REMEMBERING LANIECE

Laniece Aleena Fletcher was only 22 months old when she died.

She was the youngest of four children and, despite being the smallest, was already trying to keep up with her older brothers and sisters.

Laniece was still a toddler. She should have been spending her days discovering new words, following her siblings around and becoming more independent one tiny step at a time.

On the day she was fatally injured, Laniece was outside with three of her siblings at the family's Aurora apartment complex.

Her oldest sister was not there. It was her sister's twelfth birthday, and she had gone to Walmart with an uncle to choose a birthday present.

What should have been an ordinary family day became Laniece's last.

LANIECE’S STORY

On May 27, 2011, Laniece and three of her siblings were outside near the parking lot of their apartment complex on South Zeno Way in Aurora.

Their mother, Karen Pena, was inside the family's apartment.

Pena later told investigators she had been in her bedroom using Facebook.

The children were outside without adult supervision.

A commercial van entered the apartment complex to drop off a disabled child.

Several children remained inside the vehicle as the driver moved through the parking area.

Laniece was so small that the driver did not see her.

The van struck and ran over her.

The driver initially believed the vehicle had gone over a speed bump. When she looked behind her, she realized a child was lying on the ground.

Fourteen year old Deon McCarty, the child being dropped off by the van, ran inside his apartment to call 911 and get his stepfather, Travis Windom.

Windom rushed outside to Laniece.

She was barely breathing.

Emergency responders transported Laniece for medical treatment.

Despite efforts to save her, her injuries were catastrophic.

Laniece died on May 28, 2011.

She was 22 months old.

Investigators determined that the van driver had not committed a crime.

Instead, their investigation focused on why a toddler who was not yet two years old had been allowed to wander through an apartment parking lot without adult supervision.

SYSTEM FAILURES & WARNING SIGNS

Laniece's death was preceded by repeated concerns about the supervision and safety of the children in her home.

Neighbors described regularly seeing Pena's young children outside without adequate adult supervision.

They reported seeing the children in the parking area without shoes, proper clothing or clean diapers, with Laniece's oldest sister frequently assuming responsibility for caring for the younger children.

The warning signs continued until the night before Laniece was fatally injured.

A neighbor reported seeing Laniece outside alone wearing only a diaper.

There had also been previous reports to the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services.

Two referrals concerning the family were made during the 13 months before Laniece died.

In April 2010, authorities received a report alleging that one of Pena's children, then six years old, was being permitted to visit her father in a hotel room where drugs and prostitution were reportedly present.

Police could not locate the father, and a child protection case was not opened.

In July 2010, another report raised concerns that Pena's two year old son had reportedly been taken to an emergency room several times because of injuries.

That referral was screened out after authorities determined that the allegations did not meet the legal threshold for abuse or neglect.

Neither report resulted in an open child protection case that remained active when Laniece died.

Ten months after the second referral, Laniece was outside without adult supervision when she entered the path of the van.

She was 22 months old and far too young to recognize the danger presented by moving vehicles.

She depended upon an adult to keep her away from that danger.

JUSTICE FOR LANIECE

Karen Pena was arrested several weeks after her daughter's death.

Prosecutors alleged that Pena's failure to supervise Laniece placed the toddler in the dangerous situation that ultimately caused her death.

The driver of the van was not criminally charged.

Pena ultimately pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death.

She was sentenced to probation.

Karen Charlene Pena

Relationship to Laniece: Mother

Conviction(s): Child abuse resulting in death

Sentence: Five years of probation

FOREVER REMEMBERED

Laniece's death happened in seconds.

But the circumstances that placed her in danger developed long before the van entered that parking lot.

She was not even two years old.

She could walk into a parking area, but she could not understand why it was dangerous.

She could follow her older siblings, but she could not be expected to protect herself.

Those responsibilities belonged to adults.

Laniece should have grown up alongside the brothers and sisters she was already determined to keep up with.

She should have celebrated her second birthday less than two months later.

Instead, her family buried her before she ever reached it.

Laniece's story is particularly painful because there was no deliberate act of violence that ended her life.

There was a toddler, a moving vehicle and an absence of the supervision she needed.

The driver who struck Laniece had no reason to expect that a child so small would be wandering through the parking area alone.

Laniece had no ability to understand that the approaching vehicle could kill her.

She was the person in that parking lot with the least ability to prevent what happened.

Her death became a criminal case because a child as young as Laniece should never have been responsible for keeping herself safe.

But Laniece should not be remembered only for the moment she was struck.

She was the baby of four children.

She was the little sister already determined to keep up with the bigger kids.

She had nearly reached her second birthday and had an entire childhood still waiting for her.

Laniece Aleena Fletcher deserved the chance to live it.

Abuse Angels remembers Laniece Aleena Fletcher.

Remembered. Honored. Never Forgotten.