ST. JOHNSBURY — The mother of the third toddler with Department for Children and Families connections to die in three months spoke out this week, saying she never harmed her son and she feels unfairly linked to two other cases in which caregivers are suspected of killing their children.
The Department for Children and Families does not discuss specific cases, so details of St. Johnsbury 22-month-old Mason Keithanโs ties to DCF were until now unknown.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Alicia Mitchell, 24, said DCF took Mason from her when he was 3 weeks old, returning him to her care when she agreed to live at a residential drug treatment center in Burlington.
Mitchell and her boyfriend, Masonโs father, Vincent Keithan, regained custody of Mason on May 8, she said. He died May 31. She keeps the door to his room closed as she tries to recover.
โI never harmed my baby. I never did anything wrong,โ Mitchell said.
In the two other deaths, caregivers have been charged with killing their children. Poultney 2-year-old Dezirae Sheldonโs stepfather, Dennis Duby, is charged with her murder by allegedly crushing her skull. The mother of Winooski 14-month old Peighton Geraw is charged with killing her son by shaking him.
A state police report released Friday detailed how multiple miscommunications on the part of DCF, police, attorneys and others paved the way for Deziraeโs death. A similar report about DCFโs handling of Peightonโs case is underway.
In Masonโs case, however, an autopsy revealed no signs of trauma to the boy. Results of a toxicology screening are pending and police are still investigating the death. No charges have been filed.
The night Mason died, Mitchell said she came home from work at McDonaldโs, fed him, they played, she gave him a bath and then he went to sleep. He never woke up, she said.
โHe went down and fell asleep and he didnโt wake back up,โ she said.
Mason had a slight cold the night he died, she said, but nothing else abnormal. He was born with tracheomalacia, a condition that can cause the windpipe to collapse and make it hard to breathe, she said.
Her cabinets were locked and her cleaning supplies were up high, she said.
Mitchell also explained Masonโs history with DCF. He was removed from his parentsโ custody because of her prior drug use, she said, and because Mitchell and Keithan failed to follow a family safety plan DCF created.
The lapse occurred when the man they were living with in Wheelock one day slept late and forgot to take them to the BAART addiction recovery center for their methadone treatment, she said.
DCF had assigned the man as Masonโs primary caregiver. Mitchell said she agreed to the plan for fear DCF would take Mason away.
Mitchell also has a 5-year-old daughter who lives with the girlโs father, she said. DCF struck a deal with Mitchell whereby she would relinquish custody of her daughter in order to keep her son and live at Lund, she said.
โThey threatened me pretty much and made me do it and I listened,โ she said.
Details of Mitchellโs case are impossible to confirm with DCF because the department does not discuss specific cases.
While Masonโs case does not appear to involve abuse, both his parents struggle with drug addiction and take methadone, a drug prescribed to help addicts end their addiction.
DCF sees more drug-related cases
The number of calls to the DCF hotline related to substance abuse rose by 55 percent in the past five years, DCF says. One DCF social worker said she has noticed many more cases in which parents, or children themselves, are using heroin or other drugs.
โThe cases that are coming in where there is heroin, the oxy, or meth, itโs scary,โ said Janet Dunigan, a DCF social worker in the St. Albans office.
Legislators on a panel investigating DCF and other aspects of Vermontโs child protection system also say opiate addiction is a common thread in many accounts they heard during nine public forums held across the state.
Mitchell and Keithan have had other run-ins with the law. The couple in February were accused of stealing bridge parts.
Keithan is due in court this month after being charged with retail theft for allegedly stealing an $80 carton of Marlboro cigarettes from Kinney Drugs in February.
After living at the Lund Family Center and working for a year, Mitchell saved up enough money to move to the Mountain View Drive apartment in St. Johnsbury, where DCF checked up on her at first weekly, then monthly, she said.
โThey didnโt really do anything, they just came and said, โhi,โโ she said.
The mother described caring for Mason as clockwork. Her home this week was still full of toys and baby clothes, neatly folded on the couch.
Mason attended daycare down the street at ABC & LOL Child Care Center, where his teacher said he knew lots of words and liked to play with trucks and eat applesauce.
Day care worker Tabby Bujaucius said she is angry when people jump to conclusions about what happened to Mason.
โJust because they had their past issues doesnโt mean they didnโt love him, because I could tell he was very taken care of, that they loved him,โ she said.
Daycare workers congratulated Mitchell and Keithan the day they said they had regained full custody of Mason.
Mason was active, smart and had a big vocabulary, she said. His favorite words were โcar,โ โhammerโ and โmine.โ
Each week, his mother would bring him a new blanket and toy to put in his crib, Bujaucius said. Daycare workers and other kids all loved the way Mitchell spiked or styled Masonโs hair.
Bujaucius said itโs still hard at daycare when other kids ask about Mason, or when she sees his crib or his belongings. She tries to cry only when the kids donโt see.
โItโs hard, itโs very hard,โ she said.
