Mike Wolanin | The Republic Pinwheels to raise awareness for the prevention of child abuse are planted at the fountain in front of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. building in Columbus, Ind., on Friday, April 1, 2016.
INDIANAPOLIS — Sixty children died from abuse and neglect in 2021, a report issued by the Indiana Department of Child Services found. That is up from 50 in 2020.
The agency investigated 271 child fatalities in which abuse or neglect was suspected to be a factor but 22% were found to be from caregiver maltreatment.
Of those, 22 were due to abuse, and 38 were due to neglect. In 40 (67%) of the 60 fatalities, the victim was 3 years old or younger.
“This finding demonstrates a consistent trend (nationally and in Indiana) that young children are at the highest risk of abuse or neglect,” a press release said.
Allen County recorded the state’s highest number of child fatalities (11) caused by abuse or neglect.
In Bartholomew County, three child neglect deaths were reported. They included:
— Lealyn Tuttle, 8, died in March 2021 from acute fentanyl and diphenhydramine intoxication while visiting his father’s apartment on Columbus’ east side, according to court documents filed in the case. Travis E. Tuttle, 36, the father, is accused in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 with Level 1 felony of neglect of a dependent resulting in death, and possession of a narcotic drug, a Level 6 felony. The Clifty Creek second-grader was found dead on the living room floor, and detectives found a razor blade along with aluminum foil containing white powder residue. Tuttle’s cellphone showed photos of the boy with foil on his upper and lower teeth and gums while imitating having jewelry worn over his teeth.
— Emma Sweet, 2, died on Thanksgiving weekend in 2021 and her father, Jeremy Sweet, 40, was accused of neglect of a dependent leading to her death. He was arrested after the little girl’s body was recovered from the East Fork White River by searchers who had combed the area following her disappearance. Emma’s body was recovered downstream from where duck hunters had found Sweet in his submerged truck days earlier. Sweet faces a Level 1 felony charge of neglect of a dependent resulting in death and a Level 6 felony charge of possession of a hypodermic syringe.
— The third case involved an infant who suffocated while in unsafe sleeping conditions. There was no open Department of Child Services involvement in the case and no charges were filed in the case.
Fifteen of the 60 victims (25%) included in the report were previous victims of substantiated abuse or neglect, meaning law enforcement and child protection agencies knew of the families and children beforehand. Two of those 15 had history only in other states, not Indiana.
“The death of any child is a great loss for the families and communities,” DCS Director Terry Stigdon said. “We need to be able to learn from this report and make meaningful and lasting change to increase awareness of the risk factors that lead to these tragedies.”
Improper sleeping arrangements, including co-sleeping, remain a leading contributor to infant fatalities. Other common risk factors listed in the report were substance abuse, failure to supervise a child (especially near a body of water) and driving while intoxicated.
The victim’s biological parents were often deemed responsible for the child fatalities detailed in this report, accounting for 53 (73%) of the 73 alleged perpetrators. Some cases cite multiple perpetrators as responsible for the death of the same child. In some cases, caregiver stressors were determined to play a role in the death of a child. Substance abuse, insufficient income and unemployment were frequently cited as stress factors among caregivers.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle (indianacapitalchronicle.com/) is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections. The Republic news staff contributed to this story.
