Florida agency reported kids ‘fine’ day after they were killed: report

A Florida company tasked with overseeing the remedy of kids in doubtlessly troubled houses reported the younger son and daughter of Odette Joassaint had been doing “fantastic” — regardless that the youngsters had been killed the day earlier than and the Miami mom was already in custody for his or her slayings.

Joassaint is accused of tying up and strangling to loss of life her 3-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter on April 12, however in line with a Miami Herald report, a employee for the Florida Division of Kids and Households (DCF) logged into a pc system that the mom “stories the whole lot is okay” the day after authorities made the grotesque discovery.

The retroactive log was from a go to by the company on April 2, which occurred on the house of the 2 younger youngsters’s father Frantzy Belval, the Miami Herald reported. Three-year-old son Jeffry “likes to play, chuckle, and seize issues” whereas his older sister, Laura “Is a quiet child [who] is well-behaved” the division’s narrative reportedly learn.

The newspaper stories Joassaint, whose oldest daughter was not harmed, would recurrently ignore investigators and refuse to open her door, which the division appeared to just accept after which say the youngsters weren’t in peril.

However, the daddy, Belval, constantly cooperated and needed custody of the youngsters, however the company didn’t help that, the Herald reported.

DCF started investigating the household in 2017 when there was a “home disturbance” between the mom and father with a “massive chunk mark” on the best arm of Belval, in line with one other Miami Herald report, the place Joassaint was charged with home battery.

A yr later, Belval was arrested after he was accused of punching Joassaint within the head whereas she was pregnant with Jeffry following a name to the company’s hotline.

These two situations had been of a number of potential crimson flags the newspaper outlined in its report as Joassaint turned much less cooperative with the company.

“They informed me they had been going to guage Odette. They by no means did that,” Belval informed the Herald. “DCF is answerable for all of it. DCF is accountable.”

The Herald reported DCF employees may have pressured Joassaint to endure a psychological analysis by petitioning a choose. They might have additionally sought a choose’s order to compel the mother to open her door when the company visited, however did neither.

In a press release defending their actions, the division wrote to the Miami Herald, “On daily basis, workers at [DCF] have the tough duty of defending Florida’s youngsters whereas solely eradicating youngsters from a house if a father or mother is unfit to care for his or her youngsters or is prone to hurt their youngsters. On this case, DCF investigators had been very concerned with the household and really useful many providers, however there was no historical past of bodily youngster abuse to the 2 younger youngsters that may have led to their removing.”

Moreover, the assertion stated, “Nonetheless, you will see from these information that as DCF workers interacted with this household, they really useful many providers that had been finally refused, whereas these very providers could have resulted in a a lot totally different end result.”

Joassaint is dealing with two homicide fees.

She informed shocked cops “I don’t need them anymore” as to why she strangled her two youngsters with crimson ribbon after they arrived at her house, the Miami Herald reported on the time.

“Come get them,” she informed arriving medics and cops in regards to the lifeless youngsters, in line with the outlet. “I don’t need them.”