starvation Archives - Home Safety Tech Pros

Mom and partner killed toddler, abused 3 other kids: Cops

homesafetytechpros — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 01:07:37 +0000

Insets: Janae Perez and Ashleigh Utley (KITV/YouTube). Background: The apartment where 3-year-old Sarai Perez-Rivera was allegedly abused and murdered (KITV/YouTube).

A mother in Hawaii is behind bars, along with her girlfriend, for allegedly starving and beating her 3-year-old daughter to death using belts, paddles, sticks and slippers to pound on the toddler — while also limiting her water intake to 8 ounces a day — along with her three of her siblings, ages 2 through 6, who managed to survive the “disturbing” abuse, according to police.

“First responders found Sarai malnourished and pulseless, with ashen skin and bruises to her legs, hips, arms, face, back and head,” explained Honolulu Police Department Lt. Deena Thoemmes at a press conference last Thursday after announcing the arrests of Janae Perez and Ashley Utley for the death of Perez’s daughter, Sarai Perez-Rivera, in June 2024, according to Hawaii News Now.

“Through the investigation, it was learned that Janae and Ashley limited Sarai and her siblings intake of water and food,” Thoemmes said. “Janae and Ashley did not allow them to eat often and only allowed them to drink 8 ounces of water a day.”

A woman who used to live with Perez and Utley allegedly went to police and told them about most of the abuse after Perez-Rivera’s biological father first reported her death last year. The pair wasn’t charged until last week, with local prosecutors handing down second-degree murder charges to both of them, along with other charges related to the alleged abuse and neglect. Perez-Rivera’s death was listed by officials as being caused by the combined effects of dehydration and starvation. The surviving children are now in protective custody.

During interviews with police, the woman who lived with Perez and Utley claimed the couple would “mainly whack the kids with their hands, but also hit the children with sticks and paddles,” per Thoemmes.

“Janae and Ashley would primarily hit the children with their hands, sticks, paddles, slippers and belts to all parts of their body,” the police official said. “There was also disturbing video of Sarai crying and in severe discomfort and distress saying that she had to use the bathroom and that she was thirsty. In response, Janae repeatedly yelled and swore at her.”

On one occasion, Perez and Utley allegedly beat the 6-year-old who was living in the home after he tried to run away — using a stick and screwdriver, according to court documents obtained by local ABC affiliate KITV.

“I remember hearing them multiple times just cry upstairs,” a neighbor told the station. “Some of them were crying. Some of them didn’t really know what was going on.”

The woman who spoke to police about the abuse said Perez and Utley would carry out their attacks while the other children would watch and listen from their rooms and other parts of the house.

When they were first taken into custody, Perez and Utley tried accusing the 5-year-old child who was living in the home with them of being behind Perez-Rivera’s death, which was allegedly disproven during the police investigation.

The 6-year-old told police that his sister was making noises on the day she died that he reportedly described as being “weird” and similar to someone who sounded like they were “suffering.” The 5-year-old allegedly told investigators that Perez-Rivera went “up, up” to see Jesus and he asked police if Jesus had food in heaven because his mom told them that Jesus does not eat or have food.

“Just pure sadness,” the family’s neighbor told KITV. “I hope that she (Perez-Rivera) gets the justice that she needs. And the other children, I hope that they’re taken care of now.”

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Grandma avoids prison in starvation death of granddaughter

homesafetytechpros — Sat, 15 Feb 2025 12:56:56 +0000

Inset: Henrietta Stone (Hawaii Police Dept.). Background: Kino’ole Street in Hilo, Hawaii where Stone lived at the time of her granddaughter’s death (Google Maps).

A 67-year-old grandmother in Hawaii will not be going to jail in connection with the death of her 9-year-old granddaughter, who weighed only 45 pounds when she starved in 2016 while in the woman’s care.

Hilo Circuit Court Judge Henry Nakamoto on Thursday ordered Henrietta Stone to serve a sentence of 10 years of probation over the death of young Shaelynn Lehano-Stone, authorities announced. Nakamoto handed down the sentence over the staunch objection of the Hawaii Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, who sought the maximum sentence of 20 years for Stone.

“There aren’t words to describe my disappointment and frustration in the outcome of this case. Shaelynn and our community deserved much better. Her death was caused by the three people, who she should have been able to trust the most,” Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen said in a statement released after the sentencing hearing. “We will not let this result discourage our ongoing efforts to protect our keiki.”

“Keiki” is a Hawaiian word that means “child.”

Stone in February 2024 pleaded no contest to one count of manslaughter for her role in Shaelynn’s death. She had originally been charged with one count of second-degree murder.

Shaelynn’s parents, Kevin Lehano and Tiffany K. Stone, also previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to 10 years of probation, records show. Notably, the victim’s grandmother was her legal guardian at the time of her death.

Prosecutors also emphasized that several of Shaelynn’s teachers and the emergency medical personnel who first treated the victim submitted victim impact statements encouraging the court to sentence Stone to prison. A pre-sentence investigation report also called for the grandmother to serve the maximum sentence.

“Manslaughter carries a penalty of either a twenty-year prison term or ten years probation and up to two years in jail,” the prosecuting attorney’s office said in a news release. “Prosecutors argued for the maximum twenty-year prison penalty.”

Following her initial arrest in 2016, Stone remained in jail until July 2024 when she was released after posting bond of $100,000.

According to a release from the Hawaii Police Department, officers and firefighters on June 28, 2016, responded to a call about an unconscious child at Stone’s home on Kino’ole Street home in Hilo, Hawaii.

“First responders were confronted with what appeared to be a severely malnourished and unconscious young girl lying on the floor within the home,” police said. “She was transported to the Hilo Medical Center where she died a few hours later.”

The Associated Press reported that in the months leading up to Shaelynn’s death, her grandmother had removed her from Hilo Union Elementary so the child could be homeschooled. Additionally, authorities said Stone kept alarms on the refrigerator door to prevent access and noted that Shaelynn’s weight at the time of her death was the same she weighed when she was only 4 years old.

“The cause of death was listed as malnutrition with contributory causes being acute pneumonia and acute pyelonephritis (severe kidney infection),” prosecutors said. “She weighed 45 pounds and was 53 inches tall at the time of her death.”

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Dad who let 2-year-old son starve in crib learns fate

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 18:10:33 +0000

Inset: Jonathon Matthew Cheek (Macomb County Jail). Background: The home where Cheek’s toddler starved to death (WJBK).

A 26-year-old man in Michigan will spend decades behind bars for killing his 2-year-old son last year, starving the boy to death inside the home they shared with the child’s mother. Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Edward Servitto on Wednesday ordered Jonathan Matthew Cheek to serve a sentence of 24 to 50 years in a state correctional facility in connection with the toddler’s horrific death, authorities announced.

Cheek in October reached a deal with prosecutors in which he agreed to plead no contest to one count of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree child abuse. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend a maximum five-decade sentence for Cheek, who had been facing the possibility of life in prison.

Servitto also sentenced Cheek to up to 10 years on the child abuse charge, to be served concurrent with the murder sentence, meaning at the same time. Cheek was given credit for 643 days of time served.

“This is a heartbreaking and profoundly sad case,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in a statement following the sentencing hearing. “A two-year-old child, full of potential and deserving of love and care, was failed in the most devastating way. No sentence can bring back this innocent life, but hopefully the family can begin to heal.”

The victim’s mother, 28-year-old Sierra Pearl Zaitona, is facing the same pair of charges as Cheek. Her trial is currently scheduled to begin on April 1, 2025.

Sierra Pearl Zaitona (Macomb County Jail).

As previously reported by Law&Crime, Cheek and Zaitona on Thursday, March 16, 2023, called 911 and reported finding their toddler son dead in his crib. A subsequent autopsy performed by the Office of the Medical Examiner determined that the victim’s cause of death was starvation, prosecutors said.

During legal proceedings following the parents’ arrests, prosecutors said the victim was the biological son of Cheek and Zaitona and that he was in good health before being placed back in their custody.

“For the record, the child was healthy in foster care, and once it got into the care of these two individuals, it met its demise,” Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Molly Zappitell said at an arraignment, the Macomb Daily reported.

It is unclear why the child was previously in foster care or when he was returned to Zaitona and Cheek.

When seeking to have the couple held on high bonds, prosecutors argued that Zaitona was a flight risk and said that she intentionally gave birth to the child in Ohio “to avoid alerting CPS.”

Zaitona is currently scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial hearing on March 17, 2025.

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Mom sometimes ‘would forget’ to feed infant son who starved

homesafetytechpros — Sun, 17 Nov 2024 10:52:27 +0000

Left to right: Jakob Scott and Caylin Opal Marie Monroe (Warrick County Sheriff’s Department). Inset: Silas Scott (Tribute Archive).

An Indiana mother will spend decades in prison for the murder of her 2-month-old son, who died of starvation.

Caylin Opal Marie Monroe, 23, was sentenced to 65 years in prison on Friday in the death of Silas Scott, online court records show. The father, Jakob Chance Scott, was also charged in the case. He is set to appear in court on Dec. 2.

The Warrick County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation began in February 2022 after authorities responded to 3844 Honeysuckle Drive in Warrick County about an unresponsive infant. At the home, medical units tried to revive the baby but declared the infant dead at the scene.

Authorities spent months investigating. On April 21, 2022, after authorities gathered evidence and learned that the baby had died of starvation, police questioned the couple.

An affidavit outlines statements investigators said the couple told them during interviews with authorities.

Monroe told police that the baby was born small but healthy and had difficulty growing. She said she thought there was something wrong with the baby, but she never had time to call and get a new pediatrician, the document said.

When the investigator confronted Monroe with information that her baby had been starved, she initially said she fed him. But when the investigator said there was nothing in the baby’s stomach at the autopsy and inquired if it was it normal to miss feedings, “she nodded in agreement and stated, ‘sometimes yeah,’” the affidavit said.

“Caylin stated sometimes she would be busy and not have time to feed Victim 1,” the document said. “Caylin stated that Victim 1 would miss a feeding every once in a while. Caylin agreed that there would be times where she would forget Victim 1 because he wasn’t making any noise or asleep and she was busy with the other children. Caylin stated she was on a basic routine, and sometimes she would forget to feed Victim 1.”

Scott allegedly told investigators, “I’d feed him if he was crying,” the affidavit said.

The boy’s obituary identified him as “Silas’ Shuggie Bear’ Chance-Kent Scott, of Boonville, Indiana,” son of “Jakob and Caylin (Monroe) Scott.” The obituary said he “passed away” at home. The infant has three siblings, the obituary also said.

Matt Naham contributed to this report.

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