REMEMBERING MICHAEL

Michael Anthony Ibarra was six years old. At six, Michael should have been worrying about school, friends, toys and all of the ordinary things that fill a little boy's world.

Instead, Michael was living with abuse. What makes his story particularly heartbreaking is that Michael tried to tell adults what was happening to him. Months before his death, concerns about injuries to Michael had already reached Arizona Child Protective Services and police. Michael was a little boy who needed the adults around him to hear him, believe him and protect him. He deserved to feel safe in his own home. He deserved to grow up. His name was Michael Anthony Ibarra. And his life was so much more than the terrible circumstances surrounding his death.

MICHAEL'S STORY

On August 3, 2010, emergency responders were called to Michael's home in Tucson. Michael had suffered a catastrophic head injury. The explanation given was that Michael had fallen down the stairs. But at the hospital, doctors discovered injuries that raised immediate concerns about abuse. Michael had suffered a serious head injury that included a skull fracture. His body also had numerous bruises in different stages of healing. Doctors determined that Michael's injuries were not consistent with the history they had been given. Michael underwent emergency medical treatment. His injuries were devastating. He remained on life support for eight days.

On August 11, 2010, six-year-old Michael Anthony Ibarra died. The injuries discovered on Michael's body showed that what happened to him was not limited to one terrible day. There was evidence of previous trauma. An autopsy revealed two spinal fractures that had occurred at different times as well as a healed fracture to his hand. Michael had been hurt before. And there had already been an opportunity to protect him.

WARNING SIGNS & SYSTEM FAILURES

On December 4, 2009, approximately eight months before Michael suffered his fatal injuries, Arizona CPS received a report alleging that Koffi Dogbevi had abused Michael. CPS and the Tucson Police Department conducted a joint investigation. The allegations were proposed for substantiation. Dogbevi denied abusing Michael and appealed the proposed finding. The family declined services beyond daycare assistance. That appeal was still in progress when CPS received the report concerning Michael's fatal injuries in August 2010. That timeline is difficult to ignore. There had been a report. There had been an investigation. There had been concerns serious enough for CPS to propose substantiating the allegation. And Michael was still living in the home. Eight months later, he was dead. After Michael's death, another child living in the home was taken into CPS custody and placed with a relative. For Michael, that protection came too late.

JUSTICE FOR MICHAEL

Koffi Dogbevi was initially indicted on charges that included first degree murder and child abuse. He ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Michael's death. In February 2012, Dogbevi was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Michael's mother, Monica Ibarra-Dogbevi, was also criminally charged. She admitted that she had failed to protect Michael and failed to obtain medical care for him after he had been beaten. She pleaded guilty to child abuse charges.

Koffi Dogbevi
Relationship to Michael: Stepfather
Conviction: Second-degree murder
Sentence: 22 years in prison

Monica Yadira Ibarra-Dogbevi
Relationship to Michael: Mother
Conviction: Two counts of child abuse
Sentence: 2 years in prison and 15 years of probation

FOREVER REMEMBERED

Michael Anthony Ibarra was six years old. Six years is not enough. There should have been a seventh birthday. And an eighth. There should have been more school years, friendships, holidays and summers. There should have been teenage years. Graduation. Adulthood. There should have been enough time for Michael to decide who he wanted to become. Instead, much of what remains publicly documented about his short life consists of CPS records, injuries, police investigations and court proceedings. Those things tell us what happened to Michael. They do not define who Michael was. Michael was a child. A little boy who depended upon adults to keep him safe. And when there were signs that he was being hurt, he deserved protection that was immediate and absolute. Michael should not have had to survive long enough for someone to finally save him. He should have been safe from the beginning. His name was Michael Ibarra. Abuse Angels remembers Michael Anthony Ibarra, the six-year-old little boy whose injuries had already raised alarms before his death and who deserved to be heard, protected and given the chance to grow up. We remember Michael. We speak his name. And Michael Anthony Ibarra will not be forgotten.