Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 9, 1995 TAG: 9503090087
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The next time, she said Wednesday, was when she took her toddler's brutally beaten and burned body in her arms shortly after he was taken to Community Hospital early Tuesday. Anthony Harvey was being cared for by a family friend when he was injured.
At the hospital, doctors found his face swollen. He had been burned on his ear, on his buttocks and on his feet. He was suffering from internal bleeding to his head. Doctors said his inner ears were bruised, an injury consistent with being beaten about the head.
The child's condition was different from what had been described in the 911 call to rescue workers, who responded to Hunt Manor Apartments in Northwest Roanoke after getting a call about a child not breathing.
``I don't really know what happened,'' Harvey said.
Anthony remained in stable condition Wednesday, according to a resource nurse at the hospital. Authorities continued to investigate who, and what, caused the toddler's injuries.
No one has been charged, but Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell said charges definitely will be placed. He would not discuss how many people might be charged or the nature of the charges.
Caldwell said that, instead of seeking an arrest warrant, he would prefer a grand jury indictment because it would eliminate a preliminary hearing and speed up the trial date by about a month. The next Roanoke grand jury meets in April.
Child-protection workers, along with Roanoke police, were investigating Anthony's case, a high-profile and aggravated example of about 300 abuse and neglect cases handled by Roanoke youth bureau detectives each year.
The media coverage had Youth Bureau Lt. Jerry Dean fielding telephone calls about why something was not done sooner.
``Nobody spoke up prior to this child being in the hospital. Why? I can't answer that for you,'' Dean said. ``In our cases, we generally find out when it's too late.''
Corinne Gott, who heads Roanoke's Social Services Department, would not say whether her office had been involved with Anthony.
In January, Harvey said, she left her son with a family friend while she looked for a place to live. Anthony's father is in prison; Harvey was moving from one relative's apartment to another. A cousin already was keeping her 7-year-old daughter. For a time, Harvey kept her 3-year-old son, although he now is staying with an aunt.
But Harvey said the family friend offered her assistance, saying if Harvey ever wanted a break she could leave Anthony with her. Anthony's father and the family friend had dated, Harvey said.
``I was just running around trying to find me a place,'' she said. ``I thought Anthony would be in good hands.''
But soon afterward, friends started telling Harvey that something was terribly wrong with her son. The normally jovial toddler was no longer responsive. Harvey said friends told her they rarely saw Anthony outside the apartment.
Three weeks ago, Harvey went to the apartment. At first, the family friend would not let her in. Once inside, Harvey said she found Anthony sleeping.
``He was just laying there with his eyes rolling,'' she recalled. One side of Anthony's face was swollen.
``I said, the next day I'd be there to take him to the hospital,'' she said.
But Harvey did not return. She did not call authorities.
``I was still asleep,'' Harvey said. ``I was in shock.''
Harvey said the family friend told her the same story the friend ultimately would tell police - that Anthony had hit his face when he fell on the sidewalk.
The next time Harvey saw her son, he was in the hospital's intensive care unit waiting for plastic surgeons to repair his badly burned skin. Police said the family friend told them Anthony was burned when he turned the hot water on in the bath tub and began playing in it.
``He didn't even know how to get into the bathtub,'' Harvey said.
She is staying at her godmother's home several blocks from where her son was found beaten. She said she is still looking for an apartment and would like Anthony to live at the home of his paternal grandparents.
``I give custody to them,'' she said. ``Anthony needs someone to keep an eye on him. I want him to be somewhere better.''
That decision may not be hers. Gott said she expects to ask a Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court judge to remove the child from his current residence. Where Anthony will end up will be a matter for the court, she said.
by CNB