Arizona child welfare workers made 88 visits in the case of a Tucson toddler who was later beaten to death, allegedly by his uncle, a state official said.
Arizona Department of Child Safety workers last had contact with the boy more than a month before he died, said DCS spokesman Doug Nick.
Adam Mada, his mother, father and the childβs caregivers met with DCS workers an average of four or five times each month as the agency pushed to sever the rights of the childβs parents, the state agency says.
The agencyβs last contact with Adam, who was 20 months old when he died on March 12, was on Feb. 3. The brown-eyed boy had been taken from his mother at birth after he was born exposed to narcotics. Many of his online obituary photos show a laughing baby with pronounced dimples and chunky red cheeks.
Erick Henry, 23, was arrested Tuesday by the Pima County Sheriffβs Department Fugitive Investigative Strike Team, and booked into jail on charges of first-degree homicide and child abuse, said Deputy Courtney Rodriguez, a Sheriffβs Department spokeswoman.
As of Friday, Henry was in Pima County jail on a $250,000 bond.
Adam had been placed with relatives, but DCS spokesman Nick would not say whether the child had been living with Erick Henry and Henryβs wife, Maria.
βSince the 2014 placement with the family member, DCS received no subsequent allegations regarding Adamβs safety prior to his death and no allegations were received involving the suspect in this case,β Nick wrote in a prepared statement.
βWeβre dealing with a family thatβs had 15 years of history with DCS,β said Sheriff Chris Nanos. βI wouldnβt place the most vulnerable with any of those family members.β
Nanos said that he understands the benefits of keeping children with family members, and of reunification, but this placement was a mistake, either by the DCS or the courts.
βIβve spoken to (director) Greg McKay of DCS and he wants to work with us to find a better way to do this going forward,β Nanos said.
Shortly before 3 a.m. on March 12, deputies were called to the Henrysβ residence near Three Points. They found paramedics performing lifesaving efforts on Adam, but the child could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the home.
The cause of death statement in Adamβs autopsy report, obtained by the Star through a public-records request, was redacted by investigators. However, the findings of the autopsy were not.
βThe child had blunt injuries to the torso with some rib fractures, and there was some blunt injuries to the head and the extremities, mainly bruises and scrapes of the skin,β said Pima County Medical Examiner Dr. Gregory Hess on Wednesday.
The autopsy report noted that Adam had a torn gastrointestinal tract, as a result of trauma to his belly, and seven visible injuries on his face and neck. Portions of the autopsy results about injuries to Adamβs head had been redacted.
The childβs toxicology screen was negative and, with the exception of a cold, his autopsy describes a healthy boy who weighed 26 pounds and was well nourished.
Because of additional forensic testing necessary to determine the cause of death, the results took longer than a typical autopsy, Rodriguez said.
Court records show that in 2010, Erick Henry was charged with armed robbery and aggravated assault, before accepting an agreement and pleading guilty to attempted auto theft. He served two yearsβ probation.
Henryβs wife also has a criminal record, having pleaded guilty last August on a felony charge of promoting prison contraband, court records show. She was sentenced to two yearsβ probation. She was initially charged with 12 felonies in connection with a January 2015 conspiracy operation to smuggle heroin into prison.
The couple have two small children of their own, according to posts on their Facebook pages.
βI canβt take it no more, I miss my kids,β Maria wrote in a post on June 3. βI just canβt do this any longer I need them back this is pure torture!β
Nick, of the DCS, would not say whether the coupleβs two sons are in protective custody.
