On the night of July 29, 2013, Joshua Hill received an urgent phone call with news that his 2-year-old daughter, Alexandria "Alex" Hill, was beaten into a coma by her 52-year-old foster mother Sherill Small.
The little girl died from her injuries.
She was murdered by her foster mother.
Sherill Small told police that she had accidentally slammed the child into the floor, but later admitted that she was frustrated that the TWO-YEAR-OLD woke up so early. Is this lady alright? Who claims to have accidentally slammed a child into the floor?
Why was Alex in foster care to begin with?
In Texas, using cannabis goes against child welfare policy so Alex Hill was confiscated from her loving home with parents Joshua Hill and Mary Sweeny because they smoked marijuana. Mr. Hill admitted to smoking after his daughter was in bed, and Ms. Sweeny used marijuana to keep her frequent seizures at bay. There were no signs Alex was abused by her parents. She was a perfectly healthy and happy little girl who was adored by her parents.
But apparently she was in danger so she was placed into a home with a crack addict and a psychopath. Where she would be safe.
Sherill Small's husband, who lived in the home, was a "recovering" crack cocaine addict with multiple drug charges.
I understand that Mr. Hill violated the child welfare policy laws, but who is the one judging the safety of these homes? Because it seems to me like they're high on something.
When Alex was first taken from the home and put into foster care, Mr. Hill found bruises on his daughter and mold in the home and demanded that she be placed in a new home. That's when Alex was placed in the care of Sherill Small.
Small was approved as a foster care provider by Texas Mentor, a third party private agency who provides foster homes to the Texas Child Protective Services. Texas Mentor has racked up 129 violations, but was Joshua Hill informed of this? Nope, not until he was sitting in the courtroom listening to the testimony of his daughter's murder.
Joshua Hill was only four months away from getting his daughter back in his custody when she was killed.
In summary, Alex Hill was in extreme danger under the loving care of her parents who smoked a little weed while she was sleeping. So, she was placed in the safe care of Sherill Small who killed her because she woke up.
This story makes me so sad. It really is terrible that just because of something so simple as weed, (that's now available for recreational use in some states) can cause a family to be ripped apart because it is not legal in other states. What pisses me off even more is the family that the 2 year old was put into was WAY more dangerous then 2 joint-smoking parents after they put their baby down to bed! How does it make sense to take a baby from her loving parents, who used marijuana to keep seizures at bay, and put her into a family that has a "Recovering cocaine addict." The content of this post infuriates me because theres clearly something wrong with our legal system. I had no idea about this, so thanks for bringing it to my attention because now I'm definitely going to read into it!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jax in that it's such a sad story. It's unfortunate Alex had to suffer so much ultimately causing her to die. I find it strange that Texas law don't have exceptions for people, whether parents or guardians, to be able to raise their kids and use weed if they show proof of medically needing it. I mean, I can see why Texas authority don't want children near weed. Some people might not think it's a big deal, but I wouldn't want my kid in constant contact with it. On the other hand, if Alex's parents obtained clearance from their doctor and would abide by strict using rules such as designated area, times, closing or covering door openings, etc, then maybe the state would've allowed them and other parents to keep raising their kids at home. Either way, the father who smoked because he felt like it and the abusive foster family both were direct causes to Alex's death.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the child being taken from her home and put into an unsafe situation is inexcusable. I also believe that those responsible for allowing people such as these to become foster parents should never be allowed to do so again. The fact that the agency had 129 violations should have prevented them from being able to continue placing children in the care of those who worked through this agency.Why are people so quick to point fingers at state law or the parents of the child?(though I'm not saying they aren't also to blame) Who decided to look the other way while the agency which is suppose to be responsible for the welfare of each child it places into a foster-care situation, continues to screw up enough to get 129 violations. Not one violation, not 2, but ONE HUNDRED AND FRICKEN TWENTY NINE VIOLATIONS!!!!!!! How the HELL can they still be considered a reputable agency BEFORE they placed Alex Hill. There are so many people to blame in this situation that it's not even funny. I will be doing research to see the outcome of this situation.
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