Father left toddler in malnourished, in filth & maggots
Bo Raxo
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=1636&u_sid=1031325
Published Thursday
March 11, 2004
Dad says he left toddler in filthy crib for month
BY TODD COOPER AND JUDITH NYGREN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS
Relatives came and went from the south Omaha house where police found a
severely malnourished baby in a maggot-infested crib.
Gary Malm
But Gary Malm Jr., 23, always said his children were upstairs napping, the
grandfather of the 14-month-old boy and his two siblings said Thursday.
"As long as (Gary Jr.) has been in that house, I've never been upstairs,"
Gary Malm Sr. said.
The grandfather said that when the 3- and 4-year-old children stayed with
him and his wife a couple of weeks ago, they seemed fine. The adults did not
see the 14-month-old, Devon, at that time, said Malm Sr.
Nobody had an inkling that things might not be right with Gary Jr.'s young,
struggling family, said the elder Malm.
Devon was hospitalized after police searched the younger Malm's home
Tuesday. The older children have been placed in foster care.
The children's father told police he had given up caring for Devon,
according to a police affidavit filed in Juvenile Court.
Gary Malm Jr. waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday and was ordered to
stand trial in District Court on a felony child abuse charge. Judge Lyn
White set bail at $500,000.
Officers went to 1709 S. 16th St. to follow up on a call from Child
Protective Services. Once inside, they found two scenes that stood in stark
contrast.
Police found the two oldest children, apparently healthy, playing in a
well-kept basement of the home.
Then police went upstairs.
At the top of the stairs, they were hit by the smell of urine, feces and
rotting skin, prosecutor George Thompson said Wednesday.
Devon lay inside a crib. Maggots, urine and feces surrounded him. He was
unable to hold up his head. And he couldn't stand on his own because his
legs were constricted.
The police affidavit said Gary Malm Jr. told police he hadn't bathed the
boy, changed his diaper or taken him out of the crib for the past month.
Authorities didn't say whether or how often Malm had given the child food or
drink.
The toddler has been hospitalized with severe malnutrition.
He weighs 15 pounds - the average weight for a 4-month-old. That is 9 pounds
less than the normal weight for a 14-month-old, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The boy also has a large pressure sore in the middle of his back,
prosecutors say.
Malm disputed the police account in court. His public defender, Gary Olson,
said Malm handed the child to police.
Malm told the judge he didn't have a job.
A friend of Malm's who wouldn't give her name said the mother of Malm's
children, Tiffany Hernandez, died in the past year, leaving him to raise
their three children alone. His own mother died when he was 8.
The woman said she thinks Malm became overwhelmed.
"It's all a big shock," she said. "This isn't like Gary at all."
Malm has been convicted of marijuana possession and other misdemeanors.
tinydancer
"Bo Raxo" <invasio...@thepentagon.removethis.com> wrote in message
news:lW15c.20865$%06.1...@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
I'm speechless, and sick. And wondering why the grandfather didn't insist
on seeing the child at some point in time? I'm blaming no one but the
father, but still wondering why the grandfather never went upstairs? If I
am at one of my daughters homes, and my grandchild is asleep, I still want
to sneak a peek at him before I leave. I'd certainly want to do that, had I
not seen the child in months, just to see what they look like, how they've
grown.
td
IBegg2Differ
>I'm speechless, and sick. And wondering why the grandfather didn't insist
>on seeing the child at some point in time? I'm blaming no one but the
>father, but still wondering why the grandfather never went upstairs? If I
>am at one of my daughters homes, and my grandchild is asleep, I still want
>to sneak a peek at him before I leave. I'd certainly want to do that, had I
>not seen the child in months, just to see what they look like, how they've
>grown.
>
As far as I can tell, unless I overlooked something in the article, it hasn't
necessarily been months since the grandparents saw the baby. It's obviously
been at least one month, since that's how long the father claims he's been left
in the crib, but even that could be him "rounding off" (give or take a few
days). So, if a few weeks went by without the grandparents seeing the baby,
and especially since the other two children looked fine, they probably didn't
have reason for suspicion of anything yet. It may be that the situation was
just getting to the point where someone would think something might be wrong.
I'm kinda wondering, though, why this father didn't (apparently) say anything
to anyone if he was feeling so overwhelmed. Since his wife had recently died,
I would think family members would be sympathetic to his needs if he'd only
approached them. Of course, though, I don't know this family, so who knows if
there were other dynamics coming into play.
I'm not at *all* defending his behavior, but I do wonder if this father didn't
truly have some kind of mental breakdown after the death of his wife and all
the burdens that came in the aftermath.
sylen...@gmail.com
Greg Carr
> I’m actually one of the three maybe I should upload a picture of me and my brothers , my younger brother is doing amazing all good grades almost 6’4 and eats everything in sight. My dad isn’t a bad man just someone who made bad decisions.
Location: Community Corrections - Omaha
Sentence Date: 11/02/2004
Offense: Felony Child Abuse
Sentence: 10 - 15 years
Projected Release Date: 03/02/2011
Belinda, Jul 10, 2010
#33
Belinda
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Malm Sentenced in Child Abuse Case - According to court documents, Gary Malm, Jr. left his one-year-old son, Devon, behind the bars of a crib for so long that maggots had infested the gaping wound in the toddler’s back. Devon was unable to straighten his legs or escape in any way from the urine and feces that had piled up in his crib. In October, Douglas County District Judge Gerald Moran sentenced Malm to 10 to 14 years in prison. Under state sentencing guidelines, Malm will be eligible for parole in five years and must be released in seven years.
BBM
http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/12/15/41c054f90e739 (Greg-No longer works.)
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ne-gary-malm-for-starving-neglecting-1yo-son-omaha-2004.5811/page-2
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I hope all three of you are doing well as you claim. Are you in contact with your Dad? Before posting pics of your siblings get their permission the Internet can be a cruel space. According to someone on the websleuths.com thread Child Protective Services was called at least 4 times.