Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

5 Year Old Jeremiah Oliver Reported Missing 12/13/13 in Fitchburg, MA But Relatives Haven’t Seen Him Since September (Update: Mother Elsa Oliver and Boyfriend Alberto Sierra Arrested)

http://scaredmonkeys.com/2013/12/17/5-year-old-jeremiah-oliver-reported-missing-121313-in-fitchburg-ma-but-relatives-havent-seen-him-since-september-update-mother-elsa-oliver-and-boyfriend-alberto-sierra-arrested/

(http://scaredmonkeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Jeremiah-Oliver_missing-300x168.jpg)

::snipping3::

Boy missing for months; Mother, boyfriend in custody

Read more: http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/24234045/boy-missing-for-3-months-parents-in-custody#ixzz2nk9JnSfE

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I'd like to say unbelievable, but unfortunately it is believable in this day and age, as we all know.  ::MonkeyNoNo::

 ::MonkeyNoNo::  ::MonkeyNoNo::

Missing Fitchburg boy’s aunt: ‘We just want some answers’
By Peter Schworm, Akilah Johnson and John R. Ellement / Globe Staff / December 17, 2013

 ::snipping3::

According to Valcourt, her brother, Jose, and Elsa Oliver used to live in the Valcourt home in Worcester along with the couple’s three children, Jeremiah, an older sister and an brother, who is the oldest of all three.

But then Oliver abruptly years ago she left abruptly one day when Jose was at work and took the three children with her. Oliver went into court and obtained a restraining order against Jose who has not had contact with his children in years, according to Valcourt.

 ::snipping3::

Oliver’s eldest child, a daughter, reported to counselors at the Reingold Elementary School in Fitchburg on Dec. 2 that she, her mother, and her siblings had been abused by Sierra.

In a law enforcement interview on Dec. 13, the girl said she had seen Sierra punch and slap her mother, leaving bruises. She said she had seen Sierra hold a knife to Oliver’s knee as well as her face.

The girl also said she had seen Sierra hit both of her brothers with fists, and with a black belt with a gold buckle, causing one of her siblings’ “bum to bleed.’’ She said she had seen Sierra hit one of her brothers with such force the child was sent flying off a toilet onto the floor.

The girl said she herself had been brutalized by Sierra shortly after he moved in with her mother this May.

After the girl told school officials her brother was missing, the Department of Children and Families took custody of the two surviving children. When Oliver attended a child custody hearing on Dec. 13, she “was observed to have bruises, disheveled hair and appeared to have been assaulted,’’ State Police wrote in their report.

 ::snipping3::


http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/12/17/police-report-fitchburg-children-and-their-mother-were-terrorized-for-months-her-boyfriend/UKlAv25e9IY7cbyvV47GrI/story.html

 ::MonkeyNoNo:: ::MonkeyNoNo:: ::MonkeyNoNo::
Where are these monster coming from?

There isn't an "updated" time on the article so it seems like its the same link as the last article I posted but they added more information..

Department of Children and Families admits ‘serious failure’ in handling of missing five-year-old Fitchburg boy
By Peter Schworm, Akilah Johnson, John R. Ellement and Michael Levenson / Globe Staff / December 17, 2013

 ::snipping3::

In a statement made public this afternoon, DCF Commissioner Olga I. Roche said a social worker and supervisor who were assigned to the Oliver family have been fired. “This case represents a serious failure on the part of the social worker and supervisor assigned to the family,” Roche said in an interview where she read from a prepared statement.

Roche said “the social worker assigned to this case did not conduct the required in-person, monthly checks on the family, as required by the department. And the supervisor of the worker failed to enforce that policy. Both have been terminated.’’

Roche would not provide a detailed account of the agency’s involvement with Elsa Oliver and her three children. She said the agency first got involved with the family in September 2011.

This June—about a month after Sierra allegedly started abusing Elsa Oliver and the three children—Jeremiah’s daycare provider reported that Elsa Oliver said the child was moving to Florida to live with his grandmother.

The social worker, Roche said, never failed to check out the report.

According to law enforcement, Jeremiah Oliver attended the Reingold Elementary school here , but his absence was not noticed at the school either, not until Oliver’s sister reported on Dec. 2 that Sierra was abusing their mother as well as the children.

 ::snipping3::

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/12/17/police-report-fitchburg-children-and-their-mother-were-terrorized-for-months-her-boyfriend/UKlAv25e9IY7cbyvV47GrI/story.html

vid and imgs at link

Police report: Boyfriend terrorized family of missing Fitchburg boy
Tuesday, December 17, 2013 PrintEmailComments [18]
By:Tony Planas, Antonio Planas
 ::snipping3::
A man held in connection with the disappearance of a five-year-old Fitchburg boy viciously abused the boy’s mother and her children, according to a police report.

Jeremiah Oliver, 5, was last seen by relatives on Sept. 14. Jeremiah’s three-month disappearance is being treated as a “potential homicide,” authorities said. His mother, Elsa Oliver, 28, and her boyfriend, Alberto L. Sierra, 22, are under arrest as cops turn to the public for help finding the boy, authorities said.

According to a Dec. 13 police interview with Jeremiah’s sister, Sierra punched and slapped Elsa Oliver and held a knife to her face. He struck her children with fists and with a black belt with a gold buckle, causing one child’s “bum to bleed,” and knocking a child “off of the bathroom toilet with such force it caused him to fall to the floor,” the girl told police.
 ::snipping3::
Elsa Oliver faces two counts of reckless endangerment of a child and two counts of accessory after the fact. Mandell set a dangerousness hearing for her on Dec. 24.

The judge’s ruling infuriated Jeremiah’s uncle, Sandrino Oliver, who stormed out of the courtroom, demanding to know why his nephew’s name was never mentioned in the brief proceeding.

“Where is my (expletive) nephew,” he shouted. “Ask the (expletive) question.”

Outside of court, he questioned whether the boy’s mother was faking mental illness.

“She knows where he is. She knows what’s going on. She just doesn’t want to talk,” he insisted.

In court, Elsa Oliver’s attorney James G. Reardon, said his client was unresponsive to all of his questions. Reardon said after the hearing he has “almost no means of communicating with her.”

State forensic psychologist Hanya Bluestone told Mandell that Oliver has a history of psychiatric treatment, feared she would be poisoned, and was unresponsive to her.

“She is very suspicious,” Bluestone said in court. “Her mood is irritable and angry.”
more
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/12/police_report_boyfriend_terrorized_family_of_missing_fitchburg

WTH - these poor kids. The mother should be shot for letting her kids be treated like this by her stud. When did guys become more important than your own children?  As for the Social Worker - she should be beaten with a belt "burn to bleed".   ::MonkeyMad::

yea iIDK, the article says she has been involved with the child services for a couple yrs
prob drugs,not thinking right, a couple wks ago i offered to help a woman, that lives
near a friend, hook her up with the battered womens shelter, no go and bf had just
smacked her around, le offered too, friend says its drugs, she doesnt want to get clean

Simply sick that a mother would allow this to happen and then cover up a crime after the fact. We hear all too often about these woman allowing men (vampires) into their home.

According to accounts, both children were abused. How does a mother just sit by and watch this happen and say nothing?

Sick, just sick!!!

Volunteers, family members search for missing 5-year-old Fitchburg boy
By Dan Adams / Globe Correspondent / December 21, 2013

FITCHBURG—The father of missing 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver vowed he will “never give up” looking for his son, as dozens of volunteers combed through a Fitchburg neighborhood today in an attempt to find the missing boy.

 ::snipping3::

In a parking lot across from the house where the family lived, the boy’s father, Jose Oliver, said he was holding out hope Jeremiah would be found.

“They didn’t have a car, so if they did do something to him, I’m pretty sure he’ll be around here,” Jose Oliver said, wearing a shirt bearing his son’s face, with “DADDY” printed on the back. “I hope that we can find something. I just want to find my son.”

 ::snipping3::

A judge this week ordered Elsa Oliver to undergo a mental evaluation. But Jose Oliver said he doubted his wife was incompetent.

“I’ve been married with Elsa for eight years. She wasn’t like that with my kids when she lived with me,” he said. “She always made sure they went to school, she always made sure they got fed, she always brought them to the doctor’s appointment, she was always playing with them, telling them I love you, kissing them, and so on. So I don’t believe that she’s not sane, unless she has something to do with it.”

 ::snipping3::

Volunteers prayed for the little boy, then dispersed into nearby woods and neighborhoods to search, poking at the melting snowpack with fallen branches. One group searched a culvert in the hill behind the family’s home, calling for a flashlight. They found nothing, and Jeremiah’s uncle, Sandrino Oliver, emerged from the dark tunnel wailing and screaming in despair. Another search party made its way along nearby railroad tracks, pulling aside thick brush and digging into piles of earth and leaves.

 ::snipping3::

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/12/21/volunteers-family-members-search-for-missing-year-old-fitchburg-boy/1bBNRtkobC84XeMVXVTLqM/story.html

It is sick. I don't understand how any parent could allow their children being abused by anyone. Being it spouse or live in.  ::MonkeyNoNo:: You're right Red we have seen it over and over again.  ::MonkeyNoNo::

Boyfriend Ordered Held in Mass. Missing Boy Case

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/boyfriend-ordered-held-mass-missing-boy-case-21323442

::snipping3::

They should nail his hide to the wall until he yells them what he did and where he put the little guy. So sad.

Father of missing boy admits checkered past; will seek custody of children at January hearing
December 29, 2013

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Jose Oliver, who lives in New Britain, Conn., said today that Elsa Oliver left him, took their three children, and filed a restraining order against him because he was using drugs, preventing him from seeing their children for two years. He claimed he tried to contact her repeatedly, but she did not respond.

Oliver said he got clean the day his wife left. He disputed a 2012 affidavit in which she alleged physical abuse.

“I never put my hands on my wife,” he said. “I’ll take a lie detector test on that.”

The state Department of Children and Families permitted Oliver to visit the children this week for about two hours, his first time seeing them in two years, he said.

 ::snipping3::


Oliver admitted to having a criminal history in the 1990s, including an arrest for possession of heroin that resulted in him being put on probation. He said he was a passenger in a car that was pulled over by police, and that the drugs belonged to the driver.

He said he did not recall a charge of assault and battery reported by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, but acknowledged using marijuana, which he does not consider a drug. Oliver denied being in a gang, saying “I don’t believe in that. I’m not a violent person.... I’m a church person.”

Oliver said he is living on $600 per month of disability benefits, granted because he has depression and bipolar disorder. But he said he is searching for a suitable apartment and would be able to care for the children with the help of relatives and support programs.

 ::snipping3::

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/12/29/father-missing-boy-admits-checkered-past-will-seek-custody-children-january-hearing/J80P1KTnwHlSFf6fySsIgO/story.html

http://www.kvue.com/news/national/238045981.html
Mass. fires 3rd worker in missing boy case
December 30, 2013

OSTON (AP) — A third employee of a Massachusetts social services agency has been fired after the investigation into the case involving a 5-year-old boy who has not been seen for months and is feared dead.
Department of Children and Families Commissioner Olga Roche (Roh-CHAY') said Monday that an area program manager failed to ensure any follow-up after multiple reports of abuse and neglect in Jeremiah Oliver's Fitchburg home.
A social worker and supervisor were dismissed this month and Roche says another manager was given a three-day suspension without pay and removed from a decision-making position.
She says an internal investigation by the agency found staff missed multiple opportunities to engage with the Oliver family.
 ::snipping3::

Jeremiah Oliver’s dad faces heroin rap
Friday, January 3, 2014

The father of missing Fitchburg boy Jeremiah Oliver — who is seeking custody of his two other kids while authorities search in vain for the 5-year-old — has been arrested in Connecticut on charges he sold heroin to undercover cops, police said.

Jose Oliver was arrested Monday on felony charges, said New Britain, Conn., police Capt. Thomas Steck.

“He did have three bundles, or 30 bags, of heroin,” Steck said.

 ::snipping3::

Oliver told the Herald last week he is seeking custody of his other son and daughter, who are currently in the care of Massachusetts child-welfare officials. He said a hearing had been set for Jan. 10.

 ::snipping3::

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/01/jeremiah_oliver_s_dad_faces_heroin_rap

http://www.telegram.com/article/20140105/COLUMN05/301059920/0
Jeremiah Oliver case: Public still wondering how this could have happened
January 5, 2014

Gov. Deval L. Patrick and officials at the state Department of Children and Families were quick to claim last week that the agency's failures to protect 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver of Fitchburg — who has been missing since September and may have been killed — was a "unique" case and does not indicate a systematic problem in the agency.

But those "final" conclusions by the agency on the heels of their in-house investigation into the case could prove premature, especially with so many disturbing questions remaining unanswered.

The public has not heard details behind the child abuse charges pending against his mother and her live-in boyfriend that have them being held in custody. The DCF has been unable to explain so far why social workers and supervisors failed so blatantly in their duties, including failure to act on repeated reports of child abuse in the home. Meanwhile, the ultimate question of what happened to the boy remains a mystery.

The agency's own investigation into how social workers failed to monitor his safety and living conditions despite three 51a reports of ongoing child abuse since June, found that the social worker assigned his case failed to conduct required home monthly visits to ensure his safety and that her supervisor tolerated and covered up those failings. In addition, the area supervisor of the North Central DCF office went along with the apparently negligent oversight. They have all been fired.

At a press conference detailing the investigation findings, DCF Commissioner Olga Roche said at a time when abuse reports were piling up about the boy, the supervisor was filing reports indicating the family's apartment was clean and suitable even though the social worker had not visited the home. Based on interviews conducted for the investigation, officials said, "It is evident that the supervisor was proven to be untruthful" regarding reports on the condition of the family's home, she said.

"Our investigation showed that the individuals charged with the care of the Oliver family failed to meet their responsibilities," Ms. Roche said. While the family received initial services from DCF going back to 2011, she said, once they moved to Fitchburg and the case was referred to that North Central DCF office in January 2013, its staff missed many opportunities to engage the family.

"The absence of home visits to assess the safety of the children was a serious failure," Ms. Roche said. "It is my belief that the failure and misconduct of the staff involved in this case contributed to this tragedy."

But when asked specifically by the Telegram & Gazette why the social worker failed to conduct monthly home visits and respond to the abuse reports and why supervisors allowed it, Ms. Roche had no answer.

The commissioner may be restrained from releasing further details of the case because of confidentiality and the pending criminal investigation. Without those answers, the public is left to wonder how this could have happened.

Ms. Roche recounted the verification the investigation produced into the lack of visits and monitoring, but repeatedly was unable to answer why a social worker and her supervisors would fail so tragically on what is the prime responsibility of their jobs.

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo has said he is seeking legislative hearings on the case, while Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr has called for an independent commission probe, with an eye to reforms to prevent future tragedies. Also, the state Office of the Child Advocate is conducting a review of the case and police are pressing criminal probes.

Hopefully those investigations will provide more facts to evaluate how this situation and the abuse of the boy continued essentially right under the purview of the state agency charged with protecting endangered children.

The agency's conclusion that the negligence in the case is not linked to systematic problems within the agency outside of the North Central regional office was not reflected in the immediate corrective actions Ms. Roche said were being taken. In fact, her immediate directions all involved systemwide changes and immediate case reviews statewide.
More...

http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2014/01/jose_oliver_father_of_missing.html
Jose Oliver, father of missing Fitchburg boy Jeremiah Oliver, in court for custody hearing
January 10, 2014

The father of missing Fitchburg boy Jeremiah Oliver was in court on Friday seeking custody of his two other children.

It was not clear what happened in the courtroom, where Jose Oliver was trying to gain custody of his daughter and other son, ages nine and seven respectively. The hearing was closed to reporters.

Oliver was arrested in December in Connecticut on drug charges, after allegedly setting up a meeting to sell heroin to an undercover officer.

On Friday, Oliver spoke briefly to reporters after the hearing, saying he felt too much attention was being placed on him and not enough on Jeremiah, according to NECN.

"Put yourself in my shoes. I'm not rich; I'm poor. I did a stupid mistake, that's it," Oliver said to NECN and others in a brief interview outside the courtroom. "It was a mistake. I wasn't in a state of mind, I wasn't thinking. I was just desperate, a desperate father."
 ::snipping3::
Video at Link

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/01/23/report-two-child-protection-agencies-did-not-share-info-jeremiah-oliver-family-until-after-fitchburg-boy-disappeared/v8gOHqJCG31nwzBFOYHJXJ/story.html?rss_id=Top-GNP
Lawmaker slams state family agency in Fitchburg case

Two child protection agencies did not share info on Jeremiah Oliver’s family until after he disappeared
January 23, 2014

A leading state lawmaker today expressed outrage at the chief of the state’s child protection agency, who was testifying before a legislative panel about the agency’s failure to keep track of a 5-year-old Fitchburg boy who was reported missing in December and is feared dead.

“Your department lost track of a kid,” Representative David P. Linsky, chairman of the House Post Audit and Oversight Committee, told Olga Roche, commissioner of the state Department of Children and Families. “That’s inexcusable. That’s absolutely inexcusable.”

Roche, flanked by the department’s chief counsel, repeatedly emphasized that DCF fired the social worker, supervisor, and manager responsible for ensuring the well-being of the 5-year-old boy, Jeremiah Oliver.

She said the social worker’s failure to visit the boy’s home every month represented “a gross disregard of policies and procedures,” but also a “unique circumstance.”   ::MonkeyMad::

Asked by Linsky if she could assure the public that every one of the 36,000 children under DCF supervision is present, alive and healthy, Roche said, “Yes.”

Linsky said he believed many employees at the department did good work, but added, “Getting it right 99.9 percent of the time when we’re dealing with children just simply isn’t good enough.”
More...

http://www.masslive.com/news/boston/index.ssf/2014/01/oca_dcf_hearing.html
Lawmakers question Department of Children and Families, other state agencies in disappearance of Jeremiah Oliver
January 23, 2014


BOSTON --” Officials from the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, the Office of the Child Advocate and Service Employees International Union Local 509 faced a grilling from state representatives during a hearing regarding Jeremiah Oliver, the five-year-old Fitchburg boy who went missing while under the care of DCF.

Oliver has been missing since September 2013, though authorities were unaware of his disappearance until December.

Members of the House Post Audit and Oversight Committee as well as the Joint Committee on Children Families and Persons with Disabilities took DCF Commissioner Olga Roche to task for over three hours.

State Rep. David Linsky, chairman of the House Post Audit and Oversight Committee, repeatedly questioned Roche as to how it was possible for the boy to have slipped through the cracks.

"There has to be some accountability here. This is a situation where your department lost track of an innocent 5-year-old boy," said Linsky. "Did someone look at the record and say: 'You haven't seen Jeremiah Oliver. Why haven't you? Are you going to see Jeremiah Oliver?'"
Much more...

http://www.telegram.com/article/20140124/COLUMN44/301249909
Did budget let down Jeremiah Oliver?
January 24, 2014



Staggering under the criticism of letting one of its charges, 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver, fall between the cracks, the Department of Children and Families, according to some children's advocates, sustained another blow in Gov. Deval Patrick's proposed 2015 budget.

Pointing to Mass Budget & Policy Center data, children's advocates noted that adjusting for inflation, the state budgeted approximately $336 million for children and family services in fiscal 2009, while the 2015 budget provides $310 million for comparable services.

Erin Bradley, executive director of the Children's League of Massachusetts, was blunt in her assessment.

"We have a choice: Continue to ignore the needs of our most vulnerable kids until we suffer the shock of another missing or murdered child, or begin investing now in a system that will ensure their safety," she said.

Ms. Bradley might not make many friends among those who support significant cutbacks in government spending. Yet, if not mitigated by private or other community actions, these cuts can carry harsh consequences.

Indeed, given Jeremiah's case, it is appropriate to ask whether the 19 percent reduction in DCF spending, since across the board cuts were implemented in 2008, seriously impaired the state's ability to protect children.

The federal government's Child Maltreatment 2012 Report, for example, indicates several trends in the state since 2008 that perhaps merit a close look by investigators.

The number of child protective services responses to allegations of maltreatment in the state has declined since 2008, falling from 72,194 that year to 62,257 in 2012. During the same period, the number of child victims, any "child for whom the state determined at least one maltreatment was substantiated or indicated," dropped from 36,772 to 19,234.

Are these declines a result of smarter, more effective intervention efforts, or do they reflect a blind eye being turned toward some children in need of services?

These are important questions, especially in light of the impending move to family resource centers throughout the commonwealth as the frontline purveyors of faster intervention and more directed services for children and families.
More...

http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2014/01/mom_in_missing_fitchburg_boy_j.html
Mom in missing Fitchburg boy Jeremiah Oliver case ruled competent
January 24, 2014

ITCHBURG, Mass. (AP) — The mother of a 5-year-old Massachusetts boy who's been missing for months and is feared dead has been ruled competent to stand trial.

A judge Friday ruled that Elsa Oliver was competent to face charges including reckless endangerment of a child.

Her son, Jeremiah Oliver, has not been seen by relatives since September, but police learned of the disappearance only last month. The case led to the firing of three workers in the Leominster office of the state Department of Children and Families for not properly checking on the family.

 ::snipping3::

Elsa Oliver's boyfriend also faces charges in the case. They have both pleaded not guilty.

I have a real problem with the term "slipped through the cracks" in regard to 5 year old Jeremiah Oliver.  This child hasn't been seen since since September 2013, but wasn't reported missing until December 2013.  There was history here, and there were supposed to be monthly checks and etc.  Jeremiah didn't slip through the cracks like  a coin or a button or left behind like an umbrella on a bus.  This child dropped through a big, dark abyss!!  And why?  No matter if there were three people fired.  None of it will bring this boy back.  No matter if they know where the rest of the kids are and he's the first one lost.  He counts, and he's one too many gone missing!   ::MonkeyTears:: jmho

http://www.masslive.com/news/boston/index.ssf/2014/01/oca_dcf_hearing.html
Lawmakers question Department of Children and Families, other state agencies in disappearance of Jeremiah Oliver
January 23, 2014

DA: Body Found in Sterling ‘Consistent’ with Missing Fitchburg Boy’s
April 18, 2014 12:06PM

A body found this morning off of Interstate 190 in Sterling has the height and weight “consistent with that of Jeremiah Oliver,” the 5-year-old Fitchburg boy who has been missing since September, Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early said at an afternoon press conference.

Early said the clothed body was found “about 40 feet off the roadway” and in a “wrapped condition” inside the packaging of a “suitcase-like object.”

The family of Jeremiah Oliver has been notified, including the child’s father, Early said.

 ::snipping3::

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/04/18/report-sources-tell-wcvb-body-was-discovered-connection-with-search-for-jeremiah-oliver/XvRr3LKAi0xkHYDCmaeWpK/story.html

DA probes whether body stuffed in suitcase is Jeremiah Oliver
Friday, April 18, 2014

 ::snipping3::
Authorities made the grim discovery about 9 a.m. today, approximately 40 feet from the highway’s southbound side.

“The body was found. It was in a wrapped condition. It was somewhat concealed from the elements, but I can’t go any further than that,” Early said. He declined to say whether there were signs of trauma, citing a pending autopsy and an ongoing investigation.

Authorities previously said Jeremiah is 3 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 40 pounds. The medical examiner’s office is expected to confirm the identity today or tomorrow, Early said.

The body “was wrapped in a blanket-type object” and was also packed in a “suitcase, duffel bag type material,” Early told reporters.

He declined to say how authorities were led to the scene.

 ::snipping3::

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/04/da_probes_whether_body_stuffed_in_suitcase_is_jeremiah_oliver

Body found off Rt. 190 consistent in height, weight of Jeremiah Oliver
Updated: Apr 18, 2014 3:57 PM EDT
(Photos of area)
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/25283468/2014/04/18/body-found-off-rt-190-in-sterling



Body found is 'consistent' with missing 5-year-old boy
April 18, 2014, 1:00 pm

(Video of search)

 ::snipping3::
"It appears to be a homicide," he said.
 ::snipping3::

http://www.necn.com/04/18/14/Body-found-is-consistent-with-missing-5-/landing.html?blockID=865277&feedID=11106

 ::MonkeyNoNo::  Bagged up and discarded on the roadside  ::MonkeyNoNo:: 

Little Jeremiah can now be given a proper burial.  I hope his remains help provide evidence to bring punishment to those that harmed him. 

DA Confirms Body Found is Missing Fitchburg Boy

Update (April 19), 4:35 p.m.: The Worcester County District Attorney’s office has identified the body found off of I-190 as Jeremiah Oliver, according to NECN.

The autopsy is not complete, but the DA’s office has made the identification, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

 ::snipping3::

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/04/18/report-sources-tell-wcvb-body-was-discovered-connection-with-search-for-jeremiah-oliver/XvRr3LKAi0xkHYDCmaeWpK/story.html

Thank you for posting the confirmation of what we already strongly suspected Samantha.   

 Little Jeremiah should be getting ready for an Easter egg hunt and chocolate bunny rabbits and Peeps.  Instead, someone stole his life from him.   ::MonkeyTears::  May he rest in peace.   ::MonkeyAngel::

http://fox8.com/2014/04/19/mystery-surrounds-disappearance-death-of-5-year-old-boy/
Mystery Surrounds Disappearance, Death of 5-Year-Old Boy
April 19, 2014

 ::snipping3::
The case raised questions about the state’s role as it relates to Jeremiah’s care, with Massachusetts Department of Children and Families Commissioner Olga Roche admitting that there had been “a serious failure.”
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Jeremiah Oliver” Roche said Saturday. “DCF continues to focus on caring for Jeremiah’s siblings to ensure they are receiving the support they need during this very difficult time.”
In March, Jeremiah’s mother, 28-year-old Elsa Oliver, and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Alberto Sierra, were indicted by a grand jury on charges related to Jeremiah’s disappearance as well as on charges of child abuse. Calls to the attorneys for both were not immediately returned Friday.
The district attorney’s office did not speculate Saturday on whether they might face additional charges now that Jeremiah has been confirmed dead.
The last documentation of state authorities’ interaction with Jeremiah was in May 2013, according to Department of Children and Families spokesman Alec Loftus.
In June, Loftus said, the social worker was told that Jeremiah had moved to Florida to live with his grandmother but did not follow up or verify that.
The last visit to the home was in November, when the social worker left behind a business card indicating it would be the Department of Children and Families’ final visit, according to Loftus.
On December 2, Jeremiah’s 8-year-old sister told counselors at her elementary school that her mother’s boyfriend, Sierra, had abused her, according to a police affidavit.
After those statements, the girl and another brother were taken into protective custody, according to the affidavit.
It was in December that authorities realized that the boy was missing.
Roche fired the social worker and supervisor assigned to his case because they did not conduct the required in-person, monthly checks on the family, according to a statement released that month.

http://www.wcvb.com/news/autopsy-to-id-dead-boy-body-cast-off-side-of-road/25562966#!EZatb
Body ID'd as missing Fitchburg boy
Jeremiah Oliver missing since September
April 19, 2014

 ::snipping3::
Jeremiah was last seen by relatives in September but wasn't reported missing until December. Authorities have said they feared he was dead.

Early said the body was found at about 9 a.m. Friday by a police search team about 40 feet off Interstate 190 near Sterling, which is about 12 miles from Fitchburg. He said it was wrapped in blanket-like material, and packed in material that resembled a suitcase.

"It appears to be a homicide," Early said at a Friday news conference.

He would not say what led authorities to the location, or how long the body may have been there. He said the site is near an area that is regularly mowed on the side of the highway but would not have been visible to passing cars.

Jeremiah's mother, Elsa Oliver, 28, pleaded not guilty in March to charges including kidnapping, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and reckless endangerment. Her boyfriend, Alberto Sierra, 23, pleaded not guilty to similar charges.

The family was being monitored by state social workers since 2011. And after Jeremiah's disappearance, their case led to intense scrutiny of the state DCF.

Three employees of the agency — a social worker, a supervisor and an area manager — were fired after an internal investigation. Officials said the social worker had not made required monthly visits to the family.

The governor asked the Child Welfare League of America to review DCF but resisted calls from some lawmakers to fire Olga Roche, the agency's commissioner.

In an initial report filed by the league last month, it recommended that Massachusetts take a number of steps to shore up its child welfare system, including boosting staffing levels to reduce social worker caseload.

A separate report from the state's Child Advocate, Gail Garinger, suggested that state social workers missed nearly one in five home visits during a recent 12-month period, though state officials said the figure was likely overstated.

Roche assured state legislators in January that DCF had accounted for the safety of all other young children in its care.

Oliver and Sierra, who were indicted by a Worcester County grand jury, are both being held on bail — $100,000 for Oliver and $250,000 for Sierra.

Three other people have been charged with interfering with a criminal investigation and misleading police in connection with the case.

Really sad for this little child and his siblings. Thank goodness the little girl was brave enough to tell someone that she was being abused. Otherwise who knows what would have happened.

I agree with you Cookie.  The little girl was brave to let someone know she was being abused.  It could have gotten even worse from there, and we don't know yet if other bad things may have occurred in the children's lives. 

Yes.. Unfortunately this was the outcome we expected.

I feel bad.. But the emotions and reactions of Jeremiah's family don't ring true when you take into account the time before anyone even knew he was missing (or what he was being put through before) I know the "mother" had custody and it may have been hard to see him... But where was all of this concern before the cameras were around?


This is honestly the 5th (at least) time Jeremiah's uncle has collapsed or had an outburst in public about his nephew. It must be so hard to lose a loved one like this... But also it seems contrived when I think.. where was this concern and caring while he was alive. Why didn't anyone protect him... Why didn't anyone else in the family know he was missing.

Uncle Collapses at Jeremiah Oliver Vigil
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/04/19/uncle-collapses-jeremiah-oliver-vigil/5yqt8nUXQ8lHf6eKwXihTN/story.html?p1=Must_Reads


I'm sorry.. I hate to speak ill of the family.. But I think both the state and family failed Jeremiah.

I totally agree with u.

http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Child-welfare-official-resigns-after-kids-deaths-5437680.php
Child welfare official resigns after kids' deaths
April 29, 2014

BOSTON (AP) — The embattled head of Massachusett's child welfare agency resigned Tuesday under mounting pressure following the deaths of three children, with Gov. Deval Patrick saying it was impossible for her to continue in her job.

Olga Roche's resignation comes after calls from top Democratic lawmakers — including Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray — for Roche to be replaced as commissioner of the Department of Children and Families.

"I have accepted her resignation because I believe it is not possible for the agency to move forward in this environment with her at the helm," said John Polanowicz, secretary of the state's Executive Office of Health and Human Services, which oversees the DCF.

The agency named Erin Deveney as its interim commissioner. She has been working there for about 30 days following a stint at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Authorities say the family of a 2-week old Fitchburg baby who died over the weekend was being monitored by state child welfare officials. In the second case, a DCF spokeswoman says a fax from Grafton police about possible harm to a 4-week-old who later died was misplaced for six days.

The body of a third child, 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver of Fitchburg, was found off a highway in central Massachusetts this month. Jeremiah's family was also under DCF supervision at the time of his disappearance.

Patrick, who had earlier defended Roche, said Tuesday that Roche had offered to resign previously, but he had not accepted it. The governor said it was clear now that Roche had the expertise to do her job but no longer had the support of the public or her staff.

"I don't think the time is right, but it's necessary," he said. "She cannot garner the confidence of the public or her line staff."
 ::snipping3::

Authorities say the family of a Fitchburg baby who died over the weekend was being monitored by state child welfare officials. They say 2-week old Bailey Irish was brought to the hospital on Saturday morning by her parents. She was pronounced dead a short time later.

In an unrelated case, a DCF spokeswoman says a fax from Grafton police about possible harm to another infant who later died, 4-week-old Aliana Lavigne, was misplaced for six days.

The agency said it's unacceptable that the fax went undiscovered. The department is trying to determine the best method of communicating reports electronically including linking faxes up to email for more timely delivery.

But the agency also said mandated reporters are required to verbally report allegations of abuse or neglect to DCF — something they said police failed to do.

The Grafton police chief acknowledged police should have called DCF, but he also defended his officers, saying the agency is trying to deflect blame.

In the third case, Jeremiah was last seen in September but wasn't reported missing until December. Police said his death appeared to be a homicide. The boy's mother and her boyfriend are facing charges in connection with his disappearance but not his death.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/dad-dead-boy-apologizes-saving-23577485
Dad of Dead Boy, 5, Apologizes for Not Saving Him
May 3, 2013

He needs to feel bad. He didn't do enough to save his boy. Absence as a father =fail!