DCF official resigns after Vero Beach child's death
By Associated Press
Published November 26, 2004
VERO BEACH - A Department of Children & Families administrator has resigned after the death of a 6-month-old Vero Beach baby whose mother confessed to punching him and tossing him down a hallway.
Tyler Villines died of head trauma Nov. 15. Police said his mother, Kimberly Villines, who has been described in court as slightly mentally retarded, said she did it because he wouldn't stop crying.
Villines, 29, was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder by aggravated child abuses. She is being held without bail in the Indian River County jail.
Gary Pettit, who led the protective investigations unit for the DCF district including Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties, resigned Wednesday. He could not be reached for comment.
In a statement, the DCF district administrator, Vern Melvin called Tyler's death "a tragedy and our hearts are saddened."
"I immediately directed my staff to begin reviewing the circumstances surrounding this case, and it appears that we attempted to reduce the risk to the child by providing multiple services to the family," he said.
DCF officials said the agency must move more quickly in situations involving high risk to children and focus on the child's needs, not what the parent wants.
The baby's maternal grandmother, Sharon Leonardo, said he would still be alive if DCF had listened to her before he was killed.
Documents released by DCF show she tried to convince the agency that her daughter could not properly care for Tyler and twice called the agency in the two weeks before he died, but DCF never returned the calls.
