3 Arrested in Child Cruelty Case

[JMO]

Outlander wrote:

<quoted text>
Hey Idiot, who besides you brought in the race card?? There's got to be one in every bunch, and I reckon you're it.

THE RACIST REMARKS WERE REMOVED BY THE BOARD ADMINISTRATOR. Some immature fool was posting racist remarks on nearly every thread yesterday afternoon - a couple of people here responded - then the racist remarks were removed, but it is confusing when others have replied to posts that have been removed.

[savannah24]

I say let me have these people for a month or so. I could let them feel exactly the way those precious children felt. We need to go back to the day of similar punishments for some of these crimes, wonder how long they could starve??

[Douglasville Mom]

I agree with you ABM. I don't think the grandmother did anything wrong in this case other than fail to report the abuse, which, ACTUALLY, she did when she called the police on her own daughter. Do you know how hard that must have been for her, for any grandmother? I can only hope that she was trying to take care of her grandchildren and chose a path probably not so great. She could have handled the situation differently. Her daughter and son-in-law are the bad guys in this situation. Grandma just didn't handle this correctly and I can only assume that she was trying to keep her grandbabies and she just made an unwise choice.

Angry Black Man wrote:

<quoted text>
I have to agree. I hate to admit but I'm very confused as to why she was arrested. She called the authorities on the parents after she looked to the safety of the kids. Was she supposed to not touch anything and wait for the police?
What did the relatives do after they got the kids and how long did they have them before authorities got them. Were they planning to take them to the hospital and just did not get the chance. How come the relatives were not arrested also. Why is she bound to report abuse outside of her job at school. Yes, these are probably silly sounding but the story left me with questions. I just think a little leeway should be given if this happened all in one day. Now if a week passed and she still did not report it then yes...maybe she made a bad decision.

[nan]

excuses, excuses, excuses if she thought these so called parents weren't protecting these babies why did she let go so long.

[JMO]

from the AJC: "Clayton County police Chief Jeff Turner said .... Zelek was teaching a class on early childhood development at Union Grove High School when Clayton police took her into custody.

"During the interview with police, Christi Zelek told us there was 'nothing wrong with those children,' " said Officer William Clendenen.

"Turner said Christi Zelek went to the couple's home at LaCosta Mobile Home Park in Lovejoy Nov. 20 and found the parents passed out and unresponsive. The severely malnourished twins were in another room, Turner said.

"Turner said the grandmother deliberately evaded medical services intervention."

"Instead of calling emergency medical services, she called a family member in Fayetteville to come pick up the twins, specifically to keep police and state welfare from discovering the condition of the children," Turner said Friday. "Then she cleaned up the mobile home before calling emergency medical services for the couple."

"The relative who picked up the twins took them to Egleston hospital that same day. A friend of that relative is a Clayton County police officer, Turner said, who notified authorities Monday."

So it appears that the grandmother called for help for the couple, but did not tell anyone about the twins. Apparently when they arrested her and interviewed her, that's when she told them there was nothing wrong with the babies.

Probably the person who really knows whether the grandmother was concerned about the twins' health is the relative who came and got them, and took them to Egleston.

The other question I have is - what kind of contact had the grandmother had with the couple and the twins during the past 13 months? Did she not know how severely malnourished they were during that time? Had she seen them, or not? These babies should have been toddling around, or crawling all over the place, at the very least. But they weighed less than ten pounds each!

Even if they were healthy at birth (questionable, if the mother was using drugs during pregnancy) they may never fully recover from the neglect they have suffered.

And what did the grandmother "clean up" in the mobile home before calling for help for the adults?

[JMO]

I meant to provide a link to the AJC article:

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/clayto...

[A Mother]

MY SON WEIGHED 8 POUNDS 10 OUNCES WHEN HE WAS BORN AND THESE POOR BABIES WERE 13MONTHS OLD THIS IS SAD.

[no name]

I knew tessa for along time. She used to even live with me. Our friendship fell apart a long while back. I actually couldnt stand her for a very long time, she vandalized my parents home, and my car. As I have grown up , gotten married and had a child of my own. I do not hold grudges on anyone including her. I know this is not the tessa I once was best friends with. She used to want a baby so much! She went from socially doing drugs to letting it take over her life. I want to believe that she, in her right state of mind would never do this to her children. I think she is very sick , and addicted to drugs and needs help! I feel very very sorry for these poor babies that were involved and do believe her mother(christy) knew something was up. I spent many of nights at tessa's parents house and knew her parents well. Even though her parents lived in a nice home and had nice things, there were issues within that home. I am very upset with all of this and hope and pray tessa gets help and gets her life together.

[foo]

What kind of grandmother lets her grandsons get that emaciated? My baby's grandmother is always asking about how he eats and his health in general.
Unless the day she went in to call the relative and clean up was the first time she had seen the twins, this woman had ample time to do something about the thin twins but didn't. Not only is she complicit in the abuse but she should also lose her grandmother's license and be banned from ever having grandchildren again.

[Mother]

These people are animals. No, I wouldn't even call them animals. Because no creature would do that to its own babies. I think that these parents and the grandmother should be taught a lesson. What you sow is what you will harvest. Make them a meal in 2008. See whats going to be itching up thier ass.

[sparkle dust]

It truely sickens my heart to know that in the 13months these poor babies have been on this earth no one noticed there was a serious problem or tried to do something about it. No one saw these babies, no one questioned why they were so malnourished and emaciated, even the most unskilled lay person would see this. I guess for 13months these people had no contact with anyone, they were completely isolated from the world or is it better said no one wanted to get involved. how do people sleep at night knowing they did not even try to protect and remove these inocent babies in harms way. I just can't grasp it.

[JLP Mcdonough GA]

I have known this Grandmother for over 3 years. She is a very loving, caring and wonderful person and would never hurt any child in any way. What most people are not aware of is the the babies were born 10 weeks earlier and have been sick from day 1, both were approx. 2 pds at birth (I believe), and their weight kept dropping while in the hospital. The babies are taken to the doctors all the time, if there was a problem, why did the doctor not have them in the hospital. To the people stating comments about family problems, who has never had or will have family issues at one time or another within the home or family connected problems. THIS GRANDMOTHER WAS ARRESTED INFRONT OF CHILDREN, THE POLICE WERE GRAND STANDING AND SO ARE THE MEDIA. I HOPE SHE SUES THE POLICE & ALL THE MEDIA. COULD PEOPLE JUST STOP AND THINK, SHE HAS BEEN AN UPSTANDING TEACHER IN HENRY CO ALL THESE YEARS AND TO HAVE HER REP RUINED IS REALLY AWFUL. Watch out you could be next !!!

[JMO]

JLP Mcdonough GA wrote:

I have known this Grandmother for over 3 years. She is a very loving, caring and wonderful person and would never hurt any child in any way. What most people are not aware of is the the babies were born 10 weeks earlier and have been sick from day 1, both were approx. 2 pds at birth (I believe), and their weight kept dropping while in the hospital. The babies are taken to the doctors all the time, if there was a problem, why did the doctor not have them in the hospital. To the people stating comments about family problems, who has never had or will have family issues at one time or another within the home or family connected problems. THIS GRANDMOTHER WAS ARRESTED INFRONT OF CHILDREN, THE POLICE WERE GRAND STANDING AND SO ARE THE MEDIA. I HOPE SHE SUES THE POLICE & ALL THE MEDIA. COULD PEOPLE JUST STOP AND THINK, SHE HAS BEEN AN UPSTANDING TEACHER IN HENRY CO ALL THESE YEARS AND TO HAVE HER REP RUINED IS REALLY AWFUL. Watch out you could be next !!!

Do you know when the babies were last seen by a doctor, prior to their being taken to Egleston?

Do you know if the mother was using drugs during her pregnancy?

[old friend]

I too was good friends w/ Tessa at one point! I am very shocked and disturbed by what has gone on, but I KNOW that she was not in her right mind to have done something like that! Tessa, like anyone else, had her problems but would have NEVER gone this far without her mind being altered, which I know it was! I think we should all pray for these babies but also pray for their mother, who should've been helped long ago! Let's also let God be the judge- who are we to judge anyone??

[ahhh- the south]

Those people are crack addicts. They needed help a long time ago. Too late now. They need prison time. There is no way that they weren't sober at anytime in the last few weeks of months to notice that their children were sick and malnourished. It takes a while to starve someone that way and I think they were absoulutely aware of what they were doing.

[LLS]

Me and My husband want to adopt these twins and give them a better home, love them unconditionally, and provide them with everything they need. If anyone has any information on how we can do this, please email me at [e-mail]. It is hard for me to understand why anyone would want to hurt a child. If they don't want the baby or babies then they should adopt them out before or right after they was born. These babies are in my prayers.

[old friend]

JLP Mcdonough GA wrote:

I have known this Grandmother for over 3 years. She is a very loving, caring and wonderful person and would never hurt any child in any way. What most people are not aware of is the the babies were born 10 weeks earlier and have been sick from day 1, both were approx. 2 pds at birth (I believe), and their weight kept dropping while in the hospital. The babies are taken to the doctors all the time, if there was a problem, why did the doctor not have them in the hospital. To the people stating comments about family problems, who has never had or will have family issues at one time or another within the home or family connected problems. THIS GRANDMOTHER WAS ARRESTED INFRONT OF CHILDREN, THE POLICE WERE GRAND STANDING AND SO ARE THE MEDIA. I HOPE SHE SUES THE POLICE & ALL THE MEDIA. COULD PEOPLE JUST STOP AND THINK, SHE HAS BEEN AN UPSTANDING TEACHER IN HENRY CO ALL THESE YEARS AND TO HAVE HER REP RUINED IS REALLY AWFUL. Watch out you could be next !!!

I have been told that the grandmother is out of jail-Im w/ you, unless you know these people personally, and know the whole story- lets leave all judgement up to someone else!!!

[weak]

weak weak weak come on man you do want you do when its just you and your girl but when you get kids its time to give it up man me myself has been on dope but you bring a child in the world you die what i mean is what u like to do or go its time to give it up its bout that new child or children dont be selfish its better on the other side so much better

[This is a joke]

Belle wrote:

Good call, JMO. The grandmother would have probably been given temporary guardianship of the twins if she'd called the cops first. That she's required to report abuse yet tried to hide it is sad. Says much about her. I hope the babies can spend their lives in a stable, honest, law-abiding home. Doesn't seem like they'd have that chance living with their blood relations. Break the cycle.

First clue when the grand took them away. So DFACS would`nt see them Let me know she does`nt want to be bothered. Sad.

[Angry Black Man]

JMO wrote:

I meant to provide a link to the AJC article:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/clayto...

Good info! Thanks for that.

I'm still a little torn but it fills in a lot of missing information.