[Birth4Mom3]

Amber Alert issued for baby boy; social worker dead - CNN.com

Amber Alert issued for baby boy; social worker dead
POSTED: 12:40 p.m. EDT, October 17, 2006

HENDERSON, Kentucky (AP) -- Police found a social worker slain in a western Kentucky home and issued an Amber Alert for the 10-month-old boy the woman had taken to the house for a visit with his mother, authorities said Tuesday.
The child's mother, Renee Terrell, 33, of Henderson, did not have custody of her developmentally disabled son, police said. She and her boyfriend, Christopher Wayne Luttrell, 23, were both missing Tuesday and were believed to have the child.
Police were called Monday afternoon when the social worker didn't return to work after taking the baby, Saige Terrell, to visit his mother, said Henderson Police Sgt. Dwight Duncan.
"It's a dangerous job anytime you're taking someone's child away from their parents," Duncan said. "You know how protective parents can be."
The social worker was identified as Boni Frederick, 67, of Morganfield, who worked for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Her station wagon, a 2000 white Daewoo Nubia, also was missing, police said.
Duncan said police believe Frederick was killed, but he would not comment on her cause of death pending an autopsy under way Tuesday.
The white-paneled house where she was found was roped off by police tape Tuesday, and a police car was parked out front.
Across the street, Mindy Gray, 22, sat on a porch swing with her baby and watched police continue the investigation. Gray described Terrell as "goofy, like a little kid."
"But every time I talked to her, she was sweet as can be," Gray said.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

This is HORRIBLE!

[fostermomintx]

I can't imagine anyone being that vicious or that stupid as to kill a social worker. And what the heck...why was the worker taking the kid to the bioparent's house. I'm in Texas (Dallas area) and all the visits my foster kids have had have been at the CPS Office (supervised by the worker). I don't know of any who were ever taken to their bios home even for a moment...that doesn't make sense to me! And the fact that the birthmother knew the baby was about to be adopted out, I would have been very afraid to go there by myself no matter how "sweet" the biomother was...

I feel so bad for the worker's family. All she was doing was her job. I can't believe these people are that stupid...why didn't they just tie her up and take off with the baby. Duh, didn't they think that the police would put 2 and 2 together and figure out where the baby went...

Totally sad and unbelievable...

[sunnyandi13]

The governor here has ordered flags to 1/2 mast until the caseworker's funeral. The story keeps getting sadder and sadder, this woman had three other children removed and placed for adoption; neighbors who originally turned her in to social services were quoted as saying that she "couldn't even care for her dog, so we took it in". Plus the boyfriend in the picture is a violent multiple offender, so why was he even allowed to be around this baby?

If the child was going up for adoption, visitation should have been tapering off. And if this was the "goodbye" visit, it should have been done in CPS offices, not the birthfamily home. Yet again another case of the system failing the children its supposed to protect. And now an innocent family is burying their mother!

[h518may]

I live in KY and our fd is going to supervised visits to the parent's home. The goal in the case has been changed to adoption, pretrial is tomorrow, and the county wants to continue these home visits. I feel like the state is learning nothing from this case. I have been against home visits from the start. In our area there are better places to have supervised visits.

[FosterSurroBirthMom]

Here in Michigan, they are doing a new thing called family to family, meaning that the foster parents hold visits in THEIR home and the foster parents come here to visit the kids...we have to have a couple meetings at the DHS office but they want to have the bioparents at your house....I am nervous about this...

[fostermomintx]

I'm glad I'm in Texas if they are making foster parents have visits in their homes.

This doesn't make sense...why would you have people in your home or you visit theirs with the child(ren) that (a)the State took away and (b)is making them jump through hoops to get the child(ren) back. It is just human nature to be angry about someone interferring with your family so then why would you put social workers and foster parents in danger like that. If these people were capable of caring for their children then the State wouldn't have had to step in...where is the State's common sense...I would be scared too!

[BrandyHagz]

In Illinois, when we lived there and were becoming licensed, we were told (and actually experienced through a friend) that visits could take place in the bio-families home or where they live if they live in a very rurual area and are unable to find transportation.

It actually depended on the case worker - maybe this caseworker felt comfortable?