REMEMBERING LILY

Lily Lynette Furneaux-Wolfenbarger was two years old when she died. Lily was a happy, energetic little girl whose family remembered a smile that could light up a room. She loved music. She especially enjoyed singing and dancing along to her favorite songs and to the television show Glee. Lily loved spending time with her family, particularly her mother, Lauren Furneaux, and her father, Jeff Wolfenbarger. Her obituary remembered how deeply she loved both of them and how many grandparents, relatives, cousins and friends loved her in return. She also had three stepsiblings, Wayne, Aubrey and Bella. Lily was only two, but she had already developed the little interests and routines that made her uniquely herself. Her family ended her obituary with a message that belonged to Lily and those who loved her: “Love you infinity.”

LILY’S STORY

Lily’s parents separated when she was an infant. A custody arrangement eventually gave her father, Jeff Wolfenbarger, regular parenting time. Jeff lived in New Haven, Michigan, with his wife, Renee Marie King. On November 20, 2010, Lauren brought two year old Lily to meet her father for a court ordered visit. It was the last time Lauren saw her daughter alive. Lily was later left in Renee’s care at the New Haven home. Within hours, Lily was critically injured. Emergency responders were called to the home that afternoon for an unresponsive child. Lily was rushed for emergency medical treatment, but she could not be saved. The investigation immediately raised serious questions about Renee’s explanation of what had happened. Renee claimed Lily had suffered her head injuries during two accidental falls in the bathroom. She said problems with her back had caused her to fall while holding or caring for Lily. The medical evidence told a very different story. Lily had suffered approximately 20 injuries to her head, including multiple severe impacts. Medical experts determined that the extent and pattern of those injuries were inconsistent with the two accidental falls Renee described. Lily had also been sexually assaulted. Prosecutors argued that Renee became angry with Lily over toddler behavior, including a temper tantrum and a toileting accident, and violently attacked her. The injuries to Lily’s head were catastrophic. She died from multiple blunt force injuries. Lily was two years old.

WARNING SIGNS

Lily’s death occurred during a court ordered custody arrangement that had been the subject of conflict between her parents. Lauren had sought sole custody of Lily while she was still an infant. The court instead established shared parenting time with Jeff. By November 2010, Lily was regularly spending time at the home Jeff shared with Renee. The criminal case ultimately established that Lily was fatally abused while in Renee’s care during one of those visits. Lily’s family later became outspoken about child safety and family court issues, believing that the systems responsible for making custody decisions needed to give greater weight to concerns involving children's safety. However, I have not included a broader SYSTEM FAILURES section because the available evidence does not establish documented prior reports that Renee was physically or sexually abusing Lily before November 20, 2010. The clearest warning surrounding Lily’s case was the continuing custody conflict and her mother’s concern about the arrangement. That concern is part of Lily’s history, but it should not be rewritten after her death as proof that authorities knew Renee would kill her.

JUSTICE FOR LILY

Renee Marie King was arrested following Lily’s death.She denied killing or sexually assaulting Lily and maintained that the child's head injuries resulted from accidental falls. Prosecutors charged Renee with felony murder, first degree child abuse and first degree criminal sexual conduct. Her case went to trial in Macomb County Circuit Court in February 2012. Medical testimony contradicted Renee’s account of two accidental falls and established that Lily had suffered repeated blunt force trauma as well as sexual injury. After approximately two hours of deliberation, the jury found Renee guilty on all counts. In April 2012, she was sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for Lily’s murder, along with additional prison sentences for the sexual assault and child abuse convictions.

Renee Marie King

Relationship to Lily: Stepmother

Conviction: Felony murder; first degree criminal sexual conduct; first degree child abuse

Sentence: Life in prison without the possibility of parole for felony murder; 30 to 50 years for first degree criminal sexual conduct; 7 to 15 years for first degree child abuse

FOREVER REMEMBERED

Lily was two years old. At that age, singing along with a favorite television show can be an important part of the day. Dancing to music can be an event. Being with Momma and Daddy can feel like the entire world. Those were the things that belonged to Lily. The violence that ended her life was horrific, and the criminal case required people to examine injuries no child should ever have suffered. But Lily’s family refused to allow those injuries to become her entire identity. After her death, they created Justice for Lily. Her family used Lily’s name to raise awareness about child abuse and to support organizations working with abused children. They also became involved in discussions surrounding child protection and custody decisions. Lily’s grandmother explained that the work was being done for Lily because Lily could no longer speak for herself. That advocacy became part of the legacy left by a little girl who never had the opportunity to understand how many people would eventually learn her name. But Lily’s most important legacy remains much simpler. She was Lauren and Jeff’s daughter. She was a granddaughter. A niece. A stepsister. A little girl who sang and danced to music. A two year old with a smile her family adored. And she was loved “infinity.” The woman responsible for Lily’s death received a sentence intended to keep her in prison for the remainder of her life. Lily should have been given a lifetime of her own. Abuse Angels remembers Lily Lynette Furneaux-Wolfenbarger. Remembered. Honored. Never Forgotten.