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Tampa agency sued in death of 4-month-old
Associated Press
Published May 18, 2005
TAMPA - A child welfare agency is being sued over the death of a 4-month-old boy who was killed after caseworkers allegedly allowed him to be taken out of Florida and to rejoin his abusive parents.
The lawsuit was filed against Hillsborough Kids Inc. by a court-appointed administrator for the estate of Phoenix Jordan Parrish.
The child was taken from his parents because of neglect and abuse, according to state records. Hillsborough Kids is contracted by the state to handle foster care placements.
Alabama attorney Chris Glover alleges in the lawsuit filed Friday in Hillsborough Circuit Court that caseworkers assigned to monitor the baby's care lost track of the child after he was removed from his parents and placed with his great-uncle, Edgar Parrish.
Parrish took the child to Dothan, Ala., and allowed the baby's parents, Tierra Capri Gobble and Samuel David Hunter, to move in.
Phoenix died Dec. 15 after suffering a skull fracture, two broken ribs and two broken wrists. Gobble is now charged with capital murder and first-degree domestic violence. Two Hillsborough Kids workers were fired and another was demoted after it was found one of the caseworkers falsified documents showing he visited Phoenix.
[Last modified May 18, 2005, 00:49:11]
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