REMEMBERING NYGELL

Nygell Easter was only five months old when he died. He had entered the world on September 20, 2010, and had not even reached his first spring. At five months old, Nygell was completely dependent on the adults around him. He was at an age when babies were beginning to recognize familiar faces, respond to voices, reach for things around them and discover more of the world every day.  But much of Nygell's short life became intertwined with hospitals, investigations and questions about whether he was safe. He had an older brother who was still only a baby himself. That detail would become particularly important because, more than once, serious injuries suffered by Nygell were blamed on his very young sibling. Nygell could not tell doctors what had happened to him. He could not explain how he had been injured. And he could not ask the adults responsible for protecting him to look more closely. He needed someone else to recognize the danger for him. By the time the truth of that danger became impossible to ignore, Nygell's life was already over.

NYGELL'S STORY

On March 14, 2011, emergency responders were called to a home on the northeast side of Indianapolis. Nygell was not breathing and was unresponsive. His father, Nicholas Easter, told authorities that Nygell had been placed in a car seat on a bed without being strapped into the seat. According to the explanation given to investigators, Nicholas went into the bathroom and the car seat fell from the bed. Nygell was taken to Community Hospital North, where he was pronounced dead. But investigators quickly discovered that Nygell's injuries did not fit the explanation they had been given. The Marion County Coroner's Office determined that Nygell had suffered blunt force trauma to his head. There was evidence of more than one forceful impact. Nygell also had bruising on several areas of his small body, including his forehead, arm, chest and rib cage. The coroner ruled his death a homicide. Investigators estimated that Nygell had suffered his fatal injuries shortly before he was taken to the hospital. The explanation that his injuries resulted simply from a car seat falling from a bed could not account for the force and number of injuries found on his body. But this was not the first time doctors had suspected that someone had hurt Nygell. Only months earlier, when Nygell was approximately three months old, he had been taken to an Indianapolis hospital with another suspicious injury. Medical personnel believed abuse was possible. They reported their concerns to the Indiana Department of Child Services. An investigation was opened. Nygell's family blamed that earlier injury on his older brother. The DCS investigation was eventually closed as unsubstantiated in January 2011. Less than two months later, Nygell was dead. And once again, his young brother was included in the explanation for how Nygell had been injured. This time, however, investigators and the coroner concluded that the fatal injuries could not have occurred in the manner the family described. Nygell Easter had survived his first suspected episode of abuse. He did not survive the next.

WARNING SIGNS & SYSTEM FAILURES

Nygell's death became one of the Indiana child deaths examined in an investigation into whether the state's child protection system could have done more to protect children already known to the Department of Child Services. Nygell was not an unknown child who died before anyone outside his family had reason to worry about him. There had already been a warning. In December 2010, when Nygell was approximately three months old, medical professionals suspected that he had been abused.

They did exactly what medical professionals are expected to do when they suspect a baby may have been harmed. They contacted DCS. DCS opened an investigation.

The family attributed Nygell's injury to his older brother. The allegation was ultimately classified as unsubstantiated, and the investigation was closed in January 2011.

Nygell remained with his family. He died less than two months later. The explanation surrounding his fatal injuries again attempted to place responsibility on circumstances involving his very young sibling. This time, the physical evidence showed that Nygell had suffered injuries requiring substantial force.

His death was ruled a homicide. An Indianapolis Star investigation later examined Nygell alongside five other Indiana children who died in 2011 after concerns about their treatment or care had previously been reported to DCS. The investigation found a common thread among the six children: before each died, the agency responsible for investigating child abuse and neglect had received concerns about their care. Despite those warnings, each ultimately remained with or was returned to a parent or caregiver. For Nygell, the timeline was devastatingly short. In December 2010, Medical professionals suspected abuse. January 2011, The investigation was closed as unsubstantiated. March 14, 2011, Nygell was dead.

JUSTICE FOR NYGELL

The investigation into Nygell's death eventually focused on his father, Nicholas Easter. Nicholas was prosecuted in connection with his son's death. The original Abuse Angels record reports that Nicholas ultimately received a 16 year prison sentence.

 

Nicholas Easter

Relationship to Nygell: Father

Conviction: See note below

Sentence: 16 years in prison

FOREVER REMEMBERED

Nygell lived for 175 days. Within those 175 days, there were already people outside his home who became concerned enough about his safety to contact the agency responsible for protecting children. That is what makes Nygell's story so difficult to leave behind. There was a moment before March 14 when the outcome could still have been different. A hospital had seen him. Medical professionals had questioned his injury. A report had been made. An investigation had been opened. Nygell was still alive. Then the investigation ended. Less than two months later, so did Nygell's life. Years later, his name would appear in reporting examining the deaths of Indiana children who had already come to the attention of the state's child welfare system.But Nygell was never supposed to become an example of what can happen when  warning signs do not result in protection  He was supposed to grow up. September 20, 2010 should have been the beginning of decades of birthdays. Instead, there was never even a first one. Abuse Angels remembers Nygell Easter as the baby behind the investigation, the reports and the questions that followed his death. His life was short. His warning signs were real. And his name deserves to remain where it cannot simply be closed away with a case file. We remember Nygell. We speak his name.

And Nygell Easter will not be forgotten.