Girl dies at scrutinized group home
9/12/2004 3:36 PM
By: Lisa Reyes, News 14 Carolina
The girl stopped breathing and died in the hospital two hours later.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A 12-year-old girl, who was in the care of the Covenant Group Home on Snow Creek Lane in southwest Charlotte, died Saturday night after emergency workers rushed her to Carolinas Medical Center.
The victim, who apparently stopped breathing, was from Buncombe County and investigators do not know why she was in Charlotte and living in the home. According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, an employee of the home restrained her after she became ?unruly and violent.?
Neighbors say there are many questions surrounding the home and there has been trouble there in the past.
?I feared somebody would die in that house because of the amount of times children came out of there in ambulances and the amount of times police were taking kids out,? said neighbor David Monks. ?They were kicking and screaming and trying to kick police windows in. It was disturbing.?
The house became a group home in 2000. It is believed the homeowner?s aunt has a license to care for foster children.
Monks says he has kept an eye on the house from the beginning and has been very concerned.
?It got so bad at one point that I sent a package not only to the Department of Social Services but to the governor?s office and I met with police,? he said.
Neighbors, including Monks, say they kept a log of every time police came to the house
?(The problems included) missing person, assault with a weapon, attempted suicides, domestic problems, mental disorders, mental patients?? Monks said
He says his complaints fell on deaf ears and now a child is dead.
?The home should have been shut down years ago and I could have prevented this from happening,? he said.
The director of the home would not comment as to what types of services they provide and whom they care for.
Police say they will continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident.
Web Journalist: Mike Cartelli
