Suspect in boy's death had troubled past

Despite a glowing report on his background, he was unemployed and prone to fights with neighbors.

By RYAN DAVIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 1, 2000

NEW PORT RICHEY -- While Connecticut welfare workers thought Jim and Jenny Curtis were the solid family needed to adopt a 3-year-old with cerebral palsy, those who know Jim Curtis say he is anything but stable.

After a Clearwater social service agency gave the Curtises a glowing letter of recommendation, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families let the couple bring Alex Boucher to New Port Richey on Sept. 20, Connecticut DCF spokesman Gary Kleeblatt said.

Six days later, Boucher was dead. His death was attributed to homicidal asphyxiation.

Jim Curtis, 25, of 5529 LaSalle Court, has been charged with his murder. Curtis is accused of wrapping the child tightly in a blanket because the boy had soiled his pants. Boucher suffocated in his bed.

Curtis had no criminal record, Kleeblatt said.

But he had ample trouble in his life, according those around him.

Curtis and his wife were evicted July 12 from their Chasco Woods, Port Richey, apartment because he repeatedly started fights with neighbors, said Sherry Bauer, the complex's business manager. During the final incident before his eviction, a neighbor accused Curtis of pointing a gun at him, Bauer said. Pasco County sheriff's deputies responded.

The Sheriff's Office would not release details about that report Saturday. Bauer said Curtis has filed a lawsuit over his eviction against the apartment complex. Curtis also told at least two neighbors that he suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome because he had been beaten by his father during childhood, the neighbors said.

Neighbor Jen Larner of Chasco Woods said she had seen him take several anti-depressant pills.

"I know he was on a lot of medication," Larner said, "and he said he was seeing a psychiatrist."

Curtis was listed as unemployed and disabled on his New Port Richey arrest report. Neighbors said they have not known him to hold a job in the last year. He complained of a knee injury, Larner said.

Still, Connecticut authorities and others saw him as a good potential adoptive parent. Kleeblatt said the DCF saw nothing that would lead his agency to expect what happened. The family had been recommended by Children's Home Society of Florida's Gulf Coast Division in Clearwater, he said.

"Children's Home Society gave us a strong and positive recommendation, and DCF relied on that," Kleeblatt said.

No one at the organization could be reached for comment Saturday. The Clearwater division is part of a statewide agency that is one of the state's largest providers of social services for children. Among other programs, it runs the Joshua House for abused, neglected and runaway children in Hillsborough County.

The Children's Home Society recommendation just was one of several pieces that fell in place for the couple and the child to be put together. The Connecticut DCF had been looking for a home for Boucher for most of the boy's life. His parents' rights were terminated before his first birthday, Kleeblatt said. He went to live with relatives in Maine, but his health troubles made it difficult for them to care for him.

The Curtises looked like a good match. Jenny Curtis wanted a child. She told neighbor Carrie Phelps that she wanted her own kids, but she is diabetic and it wasn't a good idea for her to have them, Phelps said. Mrs. Curtis could not be reached for comment Saturday.

And the Curtises knew Boucher; they babysat for him when they lived in Maine. After the couple moved to Florida and went to the Children's Home Society, seeking to adopt, Kleeblatt said, the Connecticut DCF was notified of the connection and the reaction was favorable.

The DCF authorized the Curtises to go to Maine for a two-week visitation earlier this month, Kleeblatt said. The visitation included almost daily visits, under the supervision of the DCFs of Connecticut and Maine.

Things went well and when the Curtises left Maine, they were allowed to bring Boucher with them, Kleeblatt said. The baby remained under Connecticut guardianship, but the Curtises were given temporary custody and began adoption proceedings.

After his arraignment Saturday, Curtis was being held at county jail in Land O'Lakes without bail.

- Elizabeth Hamilton of The Hartford Courant contributed to this report. Ryan Davis can be reached at 800-333-7505 ext. 3452 or by e-mail at rdavis@sptimes.com.

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