Missing and Murdered Children

Six-year-old Christopher Barrios was laid to rest yesterday. It was said by the funeral director that he estimated at least 500 people came to pay their respects to the slain child. Many flowers were sent from across the United States from various persons. The people who sent the flowers and many who came to pay their respects to the slain child never knew him personally, but were touched by the story of his disappearance and murder.

Christopher’s classmates from his elementary school showed up for the funeral to pay their respects to their slain classmate.

Christopher’s murder has affected many people who never knew him. I find myself tearing up when I read different stories about the crime against Christopher. But truly this was not just a crime against Christopher - it was a crime against society.

Our society does not condone the murder of an innocent child. Usually when such a crime happens the first thought is that we want the perpetrators of the crime to face death for their actions. I agree that in this case the death penalty is the answer for the perpetrators of this crime.

The next reaction is to ask why or how this crime was allowed to happen. What flaws in our current justice system allows a sex offender convicted on two previous counts of child molestation to wander free?

In the case of the murder of Jessica Lunsford in February of 2005 by convicted sex offender John Evander Couey, it was determined that he was living in a residence he was not registered with Law Enforcement to live. He was registered to live at a different location. It wasn’t until investigators went out to interview area sex offenders regarding Jessica’s disappearance that they found out that John Couey was no longer living at his registered address and had in fact moved into the trailer just 100 feet from the Lunsford residence.

Mark Lunsford created a foundation and has tirelessly worked with law makers throughout the country to change the laws regarding sex offenders. Jessica’s Law has been enacted in some fashion in many states across the country. Part of Jessica’s Law involves residency restrictions. As a part of that restriction, registered sex offenders are not allowed to live with 2,000 feet of a place where children congregate, such as parks, schools, school bus stops and day care facilities.

I live in California and in November 2006 we passed our version of Jessica’s Law. It was pretty consistent with the original law enacted into Florida law.

Well, a group of sex offenders took umbrage at the fact that they would have to abide by the new residency requirement. They believed that they should not be affected by the new law because they had been convicted of their crimes prior to the enactment of the new law. They filed an appeal and the California Appeals Court agreed with them. The Jessica’s Law provision regarding the residency requirement of not living within 2,000 feet of schools, etc. does not apply to sex offenders convicted prior to November 2006. The decision had nothing really to do with the fairness or unfairness of the concept; the problem was with how the law was worded. The law did not mention applying the provision to all convicted sex offenders.

A group of people in Georgia has formed calling themselves The Justice for Christopher Foundation. Their goal is to “toughen the laws against sex offenders”. Their mission:

The foundation’s mission is to change child sexual predator laws and to make parents more aware when a convicted child molester moves in or lives in their area.

George Edenfield was ordered to move from his prior residence in September 2006 because he was living too close to a park. The law is already on the books in Georgia barring sex offenders from living where children would normally congregate such as parks and schools.

George Edenfield failed to move after being ordered to do so by the Sheriff and he appeared in court 3 days before he murdered Christopher. During that court appearance he entered into a plea agreement with the court. Originally the prosecutor was asking for a more strict probation and a sex offender contract. When George Edenfield was originally sentenced for his 1997 child molestation conviction he received 10 years of regular probation. During the court appearance 3 days prior to Christopher’s murder it was ultimately decided that he would receive 10 years of regular probation and have to sign a sex offender contract.

I am going to guess that George Edenfield knew in September that he was in violation of his probation when he was living near the park. I think at that point he should have had his probation violated, taken into custody, and had to serve the time remaining on his original sentence in jail. He should have been immediately taken off of the streets. Whatever flaw in the system did not allow that to happen.

Making parents more aware of sex offenders living in the area is a noble goal. Awareness is only good for parents to have if they take that awareness and use it to their child’s benefit. I have said it before and I will say it in this entry. There are many ways for parents to find out if a sex offender lives in their community. Access to that information can easily be obtained via the Internet at the National Sex Offender Registry. Most states provide 24 hour access to their state registries via the Internet. If a person does not own a computer then they can go to any public library and gain access to the sex offender registries. If a person has a question about a sex offender, one need only visit the local police department and inquire about a particular person.

This is not an indictment against Christopher’s grandmother. But, she knew the George Edenfield was a convicted sex offender. She has been quoted in the press as having checked the registry after hearing gossip about him. She has also been quoted in the press as stating that George had tried to get Christopher to come up on the porch of his mobile home.

I don’t know about any other grandparent or parent but if I knew a registered sex offender was living across the street from me there would be no way my child would be out playing unsupervised.

The Timeline of Events - March 8, 2007:

2:45 p.m. - Christopher exits the school bus and walks to his Grandmother’s mobile home.

“…George Edenfield told police he watched Christopher arrive from school at about 2:45 p.m. March 8 and that “the devil told him to kill Christopher.”(…) [Source]

3 p.m. - Christopher comes into his Grandmother’s home and goes out to play.

“…Sue Rodriguez, Christopher’s grandmother, who lives in the same trailer park, said she last saw him Thursday after school when the kindergartener ran into her home, shrugged off his jacket and book bag onto the coffee table, grabbed a lemonade and headed outside to play.(…)” [Source]

5:30 - 6:15 p.m. - Christopher is observed neighbors playing alone on a swing set in a neighbor’s yard.

“…Neighbors told police that they last saw the boy on the evening of March 8, playing by himself on the swing set outside a friend’s home.(…) [Source] Some news reports state that Christphor was last seen by his grandmother going to the swing set at 6:15 p.m. to play after having had dinner with her.

8:12 p.m. - Police respond to a call from Christopher Barrios, Sr. reporting that he cannot locate his son. [Source]

8:30 p.m. - The search by law enforcement officers for Christopher begins.

9 p.m. - Estimated time of Christopher’s death.

“…George Edenfield told police sometime after 9 p.m. March 8 that he killed Christopher.(…)”

Based on the timeline the last time Christopher had supervision by any adult responsible for his care was at approximately 3 p.m. on the day of his disappearance.

This lack of supervision for such a long period of time, especially when Christopher’s grandmother knew about George Edenfield’s history and behavior begs the question; what additional awareness regarding notifying parents of sex offenders living in the area would have made a difference and prevented Christopher’s murder? The answer would appear to be none.

I really don’t believe we need more laws on the books regarding sex offenders. The laws already on the books need to be strictly enforced. Questions need to be asked regarding why George Edenfield was not incarcerated for not following the conditions of his probation. Questions need to be asked regarding why George Edenfield’s father, a convicted sex offender himself, was allowed to be the one to vouch for him in that court hearing regarding his current living arrangements. Hard answers need to be given to the Barrios family as well as the community regarding those questions.

I also believe that plea deals need to be used less often. Many times the reasoning for the plea deal is that it avoids having to make a child testify in court - the goal being to avoid traumatizing the child further. I have to wonder why a plea agreement was even considered for George Edenfield concerning the charges of living in an area barred by conditions of his probation.

Parents have a responsibility not only to utilize the tools available to protect their children, they also need to take action. It is not enough to warn your child to stay away from the sex offender. I believe it is important to confront the sex offender in the neighborhood and put him/her on notice. “I know you are a sex offender and I will do anything within my power to protect my child. If I see you even so much as try to approach my child I will call the police.”

Parents and grandparents it is your responsibility to take your power back in your neighborhoods and protect your children.

Christopher’s grandmother will forever be asking herself the hardest question of them all. Why did I allow Christopher to roam free in the mobile home park when I knew there was a convicted sex offender living directly across the street who had previously tried to entice my grandson?

“…The Edenfield home is along a path that Christopher would walk between his grandmother’s home and his home, where he lived with his father, Mike Barrios.(…) [Source]

Children should be able to walk free in this country without worrying about being kidnapped, sexually assaulted, or murdered. Unfortunately it is not the case.