Note: Throughout the following direct quotes from various sources will be presented in Bold.
Commentary and opinion of the Editors of Bubbaworld will appear in Italic.

The Boy In the Closet - Part 1

Publication Date: 8/03/05

The Boy In the Closet is the story of a 4 year old Braggs, OK child and the horrendous abuse which he endured for months, possibly as long as a year.   It is the story of abuse allegedly committed by his mother and other family members.   It is a story of abuse which was initially reported to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) in the Spring of 2005.  It is a story of abuse which was never referred to law enforcement by DHS.  It is a story of abuse that horrifies civilized persons everywhere.  And it is the story of systemic failure of Oklahoma's Department of Human Services to protect Oklahoma's most vulnerable citizens, its children.

Melanie Smith (left) age 24, and Roy Albert Smith (middle) age 20, residents of Braggs, Oklahoma but both claiming addresses of records in Gore, Oklahoma were charged in Muskogee County District Court on 7/01/05 with felony child abuse/neglect, felony child neglect and felony child endangerment.  Sharon Kay Smith, (right) age 50, of Gore, Oklahoma was charged in Sequoyah County District Court on 7/05/05 with child abuse.  All allegations of child abuse pertain to the same four year old boy.  Melanie and Roy Smith remain in the Muskogee County Jail, held without bond.  Sharon Kay Smith was released from the Sequoyah County Jail on bond of $10,000.

Although Melanie Smith told investigators that Roy Smith was her husband and the couple had been living together with the victim near Braggs, Oklahoma, Roy Albert Smith is reportedly Melanie Smith's half-brother.  When investigators went to the Smith home, located next door to their biological father, they found it to be a dilapidated trailer with no electricity or running water, with a large hole in the roof, and in its bathroom they found a trash bag used for holding human waste.  

In searching the Smith residence deputies found no children's toys or books, only one stuffed animal.  Although the kitchen's cupboards were bare except for two cans of soup and bottles of syrup and jelly, deputies did find plenty of dry and canned dog food, plus shampoo and vitamins for the Smiths' two dogs.  Deputies reported that when Roy Smith was arrested he was carrying $1,600 in cash.

Sharon Kay Smith is the Smith couple's aunt and reportedly baby sat the boy in her home in Gore, Oklahoma.  No allegations were made regarding the nature of Sharon Kay Smith's home, only the actions which occurred there.   The child had been staying with Sharon Kay Smith for three months prior to his rescue.

In March, 2005 the boy was taken to a doctor in Muskogee, OK.  From the doctor's office he was taken to Muskogee Regional Medical Center and from there was flown by helicopter to Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa.  The boy had been poisoned from having consumed green rubbing alcohol which authorities now allege his mother, Melanie Smith, told him was Kool-Aid and forced him to drink.  The child was in a comma for a period of three days.

According to news media reports, Saint Francis Hospital staff contacted the Tulsa DHS office to report the boy was suspected of being a victim of child abuse.  Those same reports indicate that the Tulsa DHS office forwarded the report to the Muskogee, OK DHS office.  Neither the doctor in Muskogee, the Muskogee Regional Medical Center, Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa or the DHS offices in Tulsa and Muskogee contacted any law enforcement agency regarding the boy and his suspected abuse.  At the conclusion of his treatment the child was returned to his mother who returned with him to the mobile home in Braggs, OK.  Reportedly he stayed there for a month before being taken to the home of Sharon Kay Smith.

Following his hospital stay it would be four additional months before an anonymous tip indicating the child was being abused led Gore, OK police to the home of Sharon Kay Smith.  There they discovered the child, who Sharon Kay Smith was baby sitting, was in a condition which later prompted Muskogee County Deputy Sheriff Tim Brown to state, "I've seen better looking refugees in Vietnam".  Deputy Brown was also quoted as calling this, "the worst child abuse case I've ever seen.".

At the time of his rescue, on June 25th, the four year old boy weighed only 26 pounds, a typical weight for a two year old, his body was covered in bruises upon top of bruises from head to toe, his hair was falling out from malnutrition, he had open sores on the tops of his feet and the only way he could walk was with the aid of a small cane.

Following his rescue and in sessions which left street tough law enforcement officers in tears at times, the boy revealed a tale of neglect, abuse and horror at the hands of his family members.  The following is but a partial list of the abuses which allegedly occurred in the Smith House of Horrors.

In late July, Muskogee County Sheriff's investigators had gotten to the point that they could no longer refrain from voicing their feelings about the child protection system which had failed this child so miserably and went on the record via news media interviews.  Many of the statements made by Sheriff's Office personnel echoed the sentiments expressed by civilized people everywhere upon hearing of this disgraceful case of child abuse and the failures of the DHS system intended to protect children.  Here is a sampling of these statements:

Statements attributed to Muskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson:

This child was unnecessarily tortured from March to July, because somebody failed to call the authorities.

He ended up going through four more months of torture than was necessary.

This is shocking and heinous.  I don't want to point to the doctor, the DHS or the nurse, but anybody with a third-grade education could see this child and say this isn't right and that law enforcement needs to be contacted.

Any sane person would have seen this child is abused.

There's no way he's going to drink rubbing alcohol on his own.

Statements attributed to Muskogee County Sheriff's Lt. Tim Brown:

In their wisdom, they decided it wasn't a criminal matter.

How dumb do you have to be to know this isn't child abuse?

I've seen better looking refugees in Vietnam.

The boy had to endure three more months of torture, starvation and beatings at the hands of his parents.  If we'd been notified, it would have stopped.

Referring to DHS, Brown was quoted as saying:

We all have to work together.  I'm not going to step in their little sand pile.

Hospital records indicated that DHS should take a real close look at this for a high suspicion of abuse. But nobody in DHS is apparently trained well enough to look at this case and call it child abuse.

Statements attributed to Muskogee Sheriff's Deputy Jan Ray:

They (Roy and Melanie Smith) need to get the maximum that's available.  They're monsters

As the fire storm of criticism swirled around the Muskogee, OK DHS office DHS spokeswoman Stephanie Bond, pointed out that the proper protocol is for hospital workers to contact police directly and then the police contact the DHS.

When pressed on the issue DHS spokespersons would only comment that DHS regulations prohibit agency employees from discussing investigations that may or may not have taken place previously or that may be on-going.

Following a meeting between the Sheriff's Department and regional DHS officials the director of the Muskogee DHS office pledged better cooperation between the Muskogee, OK DHS office and the county sheriff's department.   Mike Jackson, director of the Muskogee DHS office indicated the agency handles so many cases that a few pieces of information could be mishandled and lost, but he said this isn't common.  Jackson went on to state, "Our first interest is to protect the child.".

As of the date of publication the investigation into allegations against the Smiths is continuing.  The Muskogee County Sheriff has, in media reports, been quoted as stating that additional charges are being considered including charges alleging incest, Social Security fraud and various child abuse related charges against other Smith family members who knew of the abuse of the child and did nothing about it.  Any subsequent charges against the three now accused or other family members will be detailed in subsequent reports in this series.

This case brings to mind the Ryan Luke scandal which plagued the Oklahoma Department of Human Services when in 1995 a 2 year old toddler who had been repeatedly abused and who was in a body cast at the time was beaten to death.   His tragic death inspired the Ryan Luke Law which was enacted in 1996 and was supposed to set up a multi-disciplinary team within DHS to address child abuse cases.  Evidently the Oklahoma DHS spent the money on a public relations department rather than a child abuse detection and prevention effort.

The horrendous failure of the Oklahoma DHS in this case gives one cause to wonder why they even bother pretending their first interest is to protect the child.  If that were the case then why the hell didn't someone in the Muskogee, OK DHS office at least pick up the phone and call the sheriff's office to insure an investigation was undertaken?  Or does the staff of the Muskogee DHS office figure that chug-a-lugging a bottle of rubbing alcohol is a normal activity for children?

Granted, Oklahoma does not pay its public servants at anywhere near the level they deserve for the work they do and the responsibilities they bear.   However failing to pay a decent wage does not justify hiring the village idiot to keep an eye out for the welfare of the town's children.  If we as a state can not afford to hire qualified and dedicated public servants to staff a DHS office then we probably need to transfer all child abuse cases to the county sheriff, as even on its tight budget the Muskogee County Sheriff's Office managed to do what the Muskogee DHS could not or would not do, namely terminate the insane abuse of a four year old child.

Personally, I hope to see a grand jury investigation of not only the entire Smith family, but also the mishandling of this case by the Muskogee, OK office of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.  I figure that is the least owed to one little four year old boy and who knows how many others who are falling through the cracks of a grossly flawed DHS system.

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