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 2

Publication Date: 8/05/05

In Part 1 of this series we revealed the scope and horror of what is arguably one of the worst child abuse cases in memory.  In this, Part 2 we provide an update on the victim, look at what the alleged abusers hoped to gain and continue the story with a white knight trying to ride to the rescue.

Every report of the boy's condition since his rescue has indicated he's well on the road to recovery.  Early news media reports indicated that he had gained 9 pounds, this only days after his rescue.  Since those initial reports, no new indication of his weight gain have been seen, however several reports have appeared quoting investigators working the case and seeing him frequently as saying he is 'growing like a weed'.

The child is in the care of a foster family, living in Gore, Oklahoma and is frequently visited by members of the Muskogee County Sheriff's Office whom he reportedly greets by running to them and hugging their leg.  Reports also indicate that the boy has a love for cheeseburgers and is often the guest of various sheriff's investigators at local restaurants.

News media reports also indicate that the boy is now medically sound but there is considerable concern over post traumatic stress surfacing later on.   With what this child has been through in his young life it is only reasonable to expect that problems may surface at any time.

In response to numerous calls to the Muskogee County Sheriff's Office a fund has been set up at a Muskogee, OK bank for the child's benefit.  The bank asks that contributors DO NOT send cash but rather checks or money orders made out to 'For Deposit Only'. Contributions to this benefit fund may be made to the following address:

Bank First - Muskogee
Minor Child R.K. Account
P.O. Box 1489
Muskogee, OK 74402

The bank may be contacted by phone at (918) 683-5551

Although the accused in this case have been officially charged with various child abuse and neglect offenses, since early on in the investigation it has been reported that additional charges were being considered.   These possible additional charges involved the mention of Social Security fraud.   No further explanation was offered until recently.

Within the past few days more information has surfaced regarding the Social Security fraud implications of this case.  Muskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson indicated that investigators believe that a motive behind the abuse may have been to make the boy look mentally unbalanced so the family could collect Social Security benefits.  Smith claimed the boy was suffering from 'chronic brain disorder' and that he inflicted abuse on himself   The term 'chronic brain disorder' has not been commonly used since the late 1970's and early 1980's.

Sheriff Pearson went on to flatly state that the boy's mother, Melanie Smith, had already received a $3,000 check and a $422 check from Social Security.

John Wright, assistant district attorney for Muskogee County, said he is reviewing reports to determine whether additional charges will be filed, including charges of incest.  At this point no mention has been made of possible federal charges in this case.  Owing to the nature of Social Security Disability payments, that appears to be a possibility however as the Social Security Administration has reportedly begun an investigation.

There are two parallel investigations on-going into this case.  The majority of the news media coverage has centered on the efforts of the Muskogee County Sheriff's Office.  Efforts which focus upon the abuse alleged to have taken place in Braggs, Oklahoma which is in Muskogee County.   However, there is also an investigation on-going in Sequoyah County, where the aunt, Sharon Kay Smith resides in Gore, Oklahoma and is alleged to have also grossly abused the child.  Recently a second child abuse charge has been filed against Sharon Smith.

Sequoyah County, District Attorney Richard Gray has also recently stated that more charges are expected to be filed against family members in connection with the abuse of the boy within two weeks.  This of course implies members of the Sharon Kay Smith household will be charged.

As both investigations are still on-going it is impossible to know the actual parties involved and the nature of all charges that will ultimately be filed in this case.  As soon as such information becomes available we will make it available in subsequent reports in this series.

Every tragedy needs a white knight and this story is no different.   The white knight of this story is a fellow named Guy Koepke of LaPorte, Indiana and when the news of this tragic case broke open worldwide he rode into town in an attempt to come to the boy's aide.

Guy Koepke is the child's legal father.  However he is not the boy's biological father.  Supposedly the biological father lives in Mississippi and hasn't figured in this case what so ever.

Koepke met Melanie Smith in Houston, TX in January 2001, two days after her son was born.  Three months later, Koepke and Smith were married.   Koepke, whose first wife had died in an automobile accident, brought two children to the marriage and he signed paternity papers for Smith's son and thereby became his legal father and is listed as such on the child's birth certificate.

The couple and their children moved to Muskogee, OK in 2003.   Koepke's job as a truck driver kept him away from home for extended periods of time.   Upon his return home from one trip his daughter told him that when he was away that Melanie and her half-brother Roy Albert Smith were sleeping in the same bed.   Koepke reportedly confronted Melanie over these sleeping arrangements and she and her half-brother left for several days.  When she returned, Koepke told Melanie that he had enough and he and his children packed up and moved to Indiana.   Melanie Smith's son was two years old at the time.  As a result of Koepke's and Smith's divorce he was court ordered to pay Melanie Smith $300 per-month in child support.

Koepke last saw his son about a year ago, when he came to Muskogee to move some belongings he had left there to his new home in Indiana.  In news media accounts Koepke was quoted as stating that the boy did not appear abused at that time.  However owing to his feelings for the child and other factors Koepke was even then considering trying to adopt the boy.  Koepke in a recent interview indicated that during the spring of 2005 he brought up with Melanie Smith the subject of his wanting to adopt the child.  He was quoted as saying, "She more or less told me she'd kill me if I ever tried to do it".

For the four years of the child's life, Guy Koepke is the only father he has ever known.  For two years Guy Koepke has been paying child support to Melanie Smith for a child who is not his biological son.  For over one year Guy Koepke has been considering and then attempting to adopt the boy.   Guy Koepke is still to this day trying to adopt him and expresses hope that he stands just as good a chance as anyone to do so.

Unfortunately Guy Koepke's efforts have thus far been rebuffed by the very DHS system which failed so miserably to protect his son.  The best information we have been able to obtain to date indicates that he was not even permitted to see the child.

Reportedly, Guy Koepke has since returned to his home in Indiana, hopeful that someday he will be reunited with his son.

In putting together this report I was struck by widely diverse emotions.

First and foremost was elation that the little boy seems to be doing so well; bouncing back physically and developing emotionally into what a normal little boy should be.  The public outpouring of caring and support will certainly insure that he will know what Christmas is, and his next birthday will likely be filled with toys too.  With all his new friends taking him out to eat, the little guy has clearly gone from famine to feast.  And there's no doubt he is learning what a kid's life is supposed to be like.   One filled with happiness, caring and love as opposed to starvation, beatings and being locked in a closet.

Next came utter dismay and revulsion at the very idea that any mother would willingly harm her own child just to obtain a Social Security Disability check.   Any parent that would do that deserves the death penalty, by torture.   Unfortunately, unless one kills their child in such a scenario, the death penalty is not an option.  But a life sentence clearly is.  If the accused are found guilty, hopefully their sentences will be such that the only way they will ever leave prison is when they are rolled out to the hearse.

The next wave of emotion was one of anger.  Social Security Disability checks are not just handed out because someone calls or writes saying they have a disabled child and the government ought to send a check each month.   Somewhere along the line a case file was opened on this child.  Someone evaluated him to determine if he was in fact disabled.  Someone reviewed that evaluation and decided that disability payments were in order.

Does anyone think for a minute that at no point throughout this process the boy was not seen by at least one physician?  Not seen by at least one case worker?  How can it be that no one involved in the process to grant Melanie Smith Social Security Disability payments for her son did not realize that something was just not right?  It challenges all reason to think that they did not, if they were doing their jobs.  Had anyone involved in the processing of the application for Social Security Disability actually looked at the child, odds are his torture could and would have been terminated much earlier.

And the final emotion to sweep over me was one of sadness.   Sadness for Mr. Koepke, the one man who throughout the course of this young boy's life appears to have been the only decent, caring and loving person with whom he had any contact.  The man that although not obligated in any way, willingly signed on as the little boy's father.  The man who although his marriage to the boy's mother ended in divorce continued not only to support the boy but to love and care about him.  The man who wanted to adopt the boy long before the child's story touched the hearts and minds of people everywhere causing many of them to want to adopt him.  The man who was turned away, to return home to Indiana to hope and pray that the very agency which failed so miserably in protecting his son will now see fit to support his efforts to adopt the child.

Seldom does a story stir such a variety of intense emotions for me, a grizzled old-timer that figured he had pretty much seen, read or heard of just about every wickedness humans practice upon each other.  The story of the boy in the closet has caused me to reevaluate that view.  I had no idea of the depths of evil to which a person might descend for a lousy check.

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