Foster Mom Joyce Luvern Burks Allegedly Let Girl Die While Washing Blood-Stained Blanket
Today’s horror comes courtesy of Sinthyia. Straight outta DeSoto, Texas, we give you 41-year-old Joyce Luvern Burks, whose 4-year-old foster daughter, Katherine Frances, died after a vicious beating from Burks’ 14-year-old son that left Katherine with a fractured skull and brain damage, among other injuries.
Police were disgusted to learn that Burks might have saved her little girl’s life after her son had bodyslammed her to the point of death. But instead, the alleged Mom from Hell spent hours at the laundromat, washing the blanket on which the girl had bled. According to the timeline, based on Burks’ own revised testimony to police, Mommy Dearest noticed Katherine getting sick around 5pm. Instead of calling the ambulance or taking the girl to the hospital, Burks sat down with the other kids for a bit of tellie - because she had to catch Zoey 101 before she could be bothered to assist her dying foster daughter. Then, on the way to the hospital, Burks popped into the laundromat to do her washing. (You know, the kind of washing that the rest of us call “evidence tampering.”) They didn’t arrive at the hospital until sometime after 8:30pm. (The story is unclear about exactly when they arrived there.)
According to the report, Burks was a foster parent under Mesa Family Services Inc., whose operations have since been taken over by Therapeutic Family Life. Therapeutic knew that the fosters in Burks’ home complained that the son abused them. Burks turned a deaf ear to them, insisting that her little snuggums could do no foul. The state is lashing out at Therapeutic, saying that didn’t adequately supervise foster parents like Burks. Gee, you think?
I am so fucking sick and tired of this shit. These poor fucking foster kids are in their situation because their previous parents neglected them, committed a crime, or otherwise did something worthy of landing a spot on this blog. Marbella Frances lost custody of her kids after leaving them home alone. Katherine Frances was taken out of her home to “keep her safe”. Instead, she was murdered by a brutish teen, and a mom who didn’t give two shits about reining him in. She would’ve been better off being neglected at home.
At least there’s something of a happy element to this story. Katherine’s death managed to have a poignant meaning for five-year-old Claire Fowler, who is alive and healthy today after receiving Katherine Frances’ heart. And Marbella Frances has file suit against the foster care companies and the Burks family. From the way Marbella talks, it seems this tragedy has strengthened her resolve to keep her own shit together, and make sure that some change in the Texas foster care system results from Katherine Frances’ sad, tragic death.
Here’s hoping.
Tags: and-Connie-Fowler, child, children, daughter, desoto, foster, foster-daughter, foster-mother, foster-parents, Katherine-Frances-(left), mother, murder, neglect, parenting, parents, texas, who-received-Frances-heartRelated Stories
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13 opinions for Foster Mom Joyce Luvern Burks Allegedly Let Girl Die While Washing Blood-Stained Blanket
Desi
Jan 15, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Once again, PLEASE! Don’t put all foster parents in the “your disgusing piece of crap, and you abuse your foster children worse than the parent” list.
There are some of us who REALLY,HONEST TO GOD, take care of our foster children and REALLY treat them the way God intended children to be cared for.
I also know there are some horrible foster parents out there, and horrible foster systems. But please for the love of Children, cut us some slack. There are some awsome,giving, loving,people in this world who happen to be be foster parents.
The Zero Boss
Jan 15, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Desi, where the hell did I say, “All foster parents suck”? Please. Point out to me the sentence where I say that. I’m genuinely curious.
Don’t be so defensive. Of course I don’t talk about all you good foster parents. This site isn’t called “Parents Behaving Badly” for my health, you know.
amylulu1
Jan 15, 2007 at 3:35 pm
There is another incident in the same area…a family friend drops off her three year old for the friend to babysit, but the friend decides to go play Bingo and leave her 15 year old in charge of 10-15 kids. A nine year old stabs the 3 year old and when the parent that is supposed to be babysitting is called, she doesn’t come right home to figure out what is going on…she continues to play bingo. Needless to say, the state took all of the kids and she didn’t even to bother showing up to court!!! This is probably archived at dallasnews.com It just happened last month
EchoedMemory
Jan 15, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Hey Boss… just a minor tiny little detail… Katherine was 6 years old, not 4 years old, according to the news report. Just to let ya know. :)
Sinthyia
Jan 15, 2007 at 8:38 pm
“Desi Says:
January 15th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Once again, PLEASE! Don’t put all foster parents in the “your disgusing piece of crap, and you abuse your foster children worse than the parent” list.”
You have to admit there are plenty of rotten ones out there that give all of them a bad name. Mesa, in the story, had their certification yanked because three kids had DIED in their homes. And being from Texas (yehaw) there are plenty of deaths each year in foster care because the foster parents don’t give a shit about anything but the stipend they recieve. You might be a good one but I’m here to tell you there are plenty of rotten to the damn core ones out there. Odds are the poor already abused kids are just as likely to be abused all over again in foster care!
Sinthyia
Manda
Jan 16, 2007 at 1:03 am
I am wondering what will happen to the 14 year old boy. Can someone that young be brought up on murder charges, or will it be manslaughter?
Amraann
Jan 16, 2007 at 9:41 am
Someone that young can be brought up on murder charges and charged as an adult. I wonder though what kind of life this 14 yo had?
Don’t foster parents have to pass some scrutiny?
This 14 yo did not wake up one day and decide that beating his foster sybling was just OK.
Obviously he was no stranger to violence.
Celtmaidn
Jan 16, 2007 at 10:44 am
Unfortunately, we do learn even the awful things we see or experience.
We all know and understand that not ALL foster families are animals. We just get to hear about the ones that are because they are the ones that make the news.
If you want people to know that there are families who care for the ones that were forgotten, unloved, or abused, and take care of them the way they should have been cared for, you and other families like you need to get out there and do things that will bring that into the news as good news stories. While those are a “Hard Sell”, it is possible. Maybe getting out there and doing things to get the good foster families in the news will bring in more people like you who really care, and want to make a difference.
Weapon of Mass Disturbance
Jan 16, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Abused kids probably make excellent recruits for any terrorist group willing to provide them with a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging, and a sense of security.
Sinthyia
Jan 16, 2007 at 10:20 pm
“Manda Says:
January 16th, 2007 at 1:03 am
I am wondering what will happen to the 14 year old boy. Can someone that young be brought up on murder charges, or will it be manslaughter? ”
Yes, he can be tried as an adult. If you want to see what he is likely to turn out like, even if tried as a kid go take a look here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Tate the case is eerily similar.
Chances are though, with the Texas justice system the way it is, he will be tried as an adult.
riss
Jan 18, 2007 at 2:56 am
They should put nanny cams in foster homes like they have in some daycares. People make me soooooooooo sick. WHat the hell is wrong with that women. How can she be so unfeeling.
British Catholics and Muslims Hate Gays So Much, They’d Rather Abandon Kids - from The Zero Boss by Jay Andrew Allen
Jan 26, 2007 at 3:38 pm
[…] Translation: gay couples are so evil and such a danger to kids that the Catholic Church would prefer to abandon them to their fate, rather than place them with decent parents. Because, as we all know, heterosexuals always make the best foster and adoptive parents. Right? Right. […]
Francine Piatigorski
Feb 20, 2007 at 6:55 pm
What an emotionless bitch who gladly let her son beat the shit out of poor Katharine Frances! That abuse is even worse than the girl’s parents keeping her small (actually, I apologize to Ashley’s parents and Amraann for what I said about them)!
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