REMEMBERING JAQUINN

JaQuinn Brewton was a three year old little boy whose family believed they were placing him somewhere safe during a difficult period in their lives. His mother, Ashley Brewton, was preparing to move with her other children into a homeless shelter. Nadera Batson was a longtime family friend and JaQuinn’s godmother. She offered to care for him temporarily while his mother tried to stabilize the family’s circumstances. JaQuinn had developmental and speech delays. Court testimony described his vocabulary as consisting of approximately ten to thirty words. He called the adults around him “mom,” including Nadera and her boyfriend, Marcus King. At three years old, JaQuinn was still learning skills other children his age were learning. He was not yet fully potty trained. Those ordinary childhood needs became reasons he was punished. JaQuinn should have been given patience while he learned. Instead, during the final months of his life, he was subjected to repeated violence by adults entrusted with his care.

JAQUINN’S STORY

In early 2011, JaQuinn began living with Nadera Batson and Marcus King in West Philadelphia. By March, when Ashley Brewton entered a shelter with her other children, Nadera had assumed responsibility for JaQuinn’s day to day care. Ashley believed her longtime friend was helping her family. What happened inside the home was very different. Evidence later presented in court showed that Nadera beat JaQuinn almost daily. Marcus testified that she struck the three year old with her hands, a belt, a brush and a shoe. JaQuinn was punished for touching things and for accidents associated with potty training. Marcus also admitted that he sometimes hit JaQuinn himself. The violence escalated. JaQuinn suffered severe burns to his feet. Rather than take him to a hospital, Nadera and Marcus discussed the possibility of seeking medical treatment but decided against it because they feared they would be arrested. Marcus instead purchased burn cream and gauze to treat JaQuinn at home.

Later, after JaQuinn had another bathroom accident, Nadera burned his buttocks with a blowtorch Marcus had brought home from work. Marcus testified that when he placed JaQuinn in cold water afterward, damaged layers of skin came away from the child's body. Still, JaQuinn was not taken for medical care. The abuse was not confined to isolated incidents. A neighbor repeatedly heard JaQuinn crying and heard sounds consistent with him being beaten. He became concerned enough to research how to make an anonymous child abuse report and contacted the landlord about what he was hearing. During these months, JaQuinn became increasingly separated from his family. Relatives later said Nadera made excuses when they asked to see him. Ashley last saw her son before his hospitalization months later. On the night of June 28, 2011, JaQuinn repeatedly got out of bed. Nadera beat him again. The following morning, emergency responders were called to the West Philadelphia building. Nadera claimed JaQuinn had fallen down a flight of stairs. When firefighters arrived, they found JaQuinn wearing only a diaper, without vital signs and covered with dark marks and injuries. He was resuscitated and transported to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Doctors discovered evidence of prolonged abuse. JaQuinn had numerous bruises, scars and burns in different stages of healing. He had suffered serious internal injuries, including damage to his pancreas and spleen and bruising to his liver. The injuries did not support the claim that he had simply fallen down stairs. Medical evidence showed that his pancreatic injury was consistent with a concentrated blow to the abdomen. JaQuinn remained hospitalized for approximately two weeks. He died on July 11, 2011. He was three years old. His death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt force trauma.

WARNING SIGNS & SYSTEM FAILURES 

JaQuinn’s abuse occurred while his family was already known to Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services. A later review of the case identified multiple failures in the agency’s handling of his safety. In March 2011, Ashley told a DHS social worker that she had lost track of JaQuinn after he went to live with Nadera. She knew the block where Nadera lived but did not have an exact address. DHS did not file a missing person report for JaQuinn. The agency review also found that DHS failed to consult its legal department about possible court intervention that could have helped authorities locate him. DHS was supposed to maintain contact with JaQuinn. Instead, the review found that several required monthly visits were missed. It also found that two previous abuse investigations involving JaQuinn’s family had not been completed within the required sixty day period. Meanwhile, the abuse continued. JaQuinn’s family had difficulty seeing him. A neighbor heard his cries and repeated beatings. His burns became so severe that the adults caring for him discussed taking him to a hospital, but deliberately avoided doing so because they feared authorities would recognize the abuse. Just three days before the injuries that ultimately led to JaQuinn’s death, a Philadelphia police officer encountered Nadera and JaQuinn on the street and questioned her about his appearance. Because DHS had never reported JaQuinn missing, that encounter did not lead authorities back to the open child welfare concerns surrounding him. The official review later identified that failure as particularly significant. JaQuinn had not disappeared where no one could have found him. A child welfare agency was supposed to be checking on him. His mother had said she had lost track of where he was. His relatives were being kept away. A neighbor could hear him being beaten.mA police officer saw him shortly before the fatal assault. The opportunities to recognize that JaQuinn was in danger existed. They did not come together in time to protect him.

JUSTICE FOR JAQUINN

Nadera Batson and Marcus King were arrested and prosecuted in connection with JaQuinn’s abuse and death. Marcus ultimately pleaded guilty to third degree murder, conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child. He later testified at Nadera’s trial about the abuse he had witnessed and participated in. Nadera chose to go to trial. On August 12, 2013, a jury convicted her of third degree murder, criminal conspiracy, endangering the welfare of a child and possession of an instrument of crime. She was sentenced to an aggregate term of twenty eight and one half to fifty seven years in prison. Her conviction and sentence were upheld on direct appeal.

 

Nadera Batson

Relationship to JaQuinn: Godmother and Caregiver

Conviction(s): Third degree murder; Criminal conspiracy; Endangering the welfare of a child; Possession of an instrument of crime

Sentence: 28½ to 57 years in prison

 

Marcus King

Relationship to JaQuinn: Godmother’s Boyfriend and Caregiver

Conviction(s): Third degree murder; Conspiracy; Endangering the welfare of a child

Sentence: 10 to 20 years in prison

FOREVER REMEMBERED

JaQuinn was three years old. He had a small vocabulary and was still learning how to communicate with the people around him. He was still learning to use the bathroom. He was still at an age when adults were supposed to teach him with patience, comfort him when he cried and protect him when he was hurt. Instead, the things JaQuinn was still learning became excuses to hurt him. The people who loved him believed that placing him with a longtime family friend would keep him safe during a difficult period. His family did not see the home that existed behind the closed door. By the time they saw JaQuinn again in the hospital, the injuries covering his little body revealed what he had been unable to tell them himself. JaQuinn’s developmental delays did not make him less deserving of patience. His inability to fully explain what was happening did not make his suffering invisible. And the failures that allowed him to remain beyond the reach of people who could have protected him should never overshadow who he was. JaQuinn was a little boy. He had a family who loved him. He deserved the opportunity to learn, grow, speak more words and become whoever he might have been. Abuse Angels remembers JaQuinn Brewton. Remembered. Honored. Never Forgotten.