Remembering Loreyna

Loreyna Barea was seven years old. Before the final years of her life, family members remembered a little girl who was full of energy and affection. She liked doing her hair in front of the mirror. And she had big dimples that family remembered seeing when she smiled. Those details matter. Because the photographs and medical descriptions from the end of Loreyna's life tell such a devastating story that it can become difficult to see the little girl who existed before them. Her aunt Elizabeth remembered that Loreyna had always been small, but something changed in the years before she died. The energetic little girl she remembered began looking sad and lonely. Loreyna deserved to keep smiling into the mirror. She deserved to grow into those dimples. She deserved school, friends, birthdays and an entire childhood. Her name was Loreyna Barea. And she was so much more than what was eventually done to her.

Loreyna's Story

Loreyna's early childhood was complicated. In May 2005, when Loreyna was five, relatives sent her and some of her siblings to live with their maternal aunt, Genevieve Barea, amid concerns about neglect and abandonment by their biological mother. That August, Genevieve and her partner, Dan Partch, received temporary legal custody. Loreyna ultimately lived in the Evans home with four of her brothers. The children were homeschooled. According to the later arrest affidavit, the children had not received regular medical checkups for approximately two years. Neighbors rarely saw them outside; some reportedly didn't even know children lived in the home. By March 2007, something was terribly wrong with Loreyna. She was extraordinarily thin. In the days immediately preceding her death, she experienced vomiting, fever, pain in her legs and severe dehydration. Her hands and feet became stiff and clenched. Her brothers reportedly tried to straighten her fingers, only for them to curl back inward. Yet Loreyna was not taken to a doctor. Genevieve and Dan later told investigators that they intended to take her to an emergency room the following day if her symptoms continued. Loreyna never made it to the following day. In the early morning hours of March 9, 2007, emergency responders were called to the family's Evans home. Loreyna was pronounced dead at 2:47 a.m. She was seven years old. What investigators discovered during Loreyna's autopsy was devastating. At approximately 49 inches tall, Loreyna weighed only 34.8 pounds, placing her below the third percentile for her age. She was so emaciated that the outlines of her ribs, spine and joints were visible beneath her skin. Her body showed signs of severe dehydration and chronic undernutrition. And there were injuries. The autopsy documented approximately 49 contusions and 19 abrasions across Loreyna's head, neck, torso and extremities some recent and some older. There was an injury inside her mouth. There was hemorrhaging behind one eye. And there was evidence of blunt force trauma to her abdomen. The medical examiner concluded that Loreyna died from blunt force injuries and acute dehydration complicating chronic undernutrition. Her death was ruled a: Homicide. The forensic pathologist who examined Loreyna was unequivocal about one other thing. In his professional opinion, medical treatment could have saved her life. Loreyna did not simply become sick and unexpectedly die overnight. Her body showed evidence of prolonged deprivation, numerous injuries and a desperate need for medical care. Help never came in time.

Warning Signs & System Failures

There was an opportunity to reach Loreyna less than two weeks before she died. On February 26, 2007, Weld County Department of Social Services received a report expressing concern about the children living in Genevieve's home. The reporting relative said the children appeared fearful of Genevieve and did not behave normally. The relative also described Genevieve as extremely controlling and alleged that she had isolated the children from their extended family and the outside world. The report was screened. It was not assigned for investigation. No caseworker went to the home as a result of that referral. Eleven days later, Loreyna was dead. After her death, the Colorado Department of Human Services conducted a formal child fatality review. The state found that Weld County DSS had violated policy in its handling of the February referral. Caseworkers had failed to contact the reporting parties to obtain additional information and clarification before deciding how to handle the report. The state ordered corrective action, including new protocols and staff training. That missed opportunity is particularly painful when viewed alongside Loreyna's physical condition. Had someone seen Loreyna during those final days, they would have encountered a seven-year-old child who was severely underweight and chronically undernourished. Her ribs and bones were visible. Her body carried numerous injuries. She desperately needed medical attention. Loreyna was also homeschooled, meaning teachers, school nurses and other school personnel weren't regularly seeing her deteriorating condition. Neighbors rarely saw the children. The children hadn't been receiving routine medical care. And Loreyna became increasingly isolated from adults outside the home who might have recognized what was happening. A report finally reached the agency charged with protecting children. It wasn't investigated. Eleven days later, there was nothing left to investigate except how Loreyna had died.

Justice for Loreyna

Following the autopsy investigation, authorities arrested Genevieve Barea and Dan Partch on May 23, 2007. Both were charged with child abuse resulting in death and initially held on $500,000 bond. The Colorado child-fatality review subsequently recorded Weld County DSS's fatality assessment as founded for fatal physical abuse by Genevieve Barea and Dan Partch. The criminal proceedings, however, produced a very different outcome. Dan Partch was acquitted and the charges against Genevieve Barea were dismissed. The defense disputed the prosecution's theory of how Loreyna sustained her injuries. That distinction matters. Loreyna's death was medically ruled a homicide, and authorities charged her caregivers, but a homicide ruling does not itself establish the criminal guilt of a particular person. Ultimately, there was no criminal conviction for Loreyna's death. The medical findings remained. The child welfare findings remained. And Loreyna remained dead at seven years old.

Forever Remembered

Loreyna Barea was seven. At the end of her life, she weighed less than 35 pounds. Her body was severely dehydrated. Her ribs, spine and joints could be seen beneath her skin. Dozens of injuries covered her body. And a doctor later concluded that medical attention could have saved her. Those facts are difficult. They should be. But that emaciated little girl is not the only Loreyna who deserves to be remembered. There was another Loreyna. The little girl who had energy. The little girl who showed affection. The little girl who stood in front of a mirror and fixed her hair. The little girl with the big dimples. That's Loreyna too. There should have been an eighth birthday. There should have been school pictures and friends. There should have been teenage years. There should have been adulthood. There should have been decades between Loreyna and what happened inside that house in Evans. Instead, her life stopped at seven. And less than two weeks before it happened, someone tried to tell authorities that something wasn't right. Loreyna couldn't make another report herself. She couldn't schedule her own doctor's appointment. She couldn't choose to attend a school where another adult might see her. She needed the adults outside that home to see her. They didn't reach her in time. Her name was Loreyna Barea. Remember the energy. Remember the affection. Remember the hair in front of the mirror. Remember those big dimples. Loreyna was here. Loreyna mattered. And Loreyna deserved to grow up.