Kristina Hepp’s death never should have happened. Although the mother was struggling, her parents were able to adequately care for this child. After the state’s involvement in Paternity, the father of this child, Roland Matthew, allegedly did what many abusive men do – he obtained custody. (Possibly to avoid child support issues) The hearing that gave him custody did not take into account his criminal history. More concern needs to be given to histories of domestic violence against the mother. If a man is abusing the mother of his child, he is more than twice as likely to abuse the child. Felony and misdemeanor convictions rarely occur due to domestic violence being routinely dismissed when a child is involved. The opposite needs to occur. More vigorous prosecution needs to occur when there is domestic violence. These abusers should not have custody or unsupervised visitation with children.
This child was failed by so many people, changes need to be made so that this stops happening. The state of Florida has charged the father’s girlfriend also.
12/26/07 State of Florida filed Paternity case against father
3/17/08 Domestic Violence Charge Against father by mother
4/9/08 DV Charge dropped by prosecutor
6/20/08 final judgement paternity established
11/10/08 father files for custody
2/11/09 temp custody order signed
4/13/09 motion to modify/dissolve temp injuction
4/14/09 motion for visitation
4/27/09 911 called at 5:33 in the morning child is dead
http://www.gainesvi lle.com/article/ 20090428/ ARTICLES/ 904289943? Title=Doctor- Treatment- would-have- saved-abused- girlDoctor: Treatment would have saved abused girlKAREN VOYLES / The Gainesville Sun
Matthew Roland made his first court appearance Tuesday morning after being charged with manslaughter and child abuse in the death of his pre-school age daughter.
By Karen Voyles
Staff Writer Published: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 1:21 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 1:21 p.m. TRENTON — A 4-year-old girl who died on Monday, apparently at the hands of her father, might have survived her injuries had she received medical help, a medical examiner says.
AC = Click to enlarge This photo of 4-year-old Kristina Hepp was taken on April 12. The four year old girl died at her father’s home on Monday morning.
Buy photo COURTESY OF KRISTINA HEPP’S FAMILY
Medical Examiner Dr. Martha Burt, who went to the Waccasassa mobile home where Kristina Hepp was found dead early Monday, told investigators from the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office that Kristina’s multiple injuries would have been survivable if she had received timely medical attention.
Kristina was found dead on the living room floor of her father’s mobile home in Waccasassa, a community located between Trenton aned Newberry, shortly after 6 a.m. Monday, about a half hour after her father called 911 to say the little girl had stopped breathing.
Kristina had been living in the home with her father, Matthew Roland, 23, and his girlfriend, Chelci Folds, for about four months.
Roland was arrested at 4 p.m. Monday and charged with aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child. During his first court appearance on Tuesday morning, bond was set at $750,000. Roland is being held at the Gilchrist County Jail in Trenton.
While being questioned about Kristina’s injuries and death, Roland reportedly told deputies that he “got into it” with her on Sunday night and had spanked her. He also told deputies that he had hit her with a belt on Sunday afternoon.
An arrest report filed by the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office detailed what officials found when they arrived at the home and how Roland and Folds explained the last hours of the child’s life.
Folds told investigators that when Roland picked Folds up after getting off work Sunday afternoon, Kristina was in her car seat and “did not look right,” according to the report.
Folds said there was bruising around one of the girl’s eyes and she appeared sleepy. She said Kristina did not want supper and was put into bed when the couple returned home.
Folds said that Kristina began to have breathing problems later in the evening and that Roland tried to give the lethargic child — who had previously been diagnosed with asthma — a nebulizer treatment. Then Kristina was put in bed with the couple. Folds told deputies that during the night Kristina apparently soiled the bed and Roland took the girl to her own bed.
Early Monday morning, Roland woke Folds and told her that Kristina was not breathing. Roland and Folds reportedly took the child to the living room, put her down on the floor and Roland tried to give her another nebulizer treatment and CPR before calling 911 at 5:33 a.m.
Among the first to arrive at the home was emergency medical technician James Campbell, who saw what he described to deputies as dark vomit on the child’s bed and clothing. He also found dried blood in her mouth and bloody fluid in one ear.
Emergency officials also noted that Kristina had significant bruises on her forehead, left eye and cheek. Her left eye was sunken into her face, a possible indication of broken bones around the eye socket.
Fresh and old bruises were noted on her upper arms, shoulders and thighs, according to emergency officials. Two deep scratches were found on Kristina’s back and bloody, circular marks were found on her lower back, officials said.
Dr. Burt examined Kristina at the home before her body was taken to Gainesville for an autopsy. Burt reported that the child’s upper lip was torn on the inside of her mouth where it should have attached to her gums. Bruises on Kristina’s leg appeared to match the shape and size of an electric hair straightener that was found in the bathroom, Burt said.
Investigators found blood in the bathroom sink, and a patch of hair still attached to a piece of scalp tissue was recovered from the bathtub drain.
A cause of death was not yet available, Sheriff Daniel Slaughter said Tuesday.
Slaughter said Roland had provided officers with “some generic information” about his activities before the child’s death.
Echoing comments from officers Monday, Slaughter said he did not know of any prior incidents in which law enforcement was called to the home for similar allegations or domestic issues.
Officers had not released the crime scene Tuesday, the sheriff said. “It’s a bad deal,” Slaughter said, describing the case. “It gives a whole new meaning to the word domestic violence.”
Roland, a native and lifelong resident of Gilchrist County, has been arrested several times, beginning in 2002 when he was 15 years old.
Although his juvenile arrest record is not public, during the court hearing, officials n oted that he had been arrested for forgery and trespassing as a minor.
Roland’s adult criminal record began in 2004 and included six arrests by the end of 2008. Charges filed against Roland have included domestic violence, burglaries, batteries, as well as possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia on at least three occasions.
Of the six cases in which Roland was named, adjudication was withheld twice, charges were dropped in three cases and he was found guilty in one case for possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana.
Kristina’s mother, Elizabeth Brown, 21, of Orlando, attended Roland’s court hearing and afterward told The Sun that she and Kristina both had led troubled lives.
A high school dropout who later earned a GED, Brown said she is the mother of three children by three different men, including an infant whose father is now in state prison. Brown’s oldest child, a 6-year-old, is being raised by another relative.
Brown said she and Kristina had been living with Brown’s brother in Kentucky until last year, when her brother decided to return to Florida to live with their mother in Orlando.
According to Brown, she was unemployed and in the midst of a difficult pregnancy at the time, so she sent Kristina to Orlando with her brother some time around November.
Brown said Roland had had no contact with Kristina until his paternity had been established late last year. Then, Brown claimed, Roland went to Orlando and took Kristina from her maternal grandmother. During subsequent court hearings, Roland was given custody of Kristina.
While Roland sat in jail on Tuesday, Brown was awaiting information from the medical examiner’s office on when Kristina’s body would be released for a funeral. Brown said she plans to have her daughter’s funeral in Trenton.
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