Three children are now separated from their parents after the mother of a drowned 11-year-old disabled boy was arrested Thursday, two weeks after the stepfather was arrested on murder charges in connection with the death.
Dana Smith was released from jail Thursday afternoon after being charged with obstruction, one day after she said the Division of Family and Children Services threatened to take her children if she didn't cooperate in the investigation against her husband, Michael David Smith.
Clayton County police went to Dana Smith’s home Wednesday night with a warrant to take her daughters, her lawyer, Kimberly Bandoh, said. Smith’s 6-month-old daughter was taken into DFCS care, but the two older children, ages 6 and 8, have been with their grandfather in Detroit for several days.
According to a DFCS removal order, there are no other caretakers for the children. A DFCS official told Channel 2 Action News they couldn’t comment on the case because of confidentiality laws, but said children are typically removed from a home if there is evidence they weren’t properly supervised.
Michael Smith was charged with murder and child cruelty after police say he left his autistic, wheelchair bound stepson Ty Lee in a bathtub alone to tend to the other children. He was arrested and is being held in the Clayton County Jail without bond.
Bandoh said the boy’s death may have been the result of a seizure. Autopsy results have not been released.
Michael Smith didn’t have an arrest record, nor were there any physical marks or signs of abuse when Clayton officials arrived at the home during the June 28 incident, Clayton County police spokeswoman Sgt. Ashanti Marbury said Thursday.
Bandoh said Dana Smith has been cooperating with law enforcement officials, but police say otherwise.
Clayton County police chief Michael Register told Channel 2 that Dana Smith hasn’t been cooperative and it left the department with no choice other than to search the home for the kids.
“We have tried to make contact with her on several occasions,” Register said. “I would think that she would want us to do everything in our power to find out exactly what happened.”
Register said he’s understanding of the family’s grief and will make sure they attend the wake and funeral.
Dana Smith’s arrest has been an added burden.
“She’s now going to deal with her charges and her own husband’s charges,” Bandoh said. “All while grieving the loss of a child and having her kids taken.”
The older children may be even more confused by the situation, Bandoh said.
“They don’t know why they’re with their grandfather,” she said. “They just know dad is not here.”
The older kids could determine whether their stepfather is guilty. Bandoh and Dana Smith said an investigator told them the children “are material witnesses to a murder.” Officers can’t speak to children about crimes without the consent of an adult, Bandoh said.
“The only way they can circumvent that is through Juvenile Court,” she said. The other way is if the kids are in DFCS custody and they grant police permission to interview them.
“You can get a 6-(year-old) and 8-year-old to say anything,” she said.
Dana Smith will be in court Friday for a judge to decide if the kids remain with her or in DFCS custody. The children will return Friday for the hearing and for their brother’s services Friday and Saturday.
Bandoh said Smith has no criminal history, nor has DFCS visited the home in the past.
