Ugh. What a cunt. I hope she gets life. I can't with these people who take children in, who may already come from a bad home, just to get paid and treat them like shit. And to be taken away from her parents because they smoke pot at night after the kids are in bed? Give me a fucking break. WTG, CPS.
    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
    She transitioned from a stupid asshole to a dumb bitch.

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    Senior Member Feetprints's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dianalyn View Post
    The victim's father, Joshua Hill, told KXAN that his daughter was placed in foster care "because her mother and I smoked pot at the time." An examination of court records by the station revealed that the girl's mother had a medical condition that did not allow her to be left alone with the child.
    But this seems to say that the kid wasn't taken over them smoking pot. I wonder what the medical condition was/is though?
    RIP Alex. :(
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    SMH. White people! Always trying to help and shit.

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