TEGHAN ALYSSA SKIBA - 4 yo (2010) - Smithfield (SE of Raleigh) NC

I'm so glad Teghan's mother is going to be held accountable too. But I'm sure other people could have saved this dear little girl if they'd bothered to care about her.

A District Court judge on Friday denied a
prosecutor's request to increase the bail amount for the mother of
4-year-old Teghan Skiba.A
Johnston County assistant district attorney asked Judge Resson Faircloth
to increase Helen Reyes' bail to $250,000, claiming Reyes is a flight
risk. Reyes is charged with felony negligent child abuse in her
daughter's death July 19.The prosecutor said Reyes, 27,
who was released after posting $50,000 bail Thursday night, is still
employed by the Army Reserves and travels across the country monthly to
attend training.
Faircloth denied the request, noting that
Reyes appeared in person at the hearing, though he ruled that she'll be
required to remain in North Carolina until the case is resolved.Prosecutors
also released new evidence in court Friday. They said Reyes' family
care plan on file with the Army Reserves names her mother, Maria Reyes,
as the sole caretaker for Teghan when the girl's mother is away for
training.The arrest warrant for Reyes
states that she knew that her boyfriend, Jonathan Richardson - who's
charged with first-degree murder - had abused the girl before Reyes left
for military training July 6.Prosecutors said in court
Friday that Reyes watched as Teghan drank a Corona and two Natural Light
beers, and that she knew Richardson beat the girl while Reyes made a
trip to a convenience store.Faircloth set Reyes' next court
appearance for Aug. 12. She told the judge that she would be hiring a
lawyer but did not name the attorney.

The paternal grandparents of a
4-year-old slain girl say they "cannot stop thinking of all the great
memories she has given to us."Teghan Skiba died July 19 at UNC
Hospitals in Chapel Hill, three days after she had been taken to a
Smithfield hospital. She had cuts, lacerations, bite marks, head trauma
and sexual assault injuries, authorities said.Authorities charged
Jonathan Douglas Richardson, 21, of 750 Old Sanders Road in Smithfield,
with first-degree murder and child abuse in connection with her death.Gerald
and Sarah Skiba, of Youngsville, said Sunday they had not seen their
granddaughter in recent months. Teghan's father, Jerry, was facing drug
charges and the girl's mother, Helen Reyes, had cut off communication,
the Skibas said.The Skibas said they repeatedly tried telephoning
Teghan but could never get through. They said they considered hiring an
attorney in an attempt to get temporary custody of the girl but decided
against it.In North Carolina, grandparents do not have
visitation or custody rights, a stance recently upheld by the Supreme
Court. Under the law, they cannot seek custody of a grandchild unless
there is solid evidence a parent is unfit."It’s so hard, they want you to prove so much," Sarah Skiba said.Child
welfare officials have said that they received no reports of abuse
regarding Teghan before her death. But Reyes, 26, of 5255 Passenger
Place in Raleigh, was charged last week with negligent child abuse in
connection with Teghan's death.Teghan had been living with her
mother and Richardson in a barn on his grandparents' property for four
weeks before Reyes left her in his care on July 6 to go to New Mexico
for military training.Skibas said they had offered to watch
Teghan while Reyes underwent military training. The grandparents said
they tried to reach Reyes about her trip but were only able to talk with
her sister, who claimed the training had been canceled, the Skibas
said.Investigators determined that the physical abuse of Teghan,
which included forcing her to consume alcohol, started before Reyes left
town, Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said. So, she was aware of
the situation in which she was leaving her daughter, he said."She
neglected to carry out her motherly duties," Bizzell said last week,
calling the case the worst child abuse he and his investigators have
ever seen. "We have a so-called mother that just walked away."In a
Wake County Human Services investigative report released Wednesday,
social workers determined Reyes had failed "to protect her child and to
entrust her child to an appropriate caretaker."Richardson
initially told hospital workers that Teghan had fallen off the bed. He
later told Johnston County investigators that he "lost it" and whipped
the girl with a cord after she went to the bathroom in the bed they were
sharing, according to search warrants. He explained that he is "bipolar
and little things set him off."The Skibas said they wished Teghan's care had been left up to them and that they miss her."She made us feel so good just being around her," Gerald Skiba said of Teghan.Reyes'
is out of jail on bond and her next court hearing is scheduled for
Aug.12. Richardson remains in jail under a $1 million bond.

September 10 2010
Johnston County District Attorney Susan Doyle said Thursday that she plans to seek the death penalty in a high-profile murder case.Jonathan Douglas Richardson, 21, of Smithfield will face the death penalty if he's convicted in the abuse and death of 4-year-old Teghan Skiba in July. He's charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse. According to search warrants, Teghan had severe head injuries and bruises, cuts and human bite marks all over her body when Richardson brought her to the hospital. She died several days later.The girl's mother, Helen Reyes, was charged with felony negligent child abuse causing serious bodily injury. Investigators say she left Richardson to care for her daughter in a barn without running water while she went to New Mexico for Army Reserve training.

Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/09/09/672610/johnston-prosecutor-to-seek-death.html#ixzz101myqd8t

Johnston County sheriff's investigators have filed new charges
against a Smithfield-area man charged with torturing his girlfriend's
4-year-old daughter.Jonathan Douglas Richardson, 22, was charged
in July 2010 with first-degree murder and felony child abuse in the
death of 4-year-old Teghan Skiba. According to search warrants, Teghan
had severe head injuries and bruises, cuts and human bite marks all over
her body when Richardson brought her to the hospital. She died several
days later.Richardson is now charged also with rape of a child
and sexual offense with a child. He remains in the Johnston County Jail
without bond, and he's due in court on the new charges on July 5.
Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty.
http://www.theherald-nc.com/2011/06/19/18937/newsbriefs.html