Patricia O. v. Superior Court

69 Cal. App. 4th 933, 81 Cal. Rptr. 2d 662, 99 Daily Journal DAR 1131, 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 918, 1999 Cal. App. LEXIS 82
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 13, 1999
DocketNo. B126944
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 69 Cal. App. 4th 933 (Patricia O. v. Superior Court) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Patricia O. v. Superior Court, 69 Cal. App. 4th 933, 81 Cal. Rptr. 2d 662, 99 Daily Journal DAR 1131, 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 918, 1999 Cal. App. LEXIS 82 (Cal. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

[935]*935Opinion

KLEIN, P. J.

Petitioner Patricia O. (mother) seeks writ review (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 366.26, subd. (l); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 39.1B)1 of respondent court’s order denying mother family reunification services and setting a hearing under section 366.26 as to minors Salman Y. and Jasmine Y. on February 24, 1999. We deny the writ.

Factual and Procedural Background

The minors were declared wards of the court pursuant to section 300 based on a second amended petition which, as sustained, alleged: (1) the minors were in danger of serious physical harm in that their sibling, Adan Y., died on February 8, 1998, as a result of severe physical injuries including “blunt force trauma to the abdomen, disrupted blood vessels, lacerations and hemorrhaging of tissues, a tom liver, an abrasion on the left temple, and fractured vertebrae,” and Adan previously had suffered a spiral fracture of the right humeras on July 27, 1997; (2) mother failed to protect the minors from mother’s male companion, Victor Z., who had physically abused Salman and Jasmine by hitting the minors’ buttocks with an open hand, twisting the minors’ legs and arms, and, as to Salman, striking the minor in the abdomen with his fist; (3) the minors were inadequately supervised in December of 1997 or January of 1998 when Jasmine was found in the streets of Huntington Park by a Pacific Bell employee who took the minor to the home of the maternal aunt, and in October of 1997 when the maternal aunt found Salman “wandering in the streets of Huntington Park unsupervised and she almost accidentally hit him with her automobile”; (4) mother and Victor Z. had violent physical and verbal disputes in 1997 and on February 5, 1998, which endangered the minors’ safety; and, (5) Victor Z. had endangered the minors by using marijuana in their presence and in their home.2

The application for petition dated February 9, 1998, prepared by the department of children and family services (DCFS) included a copy of a police report which indicated that on February 8,1998, officers responded to a “baby not breathing call” at a laundromat on Florence Boulevard in Huntington Park. The officers found Adan Y. lying on a bench outside the laundromat and the minor’s 34-year-old mother and her 22-year-old boyfriend, Victor Z., standing next to the bench. Adan Y. had no pulse and was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital.

[936]*936Mother told investigators she had separated from the minors’ father approximately one year earlier, she had been dating Victor Z. for approximately eight months, and that Victor Z. had been residing with mother and the minors. Mother admitted she and Victor Z. had argued several times, had struck each other once and the police had been called on that occasion. Mother denied Victor Z. had ever struck her children. Mother claimed that, on the night of Adan’s death, they had been doing laundry. Victor Z. took Adan outside while mother folded laundry and, a short while later, ran into the laundromat and stated Adan was unconscious. Victor Z. claimed he had dropped the minor accidentally, Adan had landed on his head, and never regained consciousness.

An autopsy revealed Adan’s death had been caused by “multiple injuries to the abdomen area as the result of blunt force trauma.” Both of the doctors present at the autopsy stated such injuries “would require a great amount of force” and were consistent with “a punch or a kick from an adult.” “The injuries included a disruption of the blood vessels, lacerations and hemorrhaging .... There was also one fractured vertebrae (L2), and a tom liver. There was over one cup of blood in the abdomen which [the deputy medical examiner] said was approximately Va of the victim’s blood supply. The [doctors] further indicated that death would occur minutes following the blow, and no later than one hour after” it. X-rays revealed a healed fracture of Adan’s right arm. Victor Z. denied responsibility for this injury and claimed mother told him that Adan had fallen down the stairs and broke his arm.

The autopsy report concluded Adan had been the victim of battered child syndrome as demonstrated by the presence of multiple acute and chronic injuries. These injuries included a healing fracture of the L2 vertebrae which was approximately four to six weeks old, a mature healing fracture of the right humems which was consistent with the reported history of a broken arm six months prior to death, and a periosteal calcification along the proximal humems which was approximately one and one-half to three weeks of age. “The findings are consistent with repetitive trauma to the humeras.” Adan’s liver was lacerated and showed recent hemorrhaging, sections of his ileum and ascending colon showed fresh hemorrhage, and the mesentery showed evidence of hemorrhage consistent with an injury one to two weeks old.

On February 11, 1998, the juvenile court ordered the minors placed in the care of the maternal aunt.

A social study prepared for the pretrial resolution conference (PRC) on April 14, 1998, indicated Salman told the childem’s social worker (CSW) [937]*937that Victor Z. had killed Adan, had struck Salman and Jasmine with his fist, and had twisted Jasmine’s legs and arms. Salman said he told his mother and father about Victor Z.’s abuse. The report indicated mother had visited Victor Z. in jail since his arrest for the murder of Adan and that mother told the CSW “she is ‘in love’ with him.” The maternal aunt advised the CSW that mother had visited Victor Z. more frequently than she had visited the minors. The father acknowledged he was not fit to care for the minors and indicated he wished them to be placed with the maternal aunt.3

A supplemental PRC report prepared for May 5, 1998, indicated mother told the CSW Adan broke his arm on July 27, 1997, when he fell down numerous steps in the home. Mother admitted Victor Z. had resided with mother at the time of this incident.

A CSW’s report prepared for September 16, 1998, indicated mother had enrolled in parent education and domestic violence counseling and that minors and mother had commenced counseling with Teresita Morales, Ph.D., at Eastside Family Counseling Center. Morales reported mother “continues to minimize the abuse and does not appear to grasp the severity of the crime. [Mother] is beginning to confront her denial.” Attached to the report were copies of sheriff’s visitation logs which indicated mother had visited Victor Z. at the county jail on February 24, 28, and March 2, 3 and 16, 1998. The minor’s father provided the CSW with an audiocassette containing two recorded messages from Victor Z. to mother which Victor Z. had left on mother’s telephone answering machine while mother was residing temporarily with father. The CSW noted mother had attended Victor Z.’s criminal trial and met a witness who had observed Victor Z. “throw minor Adan up in the air.” Mother nonetheless continued in “her wishful thinking that minor Adan’s death was accidental. Mother continues to minimize the incident and states that she is confused about the whole situation [even though mother] is aware of the autopsy results. Further, she is still unsure if she plans to wait for [Victor Z.], once he is released from jail.”

The report also indicated Salman had reported that Victor Z. “would hit . . . Adan with a steel stick on his head . . . .” Salman stated Victor Z. twisted their arms and legs and that Victor Z. had injured Adan’s arm by twisting it.

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Bluebook (online)
69 Cal. App. 4th 933, 81 Cal. Rptr. 2d 662, 99 Daily Journal DAR 1131, 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 918, 1999 Cal. App. LEXIS 82, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/patricia-o-v-superior-court-calctapp-1999.