 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Make that phone call, and stop a child abuse death
© St. Petersburg Times, The death of 2-year-old Jordan Ebersberger is tragic enough, but what makes it even more painful is that it might have been prevented. This time no one can blame lax state child protection workers or bureaucratic bungling for the death of an innocent child. That scenario has happened too often in Florida, but not this time. The state had not been involved in Jordan's case. But friends and family had seen bumps and bruises and red marks -- even black eyes -- on Jordan and did not report them. Now Jordan, a tiny, adorable boy with blond hair and dark eyes, is dead after enduring agonies hard to imagine. He survived five days after being hospitalized Sept. 13 with injuries that included multiple head traumas, brain swelling, lacerations on his liver and spleen, hemorrhages in his eyes and ears, and knuckle marks on his chest. A firefighter who arrived at Jordan's home Sept. 13 in response to a 911 call thought the child's face was covered with mud. Upon further examination, the firefighter saw a mask of bruises. "It's as bad as you get," said Tarpon Springs police Sgt. Allen MacKenzie of this child abuse case. Jordan and his 18-year-old mother, Brandi Ebersberger, were living in a friend's Tarpon Springs home at the time Jordan stopped breathing and was airlifted to All Children's Hospital. A frequent visitor in the home was Brandi's boyfriend, Timothy Walker, 21, a dishwasher at a Tarpon Springs restaurant. Walker, who was not Jordan's father, has been charged with second-degree murder. Authorities say he took responsibility for causing some of Jordan's injuries. Jordan's mother has not been charged, but the investigation is continuing. Jordan and his mother had lived in Tarpon Springs only since Sept. 7. Before that, they lived with a family friend, Beverley Poirier, 42, and her roommate, Nancy Koggan, in Holiday. Poirier and Koggan told Times staff writer Katherine Gazella that they saw marks on Jordan starting during the summer. Poirier even took a photograph of Jordan with two black eyes. The two women said that when they saw marks, they questioned Ebersberger or Walter, but they were always given an excuse: The child fell down, or was sitting on a chair when it broke. Law enforcement officers who work on abuse cases often are frustrated when people see signs of abuse, but don't report them. It is a common problem. Tarpon Springs police Detective Barbara Templeton, who is working on Jordan's case, noted that "people don't want to get involved. They don't want to cause trouble in their family or with their neighbors." People who make the decision to keep quiet about signs of child abuse need to understand this: A child may die because of that decision. The state of Florida makes it so easy to report suspected child abuse. You don't have to have proof that abuse has occurred, just a suspicion. You don't have to give your name. If your instincts tell you that something isn't right and a child may be at risk, call the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873. The call may end a child's terrible suffering.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times North Pinellas desks |
