A decade on, murder trial to begin in case of Fla. missing foster child Rilya Wilson
Published November 04, 2012
Associated Press
MIAMI – More than a decade after foster child Rilya Wilson's disappearance shook up the state's child welfare system, the caregiver accused of killing the girl is finally set to go on trial in a highly circumstantial case hinging on jail inmates who say they heard the woman confess.
Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the trial of Geralyn Graham, which is expected to last about eight weeks. Graham, 66, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and has written letters to judges insisting she is innocent. She faces life in prison if convicted.
"I've never hurt a soul in my life," she said in one letter.
Rilya's body has never been found. Police have no witnesses to any killing and scant physical evidence. The crux of the case are alleged confessions Graham made to fellow jail inmates that she killed Rilya and buried her body near a lake.
"It is always problematic for the government when it has to build a case on jailhouse snitches," said Robert Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University who has followed the case over the years. "In the end, the government may lose, particularly if Graham can present a reasonable alternative explanation for Rilya's disappearance."
Rilya was born Sept. 29, 1996, to a homeless cocaine addict. The girl's name was an acronym for "remember I love you always." She was taken into state custody when she was less than 2 months old.
The girl was last seen in 2001 living in a home shared by Geralyn Graham and Pamela Graham, who are not related. When it was discovered in 2002 that she was no longer living there, the Grahams claimed a Department of Children and Families worker had taken her for medical tests and never returned.
An investigation showed that a DCF caseworker, Deborah Muskelly, did not make required monthly visits to the Grahams' home for more than a year, even though she was filing reports and telling judges the girl was fine. Muskelly was eventually placed on five years' probation after pleading guilty to official misconduct for falsifying time sheets.
The case had far broader ramifications, leading to the resignation of then-DCF director Kathleen Kearney and launching of several reforms, including a new missing child tracking system linked to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. State lawmakers also made it illegal to falsify records of visits between child welfare workers and children in the agency's care.
In addition, legislators required DCF to contract out casework to private organizations, which experts said has contributed to a 28 percent drop in the overall number of kids in care since Rilya disappeared. The state pays those organizations around a half billion dollars a year.
"That was the event that drove privatization, for all practical purposes, and truly changed case management," said current DCF Secretary David Wilkins.
Caseworkers are now required to visit a child monthly and carry GPS units that stamp a date and location to make sure every child is accounted for. But it wasn't until last July that caseworkers were required to go beyond simply taking a picture at those visits and get critical updates about how the child is doing in school, whether they have any medical concerns or how they are faring socially in the home.
Former Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence, who chaired a task force that examined the agency's failings in Rilya's case, said the case did lead to important reforms, but problems remain.
In 2011, 10-year-old Nubia Barahona was found dead in her adoptive father's pickup truck. Subsequent investigation revealed that she was routinely abused and that signs were missed by her caseworkers. Her adopted parents have pleaded not guilty to murder charges and could get the death penalty if convicted.
"At heart here is people who didn't want to be bothered by the system. It is beyond a tragic situation," Lawrence said of both cases. "You still need compassion, decency and common sense."
In Graham's case, the star prosecution witness will be Robin Lunceford, a career criminal who had been sentenced to life behind bars before revealing Graham's purported confession. Lunceford's sentence was reduced to 10 years after she came forward. She is now scheduled for release in March 2014.
Lunceford told detectives that Graham, whom she had befriended, was talking to her from an adjacent cell and "broke down, said she couldn't take it anymore, that she had killed the little girl and buried her near her home." Lunceford said Graham told her she smothered Rilya with a pillow because the girl insisted on wearing a Cleopatra costume for Halloween rather than going as an angel. A second inmate also will testify that Graham confessed to the killing in another conversation.
Other prosecution evidence centers on allegations of abuse, including claims that Graham tied Rilya to a bed or locked her in a small laundry room as punishment for misbehavior. There were also reports by friends and acquaintances that the girl was frequently seen with bruises and scratches.
Michael Grieco, a former Miami-Dade County prosecutor now in private practice, said that testimony may help build a circumstantial case against Graham.
"The prosecutors should and will focus on the alleged history of abuse," he said.
Graham has a long history of fraud and other crimes. When she was arrested, police found that she has used 47 aliases and was carrying 10 different driver's licenses. That history was somehow missed by a DCF background check.
"Her whole life was a scam. We still don't know who she was, even after she was fingerprinted," said former Miami-Dade detective Gregory Scott, who retired in 2004 and was an early investigator in Rilya's case.
Pamela Graham, who remains charged with child neglect, has been cooperating with prosecutors and is expected to testify. In sworn statements, she has insisted she does not know what happened to Rilya.
Ultimately, according to Nova law professor Jarvis, the jury will have to be convinced that there's no other explanation for Rilya's death in order to convict Graham.
"Other than foul play, is there any reasonable explanation for the missing person's disappearance?" he said. "Assuming the answer is no, is there any reasonable doubt that someone other than the accused is the perpetrator?"
13 comments:
The fact this woman was cleared to be a foster parent is appalling!
But I am not suprised.
I have a friend that was raised in foster care. 98% of them abused or neglected her.
It is so sad that the very system that is supposed to help protect these poor children is actually more of a haven for continued abuse.
I remember Rilya Wilson's case.
It's curious she states "never hurt a soul" considering when a child is abused and murdered it is their body that is struck not their soul, physically speaking.
Anna
OT
There are a few statements from the father of Sky Metalwala in this article:
http://www.king5.com/news/local/Sky-Metalwala-Still-Missing-One-Year-Later-177203891.html
Who can honestly say "I have never hurt a soul in my life" ?
Nobody. Every one of us has hurt someone at some time. The statement seems to be made only by those who have done plenty of harm.
Lis, I agree.
Anna
Please help find Ayla
Caseworkers are now required to visit a child monthly and carry GPS units that stamp a date and location to make sure every child is accounted for. But it wasn't until last July that caseworkers were required to go beyond simply taking a picture at those visits and get critical updates about how the child is doing in school, whether they have any medical concerns or how they are faring socially in the home.
How much time does this take for the average caseworker?
Please help find Ayla
Two of my friends were "caseworkers", they both adopted a fosterchild and quit their jobs.
Great Balls of Fire! Is the "Robin Lunceford" jail inmate who is going to testify against the foster parent, the very same "Robin Lunceford" jail inmate who contacted Jose Baez about Casey Anthony's conversations with Maya Derkovic?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxcfzC7zwzs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxcfzC7zwzs
I guess Lunceford figured out that you can only get your sentence reduced if you cut a deal with the prosecution to provide favorable testimony, not the defense.
"Prison officials told [newspaper reporter] Longo that Lunceford had a lengthy disciplinary history, that she is manipulative and has limited credibility." http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/07/casey-anthony-robin-lunceford-sent-letters-to-central-florida-news-13.html
The undisputed fact that the DCF social worker filed false reports on the well-being of the child would seem to eliminate the state's ability to disprove, BEYOND ALL REASONABLE DOUBT, the foster parent's explanation that the child was taken by the DCF for medical tests and never returned. Obviously the child disappeared as a result of foul play, but the identity of the perpetrator is far from proven. Uncorroborated testimony by Robin Lunceford should not be considered reliable proof of anything, especially not murder.
Whoops! The second hotlink should have been http://marinadedave.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/robin-lunceford-defense-motion.pdf
which is a pdf of the defense motion asking for a protective order concerning the recorded phone call between Lunceford and Baez
Lunceford is a hack - she will say anything, she is and always will be a POS.
Graham, I believe I read before was in the likes of, the most notorious shameless, she to leave a legacy of proof, she is who she is. Not fit for human children to be in her presence let alone care. She was able to fly under the radar, by her lies, cheats and scams, working the system.
Rilya Wilson was 4 years old last witnessed, she to be 2 months old when placed into the "system" to protect her.
Graham will or will not offer the location of Rilya's remains? she to use this as a bargaining chip?
Rilya's mother gave her up, that she felt she was unable to care for her newborn. Not many do this, as it was an admirable act, her mother to find this her safety net. Most who are hopeless hapless, they will throw caution to the wind and what ever happens it's a crap shoot, even if it is my baby, as I am not a parent, I am an addict, no sense, no forethought for the innocent.
This mother used her sense and said, I want my baby to have a chance. The deck stacked, Rilya placed with Graham. Her 3+ years as a baby on this earth to be?
Her to be treated like, abused as, her only known, to be in a world of malfunction, dysfunction and disdain. Rilya was not meant to be of the world she was placed in.
Had she surpassed the age of 4 and be 14 today, with or without Graham. Graham instilled into her she had no worth, her to be abused, a commodity, maltreated. What would be left of her? Nothing.
She was purposefully damaged in her short few years with Graham, she not her blood, not her family, but placed with. Like a piece of meat to be taken from, not nurtured, but taken in for $$ gains, into Grahams pockets. Had she remained with Graham or traded to, another alike Graham, she is better off deceased than alive.
She lives on, Rilya does, I see and read stories, of abuse, victimization of children at the hands of, and Rilya isn't too far from my thoughts. She though I do not see or think of hurting any longer, I find her at the same, sadly to be the nameless and faceless of the atrocity that can happen is happening.
She is not though the Poster Child of doom. No, she is educating, she is, all by her little self. She wasn't meant to be a Poster child of Abuse, she is though the Poster child of remembrance.
I have a name, I have a face, I have a presence, My name is Rilya. Do not forget, it can and will happen again. You though can prevent this. Be Aware, Use your Senses, Report if you see, hear, view, child abuse, do it for me, as I am what happens when no one steps in or up.
Rilya was not here on this earth in Vain. No she wasn't. Justice for Rilya was the day she passed away, she no longer a name on a file, she no longer a piece of paper. Sadly she became someone because she died, not because she lived. We, as people, need to be her Voice, her ears, her eyes, this a gift back to her, her life here as it was, was purposeful, not anything less.
Graham as for her, she will be on the list, as I see it, in Florida soon, Women on Death Row. She earned it.
My state - Oklahoma - is under tremendous pressure right now over the massive failings of its child welfare system. I knew a woman who used to be a preschool teacher years ago who left to become a caseworker. She came to visit our school several times and bragged about taking three-hour lunches and shopping trips because her job was so "easy."
Please help find Ayla
She came to visit our school several times and bragged about taking three-hour lunches and shopping trips because her job was so "easy."
November 5, 2012 9:27 PM
How disheartening and frustrating! My friend D adopted
a HIV pos baby who is now disease free. B. got to know her son as his caseworker, I imagine they found each other as part of His plan. She's a stay-at-home mom and uses her skills to help her family; she recently traveled to aid her suicidal niece. Her ability made it easy for her to understand what to do.
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