REMEMBERING LUZ

Luz Maria Valdez was only three months old. She was born on September 4, 2007, in Denver, Colorado. In photographs, Luz was a beautiful baby girl with big dark eyes and a tiny face that had barely begun to change from those first newborn months. Her mother has remembered Luz as a beautiful and loving baby whose short life left a lasting impact on the family who loved her. At three months old, Luz should have had an entire lifetime waiting for her. She should have learned to sit up. Crawl. Walk. Say her first words. There should have been a first birthday and then dozens more. Instead, Luz lived for less than four months. Her name was Luz Maria Valdez. She was a daughter, a little sister and a baby girl whose life mattered.

LUZ'S STORY

Even before Luz was born, Denver child protection workers had received concerns involving her family. According to a later review of her case, the Denver Department of Human Services received at least four reports of suspected abuse or neglect involving the family. Two of those reports came before Luz was born. After Luz's birth, there were additional warning signs. When Luz was approximately two months old, her mother, Mary Campos, asked a doctor to examine the baby during an appointment for one of her other children. Campos reported that Luz's father, Isidoro Valdez-Ruelas, had dropped the infant three times and had placed her in dangerous positions, including near the edge of a couch. A child protection caseworker visited the family's home. Campos reportedly expressed concern that Valdez-Ruelas might have been putting Luz in dangerous positions intentionally. But the caseworker did not interview Valdez-Ruelas before concluding that he probably had not deliberately dropped the baby. The incidents were treated as accidents or as the result of Luz being placed in unsafe positions and falling. Only about a month later, Luz suffered the injuries that would end her life. On December 28, 2007, three month old Luz was brought to a Denver hospital with severe head injuries. Doctors discovered significant internal bleeding in her head and suspected abuse. Luz was stabilized and transferred to Children's Hospital, but her injuries were too severe.

She died on December 30, 2007. Investigators determined that Luz had been violently shaken. Her father admitted shaking her. The Denver District Attorney later confirmed that Luz died from injuries she sustained while being shaken.

WARNING SIGNS & SYSTEM FAILURES

Luz's death was not the first indication that something was wrong inside her home. Denver Human Services had already received multiple reports concerning abuse or neglect in the family. Some of those concerns existed before Luz was even born. And during Luz's extraordinarily short life, child protection workers had contact with her family. Perhaps the most troubling warning came directly from Luz's mother. She reported that Valdez-Ruelas had dropped Luz several times and was putting the infant in dangerous positions. She even expressed concern that he might be doing so intentionally. Yet the investigation did not result in Luz being removed from the situation. The caseworker did not interview Valdez-Ruelas before determining that the incidents were likely accidental. Approximately one month later, Luz was fatally injured. A later review found that workers failed to adequately consider the family's complete history and other risk factors when determining whether Luz was safe. Luz was three months old. She could not tell a caseworker what was happening. She could not move herself away from danger. She could not ask another adult for help.

She depended entirely upon the adults around her and the systems responsible for protecting children. The warning signs were there. Luz simply did not survive long enough for someone to finally protect her.

JUSTICE FOR LUZ

Isidoro Valdez-Ruelas was prosecuted for his daughter's death. He ultimately pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death. On September 5, 2008, a Denver judge sentenced him to 36 years in prison.

Isidoro Valdez-Ruelas
Relationship to Luz: Father
Conviction: Child abuse resulting in death
Sentence: 36 years in prison

FOREVER REMEMBERED

Luz Maria Valdez lived for less than four months. That is such a tiny amount of time. There should have been a first Christmas she was old enough to understand. A first birthday. First steps. First words. School. Friends. Teenage years. Graduation. Adulthood. Instead, the records left behind tell us about reports to child protection workers, dangerous incidents, hospital rooms and a criminal prosecution. But Luz was more than everything contained in those records. She was a baby girl. She had a mother who would later create a memorial for her and remember the love and light Luz brought into her family's life. The failures surrounding Luz's death deserve to be remembered because another child should never be left in danger after warnings like hers are raised. But those failures should never become more important than Luz herself. She had only three months to leave her mark on this world. She deserved decades. Her name was Luz Maria Valdez.

Abuse Angels remembers Luz Maria Valdez the beautiful three month old baby girl whose short life mattered and who deserved to be protected when the adults around her first recognized that she might be in danger. We remember Luz. We speak her name. And Luz Maria Valdez will not be forgotten.