Boy complaining of illness found dead at center
The Salt Lake Tribune
Draper police are investigating the Thursday morning death of a 14-year-old resident of a center for troubled teens, said Sgt. Gerald Allred, a police spokesman.
About 3 a.m., the boy fell ill and complained about having stomach and bowel problems, Allred said. Center staff placed the teen in a separate room to prevent other children from getting sick.
Staff tried to wake the boy around 7 a.m. and found him dead.
"We are interviewing everyone involved who was in the unit at the time," Allred said. "We are not ruling out anything at this point." Police are awaiting an autopsy.
In February, the boy entered the private facility, which counsels teens needing special attention or help with learning or personality issues, Allred said.
"[Teens] are put in there by their parents, to teach them the extra skills they need," Allred said.
The Division of Child and Family Services licenses the facility but will not review the case until after the police investigation is concluded, said division spokeswoman Carol Sisco.
This is fucked up. No ambulance, no medical care, they just dumped him in a different room and left him there to die. Can you imagine how agonizing his last hours must have been? All alone in the dark with the pain growing worse by the hour until you see the Reaper is not a fun way to go.
It sucks to be a boy in this world. It sucks to be a member of the disposable sex.
Parents put them there, or single mommies? There is a lot in a word. Since most kids in trouble are from single mommies, I am betting single mommies as a statistical probability.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous age 65
I completely agree with Anonymous age 65. Want to bet if there had been a father involved he would have been named?
ReplyDeleteThis story strikes a little close to home for me. I grew up in Utah, not far from the location of this news story. When I was 14, my parents had me committed to a similar institution for "personality issues". It was one of the very darkest points in my life.
ReplyDeleteI feel so very, very sad for this young man.
If someone had a stomach ache, would you feel the need to call an ambulance? Obviously, if they thought the boy was going to die they'd have sent him to hospital. It has nothing to do with him being a boy.
ReplyDeletemale samizdat: Not really considering newspapers often omit the names of minors in cases like this. For all you know, there could well be a father involved. You seriously think that would change the way the case is reported?
age 65: You mean single parent families? There aren't all that many single dads taking care of the kids. Although a big part of that is because courts almost always award custody to the mother.