In less than a month, 4 Fort Worth child deaths have triggered 4 abuse investigations
The death of a 3-year-old boy on Easter Sunday has triggered the fourth such investigation in less than a month by Fort Worth police specializing in crimes committed against children.
The child involved in the most recent investigation, Amari Boone, was pronounced dead shortly before 1:20 a.m. Sunday at Cook Children’s Medical Center, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
He died of blunt-force trauma to his head, and his death has been ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Police have not announced an arrest and did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding their investigation.
“Child Protective Investigations (CPI) is investigating the tragic death of Amari Boone, and we are working with Fort Worth Police to find out what happened and who is responsible,” Texas Department of Family and Protective Services spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said in an email Monday. “Amari was in the State’s legal custody and he and his younger brother were living with friends of their family. Before the children were allowed to live in that home, background checks and visits to the home were conducted. The judge overseeing the children’s CPS case approved the placement. Amari’s younger brother has been moved out of the home and placed in a foster home. Specific details about the family’s prior involvement with DFPS are confidential.”
A GoFundMe page was started Sunday to raise money to defray funeral expenses for the family, according to the website.
This death comes 22 days after two children died at Cook Children’s Medical Center on March 21 and 19 days after the death of an infant sparked a third investigation by the Fort Worth Crimes Against Children Unit, according to authorities. Police later determined that no foul play was involved in the death of the infant girl on March 24, and that case has been cleared.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled one of the deaths, 3-year-old Eriykah Taylor, a homicide caused by multiple blunt-force injuries. Cause and manner of death determinations in another child’s death was pending, the medical examiner’s website shows. Police said Monday they could not comment about cases where results from the medical examiner’s office were pending.
Taylor, who was taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center on March 21, had bruises on her body when she arrived at the hospital by private vehicle, according to police records. Taylor died about 2 p.m. that day, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Police have not immediately commented on whether there have been any arrests in either the Boone case or the Taylor case.
In the other case on March 21, police said a 4-year-old boy was receiving CPR at a residence in the 3300 block of Bonaventure Boulevard when officers arrived, and an investigation was opened after the boy was pronounced dead at Cook Children’s Medical Center.
Officials with Cook Children’s Medical Center announced that health care workers had seen seven children who had been severely physically abused between March 17-21. Doctors at Cook Children’s said they believed the increase in abuse cases was connected to stress people are feeling while isolated at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Child advocates said in March that they feared the school closings triggered by efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus would suppress reports of violence against children because educators no longer had regular contact with children.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
This story includes information from Star-Telegram archives.
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 12:05 PM.
