REMEMBERING AUSTIN

Austin James Watkins was a four year old little boy who was only six days away from celebrating his fifth birthday when he died. Austin had siblings and an extended family, and during his short life he experienced changes that no young child should have had to understand. After being removed from his mother's care, Austin and two of his siblings eventually went to live with their paternal grandmother, Janice Mowdy. He was still so little that the adults around him controlled nearly every part of his world. Where he lived. What he ate. Whether he saw a doctor. Whether he was safe. But Austin was more than the circumstances adults placed him in. He was a little boy approaching kindergarten age. At four years old, he should have been growing quickly, becoming more independent and discovering more of the world every day. Instead, Austin became smaller. By the end of his life, his tiny body reflected months of deprivation that he was powerless to stop. Austin deserved the ordinary things childhood should have brought him. He deserved meals when he was hungry, comfort when he was frightened, medical care when he was sick and adults who protected him simply because he was a child. Most of all, Austin deserved to reach his fifth birthday.

AUSTIN'S STORY

Austin first came into the custody of the Mississippi Department of Human Services in July 2005, when he was still very young. DHS eventually placed Austin and two of his siblings with their paternal grandmother, Janice Mowdy. Mowdy's adult daughter, Stephanie Bell, also lived in the home. In April 2007, Mowdy was granted durable legal custody of the children. DHS conducted its final home visit three days later and closed the family's case the following month. Within weeks, Austin was in a hospital. On June 10, 2007, Mowdy brought three year old Austin to the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Austin weighed only 24 pounds. He was suffering from severe dehydration and malnutrition. He also had extreme swelling. Doctors performed extensive testing because they needed to understand why a three year old child was so severely malnourished. They could not find an underlying medical condition that explained his condition. That finding shifted attention toward Austin's environment and whether he was receiving adequate nutrition and care at home. Austin remained hospitalized for weeks. On June 25, Mowdy attempted to remove him from the hospital against medical advice. Dr. Johnny Byrnes and hospital social worker Kathy Dennis contacted the Scott County Department of Human Services.

Byrnes later testified that he told a DHS employee that the medical team believed Austin's family either was not feeding him or did not know how to feed him properly.

Dennis also documented concerns that DHS did not fully understand the seriousness of Austin's condition or the hospital's concerns about returning him to the home.

Two days later, nurses raised additional concerns about possible abuse. A child psychologist evaluated Austin and did not find evidence of ongoing abuse at that time. But concerns surrounding his severe malnutrition remained. Then something happened in the hospital that would become especially important after Austin's death.

Austin gained weight. When Austin entered the hospital, he weighed approximately 24 pounds. With consistent nutrition and medical care, his condition improved dramatically. By the time he was discharged in July, he weighed approximately 28 pounds. At a follow up appointment on July 17, doctors noted that Austin had greatly improved. Another appointment was scheduled for August. Austin did not attend it. He did not return for the subsequent medical follow ups either. There were concerns from Austin's family as well. Austin's paternal aunt later testified that she contacted DHS in June 2007 because Austin looked gray, weak and extremely thin. According to her testimony, she was told that the situation would be investigated. The later court proceedings revealed disagreements over precisely what DHS received and whether communications from Austin's doctors and relatives had been formally recorded as reports of suspected abuse or neglect. But the underlying concerns were unmistakable. Austin had been severely malnourished. He had been severely dehydrated. Doctors had been unable to identify a medical explanation. Hospital personnel had questioned whether he was being adequately fed. He gained weight when provided proper nutrition. And then he stopped returning for medical follow up care. Austin remained in his grandmother's home. More than a year passed. On November 9, 2008, emergency responders were called to the family's trailer in Scott County. Austin was unconscious. Firefighters arrived, but the little boy could not be saved. Austin James Watkins was dead.He was four years old. He was six days away from his fifth birthday. And he weighed only 19 pounds. The state medical examiner determined that Austin died from starvation and dehydration. His death was ruled a homicide. The four year old who had entered the hospital weighing 24 pounds more than a year earlier and gained weight while receiving proper nutrition had ultimately died weighing even less. Investigators also examined evidence that Austin had been isolated inside the home and whether he had been confined or restrained and prevented from moving freely. Other children were living in the home. They survived. After Austin's death, they were removed and placed in foster care.

Investigators also discovered that a $10,000 life insurance policy had been taken out on Austin. Authorities investigated whether the policy had any connection to his death, although its existence alone did not establish a motive.nJanice Mowdy and Stephanie Bell were arrested. Both women would eventually admit criminal responsibility for Austin's death.

WARNING SIGNS & SYSTEM FAILURES

Austin's death did not occur without warning. More than a year before he died, Austin's physical condition had become serious enough to require hospitalization.

He was severely malnourished and dehydrated. Doctors searched for a medical explanation and could not find one. He gained four pounds while hospitalized and receiving consistent nutrition. Medical professionals questioned whether Austin was being adequately fed at home. His grandmother attempted to remove him from the hospital against medical advice. Hospital personnel contacted DHS. Nurses raised concerns about possible abuse. A relative said she separately contacted DHS because Austin appeared gray, weak and extremely thin. And after Austin was discharged, he stopped attending his medical follow up appointments. Yet Austin remained in the home. After his death, the handling of those warnings became the subject of litigation. Austin's mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Mississippi Department of Human Services. During that litigation, there was conflicting testimony about whether the communications made by hospital personnel and family members in 2007 had technically constituted reports of suspected abuse or neglect and whether DHS had properly received and documented them. DHS personnel acknowledged, however, that if the concerns were communicated as hospital staff testified, they should have been documented and investigated. The case eventually reached the Mississippi Supreme Court. The court reversed a lower court ruling that had granted summary judgment in favor of DHS, allowing the wrongful death litigation against the agency to continue. For Austin, those legal questions came far too late. His body had already sounded an alarm in 2007. By November 2008, Austin could no longer survive what was happening to him.

JUSTICE FOR AUSTIN

Janice Mowdy and Stephanie Bell were initially charged in connection with Austin's death. The case ultimately ended with both women pleading guilty to capital murder based upon Austin's death occurring during the commission of felony child abuse. They were sentenced to life imprisonment.

 

Janice Mowdy

Relationship to Austin: Paternal grandmother and legal custodian

Conviction: Capital murder

Sentence: Life imprisonment

 

Stephanie Bell

Relationship to Austin: Paternal aunt

Conviction: Capital murder

Sentence: Life imprisonment

FOREVER REMEMBERED

Austin's fifth birthday was November 15, 2008. It came six days after he died. There should have been a cake with five candles. There should have been presents to unwrap and photographs marking another year of a little boy growing bigger. Instead, there was an empty place where Austin should have been. His story is especially painful because Austin's body had already shown the world that something was terribly wrong. For a time, people fed him. They cared for him. And Austin responded. He gained weight. He became healthier. His improvement showed just how much possibility remained inside that little boy. Austin did not fail to thrive because he was incapable of thriving. When his needs were met, he did. That is part of what makes what followed impossible to ignore. Austin depended on adults to notice when he was hungry, take him to appointments, protect him from harm and make decisions in his best interest. He could not make those decisions for himself. He should never have needed to. Today, Austin should be a young man. There should be years of memories separating that little four year old boy from the person he became. Instead, we are left with a childhood that ended six days before a birthday that never came. So we remember the little boy, not simply the terrible condition in which he was found. We remember that Austin could grow when he was given what he needed. We remember the birthday he should have celebrated. We remember the years he should have lived. Abuse Angels remembers Austin James Watkins. We remember Austin. We speak his name. And Austin James Watkins will not be forgotten.