SCHALA VERA - 3 yo (2009) - Chandler (SE of Phoenix) AZ

Chandler Police arrested the mother and her
boyfriend of a 3-year-old girl who died Monday after rescuers found the
child not breathing and covered in bruises from belts and buckles.
An autopsy performed Monday led the medical examiner to rule the death a homicide by multiple blunt force traumas.

Susan Witbracht, 26, and her boyfriend Dauntorian Sanders, 23, were
booked Tuesday and are facing charges of murder and child abuse.
Rescuers arrived at the home just before 3 p.m. Monday near the San
Tan Freeway and Cooper Road. The child wasn't breathing and they
immediately started CPR before taking her to a hospital where she died.

Chandler Police have arrested a woman and her boyfriend for the death of a 3-year-old child. On
Monday afternoon, police responded to a home in the 2300 block of E.
Wild Horse Place in Chandler in reference to a 3-year-old not breathing. The child later died at a hospital after CPR was unsuccessful. A
Tuesday autopsy found that the child's death was a homicide. The child
died of multiple blunt force traumas -- there were bruises all over the
child's body from getting hit with a belt.
The child's mother,
26-year-old Susan Witbracht, and her boyfriend 23-year-old Dauntorian
Sanders, have been booked on first degree murder and child abuse
charges. The investigation is ongoing.

From Original reports in September 2009----

Chandler AZ ---- Police say her boyfriend admitted to fatally beating her
3-year-old daughter with a belt buckle, but this Chandler woman
still says she "adores" him. Documents also allege, she didn't try to intervene.



3-year-old Schala Vera's death was homicide from brunt force
trauma, a medical examiner determined. There were bruises all over
her body, showing belt and belt buckle patterns.
The child's mother, 26-year-old Susan Witbracht, and her
boyfriend 23-year-old Dauntorian Sanders, were arrested on first
degree murder and child abuse charges on Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon, police responded to a home in the 2300
block of E. Wild Horse Place in Chandler in reference to a
3-year-old not breathing. The girl did not survive.
In questioning, Sanders admitted to hitting the little girl with
a belt, and told detectives he first started hitting her in June.
But he said that Monday, he "got out of control" and hit her with
more-than-usual force.
Sanders' mother Debra Ellens remarked she didn't think that
Sanders meant to kill her. "I think maybe at the time he was
disciplining her for whatever reason and it went too far."
Witbracht admitted she had witnessed these beatings frequently
but didn't try to stop the abuse, court documents allege. Witbracht
denied any involvement in the fatal beating, but did say she had
beaten her daughter in the past.
When police told Witbracht the results of the autopsy, she said
she "adored" her boyfriend nonetheless.
Ellens says Sanders and Witbracht served together in the
military and when Sanders returned from overseas, he was different.

One week after the incident----

A Chandler couple was indicted Tuesday on
charges of first-degree murder and child abuse in connection with the
death of 3-year-old, the Maricopa County attorney's office said. Dauntorian
Sanders, 23, and Susan Witbracht, 26, were taken into custody after
detectives reviewed autopsy results.



The victim, Schala Vera, was
Witbracht's daughter. Sanders is Witbracht's boyfriend.According
to the probable cause statements filed by Chandler Police, the child
stopped breathing and was rushed to the hospital on Aug. 31. Vera was
pronounced dead a short time later.Vera had bruises all over her
body consistent with being beaten with a belt, according to the probable
cause statement. The statement alleges that Sanders admitted to
repeatedly hitting the child with a belt.Witbracht also admitted
to hitting the child with a belt in the past but denied involvement in
the alleged fatal beating on Aug. 31, the statement said.Witbracht
told police she adored her boyfriend even after knowing the results of
the autopsy, the statement said.

Inspired by the story of 3-year-old Schala Vera a little Chandler
girl who was beaten to death by her mother's boyfriend, about 250
employees at the Department of Economic Security (DES) office in
Glendale held a stuffed animal and blanket drive in her memory.

Workers were so moved by Schala's story, who was severely beaten and died alone
squeezed between the bathroom toilet and vanity while the boyfriend
went out to buy cigarettes, that they collected more than 100 stuffed
animals and child sized blankets.

The employees carefully clipped out a news article about Schala
which they used as a center piece on a colorful poster titled, “Small Wonders.”

It was surrounded by photos, ribbons, and a plea to consider a donation so police officers
would have something to comfort a small child who has been traumatized
by crime.

On Monday morning, the toys and blankets were donated to the West
Valley Advocacy Center in Glendale whose goal is to provide services to
crime victims in a safe, comfortable environment.

When an abused child is brought to the WVAC they are given toys,
stuffed animals and a set of clothing.

The WVAC is a partnership between the Glendale
Police Department, A New Leaf (formerly PreHab of Arizona), Arizona
Child Protective Services, Forensic Nurse Examiners, the Maricopa County
Attorney's Office and St. Joseph's Medical Center.

It is designed to be a ‘one stop center' for victims of family violence, child abuse and sex crimes.

The WVAC includes facilities for forensic interviews and examinations, therapy and consultation between law
enforcement and victim services personnel.

The center is available for residents and law enforcement agencies throughout the West Valley.

Another horror case where a so called mother doesn't care about her child as long as she's happy with her boyfriend who is more important. Schala meant less than nothing to her. I hope they both rot in jail til they die.

kiwimom wrote:Another horror case where a so called mother doesn't care about her child as long as she's happy with her boyfriend who is more important. Schala meant less than nothing to her. I hope they both rot in jail til they die.

Agree wholeheartedly. I so want the death penalty to start being used more agressively for these types of people, they don't deserve to live off the tax-payer dollars. They don't deserve to live period.

Chandler Detective Gary Fuller has investigated hundreds of murders,
but he has only one victim's photo on his desk: Schala Vera, 3, whose
brutal slaying a year ago Tuesday had a profound effect on police and
medical staff.
Kepra Jack, one of the nurses at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center who
tried in vain to save Schala's life, has never been so shaken. She just
recently began sleeping through the night again."It was the worst thing I have ever seen," said Jack, whose hospital is holding a memorial service Monday for the child.
"She was wet when she got here. She was naked," Jack said. There wasn't one part of her that wasn't bruised, Jack said.
The child was blue and purple from being whipped, police say,
repeatedly by a belt. Her mother, Susan Joan Witbracht, 27, and her
mother's boyfriend, Dauntorian Lydel Sanders, 24, have been charged with
her murder and could face the death penalty. They are being held
without bail.
In the year since her death, much has happened: Witbracht gave birth
to Sanders' child, who she never held and who was immediately put into
custody of Child Protective Services, the County Attorney's Office
reported.
Sanders' attorney offered a plea deal of life in prison plus 30 years, which county prosecutors rejected, police said.
Perhaps most significant was the kickoff of a child abuse awareness
campaign. Fuller and Jack belong to two of about a dozen agencies in the
effort, which has this core message: If you think a child is being
abused, report it.
"By the time it gets to me, it is too late," said Fuller, who has
been investigating homicides for 16 years. " . . . I am trying to turn
something very, very negative into something positive."
He said police would rather investigate 1,000 cases that go nowhere if it saves one life.
Schala had been living with Witbracht and Sanders for three months on
Wildhorse Place in Chandler. Court records allege both adults beat her
with a belt, and that Sanders tortured Schala, forcing her to stand for
long periods of time holding water bottles over her head. He would hold
her by her ankles on the second-floor balcony of his mother's home,
according to records. And he threw shoes at her, records stated.
The worst thing Sanders did, Witbracht told police, was to pick up
the girl at shoulder's length and drop her to the floor "like a rag
doll."
She was punished, Fuller said, because "she didn't listen. What could a 3-year-old do to deserve getting killed?"
There were signs that Schala was abused, Fuller said. Neighbors told
police after her death that she wore long-sleeved shirts and pants even
in the summer.
"She's outside playing in long sleeves," said Chandler police Sgt.
Joe Favazzo, a spokesman. "That's weird. All the other kids are wearing
summer dress."
One neighbor said he had seen Witbracht spanking Schala on the bottom and yanking her by the arm.
"The suspect (Sanders) said, 'I wish someone would have called and reported us. She would still be alive,'" Favazzo said.
Four children were slain in Chandler in 2009, and Schala's death was the "straw that broke the camel's back," Favazzo said.
The anti-abuse campaign began right away. The Police Department
produced two 30-second public service announcements urging the public to
report their suspicions. Gov. Jan Brewer proclaimed every April to be
Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Mayor Boyd Dunn did the same in
Chandler. A rally was held on the Arizona Capitol lawn, featuring 51
empty chairs, each representing a child in Arizona killed from abuse in
2008.
Favazzo said the campaign has applied for a $469,000 grant from the
Gila River Indian Community to be distributed over three years, which
would be used in part to hire someone to run the campaign.
Other plans awaiting funding include running ads at movie theaters
and billboards, and distributing thousands of cards showing the steps to
take if a doctor, teacher or anyone suspects abuse.
Schala presumably wore the long sleeves in summer to hide bruises,
which court records said bore patterns that match a belt of Sanders. At
the hospital, Schala had "too many bruises to count," Jack said.
She died five days after her third birthday. That day, Sanders whipped her repeatedly with a belt, investigators reported.
Schala's face fell between her knees, then Sanders whipped her back,
investigators said. He picked her up and dropped her, repeatedly, on the
tiled bathroom floor, according to court records. While she was
sprawled on the floor, a door was repeatedly slammed into her head,
records stated.
The reason, Witbracht told police, was because "she was being a bad little girl," according to records.
"That little child was literally beaten to death," Favazzo said. "She
had the strength to crawl between the toilet and the wall, between a
sink and a toilet. A 3-year-old has to die alone."
Jack, the nurse, and the paramedics, social workers, law enforcement
officials and others who were so profoundly moved by this case hope that
the anti-abuse campaign Schala's death triggered will help save lives.
Said Jack, "I've never had a case that touched me like this."

Two lawsuits and one law later, it's still difficult to see into CPS

On May 26, Schala Vera was taken to Chandler Regional Medical Center. Apparently, the mother feared the child had been molested while living with relatives in another state. A worker at the hospital called Child Protective Services, reporting that the girl seemed uncomfortable around the mother's boyfriend.

I can't tell you what, if anything, CPS did. Despite having won two lawsuits that opened records, despite having watched the Legislature enact a new law that's supposed to open CPS records, it seems more difficult than ever to get meaningful information about how well CPS is protecting kids.

But I can tell you this. Last week, Schala was beaten to death. Every inch of the three year old's body was covered in cuts and bruises, some of them the shape of a belt buckle.

Both the mother and the inevitable live-in boyfriend have been arrested. Chandler police say the boyfriend, Dauntorian Sanders, admitted that both he and the mother have been hitting the child with a belt since June but that this time he lost control. (Documents obtained by The Republic indicate that he put tape on the belt's buckle to protect his hands during the beating.)

Even after hearing the gruesome details of how her daughter died, the documents say Susan Witbracht – who, by the way, reported that Sanders would also hold Schala over the balcony by her feet as discipline -- hugged her boyfriend and told him just how much she adores him.

Which is why CPS is so critical to the children of this state. You can always replace a kid, I suppose, but a boyfriend, well, that's another thing altogether.

Sixteen Arizona children have so far died of abuse or neglect this year. I would love to tell you how many of those children died while CPS was supposed to be watching. But I can't.

The law says CPS must “promptly” provide summary information when a child dies or nearly dies of maltreatment and then “promptly” provide further details to anyone who asks, after consulting with prosecutors.

To its credit CPS maintains a website to report those summary details. Just don't expect the report to be “prompt” and when it is eventually filed, don't look for any actual details.

Like the child's last name. Or the date he died. Or how he died. Or whether he died while CPS should have been watching.

In the case of Schala Vera, CPS says that it had no prior reports involving Witbracht or Sanders. That, however, doesn't mean that CPS wasn't involved with the child.

CPS spokesman Steve Meissner says the agency is following the law.

“All this is being done at the advice of our attorneys, that's the only thing I can tell you,” he said. “I'm told this is what the law requires.”

If so, then the law needs to be changed -- again.

I can't tell you what, if anything, CPS did. Despite having won two lawsuits that opened records, despite having watched the Legislature enact a new law that's supposed to open CPS records, it seems more difficult than ever to get meaningful information about how well CPS is protecting kids.

But I can tell you this. Last week, Schala was beaten to death. Every inch of the three year old's body was covered in cuts and bruises, some of them the shape of a belt buckle.

Both the mother and the inevitable live-in boyfriend have been arrested. Chandler police say the boyfriend, Dauntorian Sanders, admitted that both he and the mother have been hitting the child with a belt since June but that this time he lost control. (Documents obtained by The Republic indicate that he put tape on the belt's buckle to protect his hands during the beating.)

Even after hearing the gruesome details of how her daughter died, the documents say Susan Witbracht – who, by the way, reported that Sanders would also hold Schala over the balcony by her feet as discipline -- hugged her boyfriend and told him just how much she adores him.

Which is why CPS is so critical to the children of this state. You can always replace a kid, I suppose, but a boyfriend, well, that's another thing altogether.

Sixteen Arizona children have so far died of abuse or neglect this year. I would love to tell you how many of those children died while CPS was supposed to be watching. But I can't.

The law says CPS must “promptly” provide summary information when a child dies or nearly dies of maltreatment and then “promptly” provide further details to anyone who asks, after consulting with prosecutors.

To its credit CPS maintains a website to report those summary details. Just don't expect the report to be “prompt” and when it is eventually filed, don't look for any actual details.

Like the child's last name. Or the date he died. Or how he died. Or whether he died while CPS should have been watching.
In the case of Schala Vera, CPS says that it had no prior reports involving Witbracht or Sanders. That, however, doesn't mean that CPS wasn't involved with the child.

CPS spokesman Steve Meissner says the agency is following the law.

“All this is being done at the advice of our attorneys, that's the only thing I can tell you,” he said. “I'm told this is what the law requires.”

If so, then the law needs to be changed -- again.

2 Face Child Abuse, Murder Charges
3-Year-Old Dies Of Multiple Blunt-Force Traumas, Autopsy Says

POSTED: 3:59 pm MST September 1, 2009
UPDATED: 5:54 pm MST September 1, 2009

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- The mother of a 3-year-old child who died of blunt force trauma and her 23-year-old boyfriend have been booked on charges of first-degree murder and child abuse, Chandler police said.

Officers took Susan Witbracht, 26, and Dauntorian Sanders, into custody after detectives reviewed autopsy results.

Police said they got a call on Monday afternoon that a child was not breathing. When officers arrived at the home at 2351 E. Wild Horse Place in Chandler, they found the girl and began administering CPR, said Sgt. Joe Favazzo of the Chandler Police Department. Firefighters also joined the effort when they arrived.

The 3-year-old was then rushed to an area hospital, where she later died, Favazzo said.

Autopsy findings released Tuesday indicated the death was a homicide attributed to multiple blunt-force traumas, Favazzo said.

The child was covered in bruises from apparent belt and belt buckle strikes, he said.



http://www.kpho.com/news/20674954/detail.html

Video

* Chandler Couple Arrested In 3-Year-Old's Death


http://www.kpho.com/video/20676301/index.html

Severity of child abuse acts and deaths increasing across Valley
by Alicia E. Barrón
Posted on March 10, 2010 at 8:38 PM
Updated Wednesday, Mar 10 at 9:54 PM

CHANDLER – There has been a disturbing number of deadly child abuse cases recently in the Valley.
One case in particular proved to be a tipping point for police. Three-year-old Schala Vera was allegedly beaten to death with belts in late August. Investigators say her murder was just the tragic conclusion to months of child abuse.
Dauntorian Sanders called police after he supposedly found the baby cramped behind a toilet not breathing. Sanders and his girlfriend, Susan Witbracht, the child's mother, were arrested for the baby's murder.

The county attorney will reportedly be seeking the death penalty. Detective Gary Fuller was assigned to the case. He is a Chandler homicide detective with decades of experience. On his desk you will find a picture of Schala Vera.

It is there not as a reminder of what happened but rather for what they can do to keep something like this from happening again. It is why officers worked so hard with other agencies to get some commercials up and running.

The ads promote a 1-800 number people can call for help. According to the police report, Sanders wishes someone had called the police on him and Susan earlier. He says if they had, Schala would probably still be alive.

In 2008 51 kids were killed by child abuse and over the last year alone in Chandler four children have been murdered.

Police tell 3TV the number of child abuse cases has not gone up too drastically but the severity of the attacks have.





http://www.azfamily.com/news/Severity-of-child-abuse-acts-and-deaths-across-the-Valley-increases-87298957.html

3-year-old's death spurs campaign to prevent abuse
by Megan Boehnke - Mar. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Covered in bruises, 3-year-old Schala hid from her mother's boyfriend in the bathroom.

She squeezed herself between the toilet and the vanity and died there, alone.

The details of her death shook longtime nurses and veteran police officers.

Everyone who touched Schala's case - the detectives, paramedics, doctors and social workers - were so disturbed by what they saw last August that they took action.

They united with child advocates on a statewide campaign to describe the horrors of child abuse and what might be done to prevent it.

"I cried for two weeks, every day," said nurse Kepra Jack, who tended to Schala when she arrived at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. "I cried when I was taking care of her, and I cried myself to sleep that night.

"It was the hardest death I've had, ever, in 11 years. I don't know when or if it will ever go away," Jack said, tears still coming to her eyes seven months after the girl's death. "All I could think was, 'Somebody has failed.' "

Schala arrived at the hospital naked, her hair wet, her body purple and blue.

She had marks on her arms, legs, shoulders, head, wrist and back that matched the stitching of a leather belt that Chandler police found on the bathroom vanity. Bruises covered the back of her hand; she had raised her arms to protect herself.

Police reports say Schala upset her mother's boyfriend by not listening to him.

Susan Witbracht bathed her daughter that morning because she wasn't feeling well. According to the police reports, Witbracht's boyfriend, Dauntorian Sanders, then hit the little girl over and over with the belt.

Schala's face fell between her knees, and then Sanders whipped her back, investigators reported. She was picked up and dropped again and again on the bathroom floor, police say. While she was sprawled on the tile, a door was slammed repeatedly into her head, reports say.

Sanders went to Walgreens to buy cigarettes, the reports say. When he came back, Schala was naked, propped against the vanity, her legs in front of her, her eyes and mouth open.

Sanders calmly called 911. When emergency help arrived, it was too late. He and Witbracht were arrested. The case is pending in Maricopa County Superior Court.

"You get the job done. You can't be emotional about it. You can be emotional later," said veteran homicide Detective Gary Fuller, the lead investigator on Schala's case.

Fuller's co-workers say he was extremely professional and helpful throughout the entire case, but afterward, it was clear the tragedy had affected him.

"It's the helplessness you feel, and you're angry it happened, because there wasn't a part of her body that wasn't bruised," Fuller said. "By the time it gets to me, it's too late. I don't investigate child abuses. I investigate child homicides. And that is so frustrating."

In the week after Schala died, the hospital held meetings to help workers cope. Workers held a memorial service for Schala in the hospital chapel and invited police and firefighters to attend.

Her body was cremated and sent to her father in New York. Schala's dad, who barely knew her, was devastated, Fuller said.

Nine days after Schala's case, a 3-week-old girl was beaten and molested by her father. By then, Fuller's unit had investigated four child-abuse homicides in the past year.

Fuller asked the public-information unit to see if anything could be done. In response, Sgt. Joe Favazzo turned to ChildHelp, a national foundation based in Arizona that assists child-abuse victims.

A dozen agencies, hospitals and police departments united to create public-service announcements and billboard advertisements and to start panel discussions on public-television stations.

They're planning a rally for the first week of April, which is national Child Abuse Prevention Month, and a proclamation by the governor.

In the first public-service announcement, faces of children flash on screen while a dispatcher talks a caller through compressions on a patient.

Two more videos are in the works for parents who struggle with anger and outsiders who see signs of abuse. The videos point both sides to resources that can help.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/2010/03/22/20100322child-abuse.html

3-year-old's death spurs campaign to prevent abuse
-SNIP-

Covered in bruises, 3-year-old Schala hid from her mother's boyfriend in the bathroom.
She squeezed herself between the toilet and the vanity and died there, alone.

-SNIP-

This is the line that haunts me the most. As a survivor of child abuse which included physical abuse, I could only too well empathize and envision this.

And even though it makes people uncomfortable, I will persist in spreading the awful news stories until society wakes up and we force changes that will protect our vulnerable members.

After all, many of the criminals of today have echoes of violence in their childhoods -- not an excuse, but certainly an identifiable root cause. We need to teach good coping mechanisms to survivors and help people learn to walk away from situations they cannot handle rather than lashing out in violence and anger.

And now I'll hop off my soap box.

Updated Sep 2, 2009 - 6:03 pm

CHANDLER, Ariz. - The Chandler Police Department has released the 911 call made in the death of a three-year-old.

Officers arrested the girl's mother and her boyfriend accusing them of brutally beating the child to death. Officials say the autopsy showed multiple bruises on her body from a belt strap and buckle.

Officers say the 911 call was placed because the young girl wasn't breathing. In the call you can hear the mom's boyfriend, Dauntorian Sanders, using expletives saying the girl isn't breathing.

"Hi, this is the Chandler Police Department," said the dispatcher. "We got a 911 call from your cell phone, is there an emergency?"

Sander's responded by saying, "Yes, my [expletive] child isn't breathing right now."

He and the child's mother, Susan Witbracht, face charges of murder and child abuse, according to the police.

In the background of the 911 call, you can hear Witbracht pleading for the child to wake up.

"Wake up," she said. "Come on please, please!"

After her pleading for the young girl to wake up, you can hear what appears to be Witbracht breaking out into tears.

Police reports show the 3-year-old girl had been beaten regularly for the past several months by Sanders. Witbracht admitted to police about knowing about the abuse but never doing anything to stop it.

Even after finding out the autopsy results, Witbracht tells police she still "adored" her boyfriend.

Responding officers to the home described the incident as "one of the worst ones they've seen."

http://ktar.com/?nid=388&sid=1206197