News
Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Sisters share same tragic end
In 2002, a 2-year-old drowned in her great-grandmother's care. On Sunday her sister was found face-down in the same pool. The death strains a divided family.
By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published July 6, 2004
TAMPA - A 2-year-old girl placed in the custody of her great-grandmother drowned over the weekend in the same swimming pool where her 2-year-old sister drowned two years ago.
The tragedies have deepened a family rift over custody of the girls and have once again raised questions about the role of the Department of Children and Families.
"We're not going to let this lie," said Joe Singley, a step-grandparent of the children. "I believe that accidents can happen. But two dying in the same way?"
Singley, and others, want to know why officials awarded custody of the second girl to her great-grandmother, Beverly Goodson, when the girl's sister had drowned while in Goodson's care.
Selia Rose McLendon drowned in June 2002 in Goodson's backyard pool. On Sunday, during a birthday party and Fourth of July cookout, Selia's younger sister, Voncille Cannon, was found face-down in that same pool.
Voncille was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m., said Hillsborough County sheriff's Lt. Rod Reder.
Both girls lived with Goodson in a small white house at 10825 Old Hillsborough Ave., southeast of Interstates 75 and 4.
Goodson said Monday she left Voncille in the care of visiting relatives Sunday so she could take a nap. When Goodson awoke, relatives were searching for the girl.
A male relative - the same man who found Selia two years before - discovered Voncille floating in the water, relatives said.
Child welfare officials put Voncille in Goodson's care in May 2002, according to Hillsborough Kids, a nonprofit agency that oversees child welfare services in Hillsborough County under a contract with DCF. After Goodson took care of Voncille about two years, she was awarded full custody of the girl this past April, said Hillsborough Kids spokeswoman Beth Leytham.
The question of custody has created a bitter feud between two family factions.
One side of the family says they tried to get both girls placed in their home, a mobile home a few miles from the great-grandmother's home.
Those family members, Voncille's step-grandparents, were denied custody.
After Selia McLendon's death two years ago, they say they tried to get Voncille placed with them. With Voncille's death, the step-grandparents, Joe and Joan Singley, are furious at the DCF.
Whether officials knew about the first drowning when they placed Voncille with her great-grandmother was unclear Monday. It was also unclear whether Voncille was already living in Goodson's home when her sister drowned.
DCF offices were closed Monday for the holiday, said Leytham of Hillsborough Kids. Leytham said the Hillsborough Kids agency does have a record of Voncille's placement with Goodson, but she did not find a file for Voncille's older sister.
Little information was available Monday about Selia's drowning in 2002, and Sunday's drowning remains under investigation, said Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.
On Monday afternoon, the different factions of family members mourned the loss of Voncille, sorting through photographs of the sisters and throwing accusations at each other.
To understand the family rift, one must understand the sisters' complicated family history.
Both have the same mother - Calina Starr McLendon, 21, who lives in the Citrus County town of Crystal River.
McLendon said Monday she was 16 when she gave birth to Selia, and 18 when she bore Voncille.
The DCF eventually decided to move the daughters into the home of Voncille's father's grandmother, Beverly Goodson. Since DCF records were unavailable Monday, it was unclear why the agency made that decision.
McLendon said she had worried about the girls' safety since they were placed with Goodson. She claimed Goodson didn't want to take custody of Selia because the girl wasn't a blood relative.
McLendon also said she was angry with the DCF for permitting Voncille to remain with Goodson after Selia's death. McLendon said both girls were at Goodson's home for a few days before Selia drowned.
"Part of me wants to go on a rampage," said McLendon, who was raised by her stepfather, Joe Singley. "Part of me wants to cry all day."
Joe and Joan Singley spent Monday trying to deal with their emotions. Framed photographs of Voncille and Selia were propped up against their television. Neighbors in their mobile home park brought covered dishes of food and tried to console the couple.
"They blessed us in the short time they were here," Joan Singley said. "I just wish they would have lived long enough to have babies of their own."
The Singleys remembered both girls as outgoing. Selia was protective of Voncille, whom they had nicknamed "Skeeter."
At Goodson's house, the elderly woman came to the door holding a recent photograph of Voncille. In the photograph, Voncille is wearing a bib and smiling broadly, her face covered in red pasta sauce.
Goodson said Voncille's death was heartbreaking and that both of the sisters were loved and well-cared for in her home.
"I loved her," Goodson said as relatives gathered around her for support. "I would have given my life for her."
Goodson said she was deeply hurt by the Singleys' questions about the girls' safety. Her home was best for the girls, she said.
She broke down, sobbing.
"I want (Voncille) in my arms right now," she said. "We can't figure out how she got in that pool."
- Times staff writer Curtis Krueger contributed to this report.
[Last modified July 5, 2004, 23:26:10]
Share your thoughts on this story
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Letter to the editor
