The signs of abuse were reported but the system still failed to protect 4-year-old Aniya Day-Garrett.
Aniya Day-Garrett, 4, died on March 11, 2018 after her parents called 9-1-1 from their Lake Shore Drive apartment.
The child, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office, suffered blunt impacts to the head trauma and was malnourished.
According to the police report taken on the day she died, the child only weighed 29 pounds and she had been dead “for some time.”
Should a police report filed in May 2017 been enough to file charges against Aniya’s mother?
Tamika Robinson, the administrative assistant of Aniya’s day care facility, Harbor Crest, noticed she was bleeding from the ear and had head trauma.
"I was like, Niya, what happened to your face? Oh my God. And she was like, 'Mommy pushed my face in carpet, but mommy said I fell at the park,'" said Robinson. "Three days later... Niya comes walking in the door. Niya has three lumps in her head with blood clots in them. Niya is bleeding from her ear."
Robinson, who began working at the facility in 2017, called 9-1-1.
The child was transported for treatment.
At the hospital, a Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services worker arrived and Aniya told the worker, according to the police report, that “mommy hits her and hurts her.”
Aniya’s mother arrived to the hospital and said the child fell at the park, refused a statement but authorized medical treatment.
Back at the day care center, while filing the “Child Observation Form” into Aniya’s file, day care owner Tamika Robinson noticed a stack of similar incidents in the child’s folder dating back to 2015.
Incidents document included bruises, scrapes and handprints on the child’s body.
According to the police report citing the day care’s files, the child had 14 reports, and on eight of those, Aniya verbally reported that “mommy hit me” or “mom did it.”
Robinson gave all of the incident reports chronicling the child’s abuse to the police.
Fast forward to Feb. 9, 2018.
A neighbor witnesses a struggle outside involving Aniya’s mother, Sierra Day and her boyfriend Deonte Lewis, outside of her apartment building.
According to the report, Lewis grabbed Sierra and pushed her to the ground causing her to hit her head. Police arrived and Sierra didn’t want to file charges, instead asked Lewis to leave.
On March 11, 2018, Lewis calls 9-1-1 and reports that the child was not talking or responding to anyone.
Nearly 4 minutes into the phone call with 9-1-1, Day told the call taker that child is not breathing.
The 9-1-1 call taker was not aware up until that point that the child was not breathing.
The 9-1-1 call taker walks mom through CPR.
Euclid Fire and Rescue arrives and the child was transported to Euclid Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The mother changed her story three times in the police report. According the police report, an officer noted "both [Day and Lewis] did not show any emotion that the child was being placed into an ambulance.”
Euclid Police charged Day and Lewis with aggravated murder.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Aniya’s death a homicide. Aniya suffered blunt force trauma to the head and was malnourished.
Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services acknowledged that they received three calls in 2017 regarding Aniya’s well-being.
There was one case opened and investigated for six weeks, but there was not enough evidence to remove the child from the home.
According to Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services, an internal investigation is underway in the case of what transpired.
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