Michael Schneider Beats Up Babies

The mother to the six month old worked at the same place I did. She was really nice and told me that she didn't have a ride to work for a while. So, since I'm a really nice person, I offered to give her rides to work and also take her home. We quickly became really great friends and her baby boy was such a joy to be around. He was the most handsome baby I've seen. I still have pictures of him in my camera.
One day I went to visit her and the baby on my day off and Michael was there. I remember Michael grabbing both of the baby's feet and swinging him around in what he thought was a playful manner. I was in the backyard and I believe the mother was upstairs. As soon as I saw him doing this I ran inside and started yelling at him to stop. He didn't listen to me so I yelled once more and he finally stopped. At this point I was almost in tears. I told him that it wasn't funny. I remember taking the child from him and holding him in my arms. The mother heard me yelling so she came downstairs to see what was going on. Michael was laughing and thought it was so hilarious.
I left a few minutes later. I remember going home and telling my father about what happened and how I got a really weird feeling from Michael. A few weeks later this story is everywhere… He is a sick person and very scary as well. To be around him (Even before I saw him do that to the baby) was really awkward. I told the mother a few times that I wouldn't be going over again because of her boyfriend.
I believe that the mother knew that there was something wrong with him because she would agree with me that she needed to leave him…. we just didn't know it was this.

I am the Grandpa. We have lived with the tragedy for three and half years and know that we will need to care for Alex for the rest of our lives. There is no doubt in my mind of the guilt of Michael and Kelly as well as the La Mesa CPS supervisor Kim Smith and Midland CPS office investigation headed by Kelly Mont which covered up the La Mesa’s CPS office involvement. There was a lot that went wrong here. The system failed to protect the children and then the system protected itself. With Alex in PICU not expected to survive we were not allowed to see Alex. I had to hire legal representation even to get access to him and then we had to fight CPS in court to regain custody of the children. There is so much wrong with the system, not that CPS can’t get it right, but the opportunity for it to go wrong is so much greater as shown in this case. If it was not for the Grace of God, Kelly and Michael would have been convicted of Murder. The 700 Club researched Alex’s story and ran a story if a video on the abuse and miracles that were performed. You can Google “Alex Searles” or here’s the link to the story/video. http://www.cbn.com/700club/features/amazing/ale…

Missy – right? Michael's sister? Your name is Missy if I remember correctly. I've read your police statement after Alex's beating. You didn't seem so convinced of Michael's innocence in your sworn statement. Out of all of the CPS testimonies, police testimonies, and other witnesses and involved parties, we remember thinking that you sounded like the only sane one, as if you might have a relatively good head on your shoulders. I understand wanting to defend your brother, but is there really a defense for this? Sometimes you just have to admit that someone you care about might be really, really sick. What we never could understand is why you or your mother never reported signs of abuse. The whole time we were trying to locate Alex after Kelly ran off with him, he was with your family. Doctors say there was previous abuse prior to that fateful night. There were cigarette burns all over him. A two year old baby – still in diapers. Have you ever been burned by a cigarette? Michael smokes doesn't he? Yes, we know, because we have the private investigators video showing him smoking. Why didn't you call? Why didn't you try and help someone who couldn't help themselves? You have small kids, as a mother, why didn't you help Alex and his 9-month old sister? Why? Despite what you may say to this post. You knew. You have to live with that just as much as Michael does. According to the law, failure to report child abuse makes you just as guilty as the person who did it. But isn't your husband the sheriff of this small town? And the head CPS worker is your mom's best friend – correct? We have learned first hand how you protect your own. But Missy – understand that you are and have been protecting the wrong person. Alex is now six years old and his brain injuries are prevalent. He will never be a normal child. He is permanently disabled because he was playing in a laundry basket as a two year old child. Did you read the police reports? I know you didn't talk to the doctors. Did you know that during the beating Alex was curled up in a ball and they were kicking him – a defenseless child. How do the doctor's know? He had shoeprints bruised into his torso. They shook him so hard that his retina's detached. He had several broken ribs and a broken pelvis. Both of his arms were broke. He was on life support. It is a miracle that he was even alive. Michael pleaded guilty to 7 felony counts of child abuse including blunt force object to the head. And even if it was all Kelly – he was there. Why didn't he stop her? Why would he allow her to nearly kill an innocent child? Of course, I don't believe it was all Kelly especially considering that he has now beat a 6 month old baby – 6 months old…you are a mother…how can you possibly defend this? And we still do not know exactly what he did to Alex's 9 month old sister. But there is significant evidence that she did not endure the best of situations either. Even if he did not participate, as you may want to let yourself believe, he could have prevented it or stopped it…just like you could have…

I will leave the judgement of the person, of the soul to the Lord – not only for the ones that committed this crime, but also for the ones who could have prevented it and didn't, and also to the ones who have tried to cover it up and by doing so have allowed a six month old baby to be harmed as well. I will judge the actions, though…and that is biblical, just as consequences to those actions are also biblical. It is easy to make a sweeping statement saying “do not judge”, but you did not see Alex clinging to life alone and scared. You did not see his little black and blue body wrapped in nothing but a diaper. You did not see the cigarette burns, his butt that was beaten raw. You did not see the brain scans and hear the doctors tell you that there was no hope for survival and even if he did, he would be a vegetable. You didn't sit by his bedside day and night as he say staring up and the ceiling and try and talk to him and read him stories hoping for a response. You don't see him now struggle to ride a bike or pick something up with his left hand. You don't have to take him to his therapies three to five times a week. You don't have to see this and so much more…if you did…I think you would have a lot harder time defending your brother and probably sleeping so comfortably at night yourself.

Go hug your children Missy…tell them how much you love them…don't ever take that for granted. You have no idea how much you have placed them in harm's way all of these years. You and your kids are lucky. Don't ever take that for granted.

Misti,

There are a lot of open ended facts around what happened to the children from February 2006 until the night Alex was admitted to the hospital. We found evidence in the California that Michael could had visited Kelly in California in the July 2006 timeframe and that Kelly’s mother would have been aware of the visit. We still question how Kelly drove to Texas. She states she drove by herself with the children but this is not likely. We know Kelly’s mother was in contact with her in Texas. We also called Kelly’s mother, the day we found her missing with the children and it was evident to us by her tone was she was aware of and not against the relationship. We have a lot of evidence that CPS and your mother paid in part for a hotel room for Kelly and Michael. Your grandfather paid for the deposit on the trailer they were living in. Kelly changed the children’s address to your mother’s house. We know that your mother watch the children. We know that Kim Smith (CPS Manager) was the only person in LaMesa that knew we were watching Kelly and Michael and that they were tipped off that we had them under surveillance. We know that Alex had evidence of abuse consisting of bruising, broken ribs, and his left arm that was broken prior to the being rebroken the night he was admitted. The bruising as a minimum had to be visible during the month they spent in LaMesa. We know the children were not taken care of by the filth in the California home, condition of Kelly’s car, and in the end the condition of the trailer they were living in. We know the owner of the trailer did repairs on the bathroom window and made note that Alex did not seem right. We were 5 day away from taking custody of the children when Alex was admitted. Kelly, in my opinion is a sociopath with no empathy for anyone and no concerns outside herself. I also believe she was taken at face value and took advantage of the people in LaMesa to her benefit. In this respect, both you and I are victims. Misti, everyone has their view point to whom did what when in this case. I look at Alex who is still a loving caring child, who will never be whole again, who has had so much taken away from him, and I ask myself, how was this allowed to happen. We were raising the flag and scream our concerns for the children while at the same time so many people which could have at least raise a question of concern, did nothing. I would very much like to understand the events and happening in more detail associated with the case. I am not looking to blame anyone. The guilty are locked up. I would like to connect the dots. I think it will only be though the people that were involved with the events in this case that all the facts can be uncovered. If you or anyone are willing to help me do this with what you know I would be interested in talking to you. You should also know that the Alex and Ashleigh are very safe and very happy now. Alex’s memory was wiped clean by the brain damage which is some sort of blessing. I am not sure how Alex got to the hospital the night he almost died, but I think your mother had something to do with it. If this is true then we owe her our gratitude. Also, if what I have stated here is not the case, please let me know.

GrandPa

Misti,

Please contact me at hsearles@att.net.

Bill