Father Kills Infant Son

[JackJones]

State prosecutors have charged an Arundel, Maine man with murder in the death of his 10-week-old son.

The Attorney General's Office announced that Gordon Collins-Faunce would be charged with depraved indifference murder in addition to elevated aggravated assault, aggravated assault, and assault.

The new charge follows the death of Ethan Henderson Tuesday morning. The boy had been on life-support since he was brought to Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine (last) Saturday morning with brain injuries.

Collins-Faunce told police that he lost control and grabbed the baby by the head and threw it into a chair Saturday morning.

This case is getting lots of attention in Maine and beyond, mostly because it is so tragic and because the Maine Department of Health and Human Services may have failed to act in time to save Ethan.

The best source for links (lots of them) from the beginning of this case (a week ago) is http://MA-NE.net.

Check out the father's Facebook page. He made an entry from jail that he only has 20 minutes because other inmates are waiting!

[tmdgirl]

Omg, is the little guy a twin?? From the asshole's FB pic, they had 2 newborns

RIP sweet Eathen. May you watch over your brother and big sister now.

[Tundratot]

According to court papers, a day care worker reported suspicions that Ethan, his twin brother, Lucas, and the twins' half sister, Neveah, 3, were being abused.

She said that Neveah had shown up at the day care center "covered in bruises" and the two boys were sick but were apparently not being treated, according to the court papers.

The state's Department of Health and Human Services has refused to provide information on the case, including when that report was received and what, if any, action the department took in reponse.

Collins-Faunce told police he also broke Ethan's arm when the baby was a month old, saying he was frustrated by the difficulty he was having changing the child's diaper. He initially made up a story that the baby's arm was broken when he picked Ethan up from his crib and didn't realize that the baby's arm was caught in the rungs.

Ethan apparently was treated for that injury by several doctors, but it's not clear if any of them suspected abuse and reported it to the DHHS, as they are required to do by law.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/moth...012-05-13.html

Infant's grandfather: 'I told him he didn't deserve any of this'
Irving Faunce describes his infant grandson's final hours. His adopted son is formally charged with the baby's murder.

Irving Faunce held his dying grandson in his arms, stared into the boy's unseeing eyes and made two promises.

"My wife and I would do whatever we can do to make sure this doesn't happen again," Faunce said Friday. "I also promised that we would work on his behalf to make sure that those who should be accountable (for) what had happened to him are held accountable."

. . .

According to court papers, Collins-Faunce told police that he was frustrated by Ethan's crying and, after returning from smoking a cigarette outside his mobile home on Limerick Road, grabbed Ethan by the head, squeezed it and threw him into a chair.[So he took a time out and still came back in to do some damage.]

At 10 weeks old, Ethan would have weighed about 10 pounds and the bones of his skull were not fully formed.

. . .

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese asked that a psychological evaluation be done by the State Forensic Service. While the prosecution and the defense agree that Collins-Faunce is competent to stand trial, the evaluation will assess the extent, if any, of psychological problems that might diminish his criminal responsibility.

Prosecutors seek to get such evaluations as soon after an incident as possible. Marchese said Collins-Faunce has indicated he has post-traumatic stress disorder from his service in the military, although family members say he did not serve in combat or ship out overseas and was absent without leave for part of his enlistment.

. . .

Irving Faunce, a health care consultant who is a former mayor of Gardiner, adopted Collins-Faunce when he was 8 and had spent several years in foster care. Authorities say Collins-Faunce was abused in foster care.

Faunce made no excuses for his adopted son Friday, but said he attended the hearing to stand with his son and make sure he has a vigorous defense.

Faunce also described his final hours with Ethan, and how he participated in the infant's baptism in the special care unit of the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland.

"Ethan was severely injured. It was clear what was going to happen. It was clear how irreversible the injury was," Faunce said. "Ethan was so injured that he was blind."

Faunce said he wants to make sure that the people and organizations that might have been in a position to prevent the tragedy are held to account. If Ethan received medical care for a broken arm six weeks earlier -- as Collins-Faunce described to him -- somebody should have reported it, Faunce said.

If the state Department of Health and Human Services had reports of possible abuse in the house -- which court papers indicate -- it should have acted, he said.

. . .

Faunce said that after Ethan was taken off a ventilator, he breathed on his own. "I looked in his eyes and told him that he didn't deserve any of this," Faunce said.

"It was a gift to me to be able to share those hours with Ethan, and I want to share that with everybody -- and share the incredible pain of all of this and to hold, during this horrible process, this horrendous crime, to hold the face of Ethan in front of me," Faunce said.

"And I hope others can do that," he said. "This is about Ethan."

http://www.pressherald.com/news/i-to...012-05-12.html

Back when Irv first welcomed me into his home 14 years ago, the story of Gordon and his two sisters had "happy ending" written all over it.

Taken by the state from their biological parents back in 1992, they'd spent five years bouncing from one foster home to another -- their hopes for a normal, happy childhood growing slimmer with each passing birthday.

Irv and his wife, Jan Collins, lived in Kennebunkport at the time. Married in 1995 -- he was 53, she was 41 -- they wanted a family but weren't able to have children.

So they decided to adopt. And rather than go through the time and expense of a private agency, they registered as "adoptive foster parents" with what was then the Maine Department of Human Services.

Enter Kathy, 10, Gordon, 9, and Sasha, 8.

They'd recently been entered on Maine's registry of foster children in need of permanent homes. And like so many abused and neglected kids who end up wards of the state, these three came with considerable baggage.

"There were some pretty graphic tales," Irv quietly told me that day. "Pretty awful stuff." . . .

There would, of course, be aftershocks from all that had come before.

Kathy's hands involuntarily trembled when she spoke of "the abuse." Gordon, whenever he participated in play-acting games, always cast himself in the role of an orphan.

One night early on, Jan cuddled with the three kids on the couch to read them "Ann of Green Gables" -- the story of an orphan girl who becomes a foster child. By the time the story was over, Jan recalled, "all four of us were sitting on the couch, sobbing." . . .

And over time, as the child therapists eventually told Irv and Jan that regular counseling was no longer necessary, the kids' dark past mercifully faded into the background. . . .

"He didn't get in fights. He didn't beat people up. He wasn't a bully. He wasn't physically aggressive," Irv said.

But then, around the time Gordon turned 18, things changed. Without telling Irv and Jan, Gordon and Kathy reconnected with their biological mother, who lived in Cornish.

And suddenly, Irv said, Gordon wanted out.

"Part of it was, 'I'm 18. I can make my own decisions.' That kind of puffery," Irv recalled.

Gordon went to live with his birth mother and finished his senior year of high school at Sacopee Valley High School in Hiram. He then enlisted in the Army, but received a general discharge after going absent without leave while training for deployment overseas.

Returning to Maine, Gordon moved in with his girlfriend, Christina Henderson, in Farmington. Late last winter, just after Christina gave birth to twin boys Ethan and Lucas, the young parents, two infants and Christina's 3-year-old daughter from a previous relationship moved into a small home in Arundel owned by Gordon's biological father.

Through it all, Irv said, he and Jan heard occasional reports of "anger outbursts" by Gordon as he tried to carve out a life for himself. They saw little of their son, but did their best to stay tethered to him by telephone.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/adop...012-05-13.html

[Tundratot]

Wow! This is some very disturbing and concise information:

What we know…

About Ethan…

1. Ethan received a fatal brain injury likely from either or both of the following:

*Collins-Faunce squeezing, for “one minute max,” the sides of Ethan’s head in a manner where both his (Collins-Faunce’s) elbows we pointing straight out to the sides.

*Collins Faunce throwing Ethan into the living room chair with the force of 8 or 9 on a scale of 10 which caused his head to snap back when he landed.

2. The attending hospital physician reported old and new injuries to the brain.

3. The attending hospital physician reported Ethan was dirty with diaper rash, dirt under his fingernails and toenails, and he had an unwashed belly button.[This points to both parents being less than optimal.]

4. Collins-Faunce and mother both said Ethan had been sick all week. Mother said he was on medication for a viral infection.[Really? Viral infection or effects of the previous brain injury?]

5. There was a Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) referral from a daycare provider that Neveah was covered in bruises and the twins (Ethan and Lucas) were sick and not being treated.

6. Collins-Faunce lied to the police:

*During an initial interview the father stated that in March when Ethan was four weeks old he sustained a hairline fracture to his upper left arm. Father said he was in his crib with a blanket on him and he was not aware Ethan’s arm was caught between the bumper and the crib because it was covered with the blanket. He picked him up and accidentally snapped the arm. No one else was in the room.

*During a subsequent interview Collins-Faunce stated he made up that story because he was scared. He said he was changing Ethan’s diaper on the changing table. Ethan was moving around and he was having trouble changing him. He got angry and frustrated. He grabbed Ethan’s upper left arm, twisted it, and pushed it back.

Ethan was apparently treated for the arm injury by several doctors, but it’s unknown if any of them suspected abuse and reported it to the Department of Health and Human Services, as they are required to do by law.

7. The twins (Ethan and Lucas) were healthy when they were born.

About Collins-Faunce…

1. He admits he was physically and sexually abused as a child while in foster care by different foster parents

2. He admits to being discharged from the Army for holding a knife to a roommate’s throat, going AWOL, and hiding in Biddeford. He was eventually discharged from the Army.

3. He admits to being an alcoholic during most of 2010 but quit drinking.

4. He admits to being on medication for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the physical and sexual abuse as a child and that there was a recent medication change.

http://ma-ne.net/?page_id=2018

[Tundratot]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=3&theater

Cutest portrait of Ethan and his twin, Lucas.

http://media.kjonline.com/documents/...nfant_Case.pdf

Affadavit

[JGo555]

I don't give a flying fuck if your ass was abused or not:

WHY IN THE FUCK DON'T YOU TURN SHIT AROUND & VOW NEVER TO BE LIKE THOSE WHO WRONGED YOU??

Why in the fuck would you become the monster you feared as a kid???

[Nell]

So glad that the adoptive father isn't using this mans bad childhood as an excuse.

Irving Faunce, a health care consultant who is a former mayor of Gardiner, adopted Collins-Faunce when he was 8 and had spent several years in foster care. Authorities say Collins-Faunce was abused in foster care.

Faunce made no excuses for his adopted son Friday, but said he attended the hearing to stand with his son and make sure he has a vigorous defense.

Faunce also described his final hours with Ethan, and how he participated in the infant's baptism in the special care unit of the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland.

"Ethan was severely injured. It was clear what was going to happen. It was clear how irreversible the injury was," Faunce said. "Ethan was so injured that he was blind."

Faunce said he wants to make sure that the people and organizations that might have been in a position to prevent the tragedy are held to account. If Ethan received medical care for a broken arm six weeks earlier -- as Collins-Faunce described to him -- somebody should have reported it, Faunce said.

If the state Department of Health and Human Services had reports of possible abuse in the house -- which court papers indicate -- it should have acted, he said.

. . .

Faunce said that after Ethan was taken off a ventilator, he breathed on his own. "I looked in his eyes and told him that he didn't deserve any of this," Faunce said.

"It was a gift to me to be able to share those hours with Ethan, and I want to share that with everybody -- and share the incredible pain of all of this and to hold, during this horrible process, this horrendous crime, to hold the face of Ethan in front of me," Faunce said.

"And I hope others can do that," he said. "This is about Ethan."

[CbabyRKO]

Ugh. His mustache makes me wanna puke and then roll around in it like a sick dog. He looks like he would be either a paedophile or a baby abusing scum sucker.
Shoot him from the feet up with an AK-47. Make him do a Mexican hat dance as the hot lead hits his legs. Dance bitch, dance! And what's up with the dirty baby? If Ethan was dirty I bet Lucas was too. Did his mom not give two fucks, or did she work while this failure "took care'' of the 3 kids?

[Silvahalo]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=3&theater

Cutest portrait of Ethan and his twin, Lucas.

http://media.kjonline.com/documents/...nfant_Case.pdf

Affadavit

This guy had no business breeding.

From the fb album.
This was baby Ethan.
How precious...born perfect. I'm glad he had his grandpa holding his hand kissing his cheek as he slipped away.
Rest in peace little Ethan Faunce.

[Tundratot]

Friends told the Press Herald that Collins-Faunce had been targeting Ethan, and that his girlfriend had never known.

'He's been targeting Ethan and she just didn't realize it,' Nicole Tucker said.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1vEnje1Hu

So now we have friends who knew about it and didn't apparently make an effort to point it out?

[Bohring]

Ugh. I don't think I have it in me today.

[LadyCygnet]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1vEnje1Hu

So now we have friends who knew about it and didn't apparently make an effort to point it out?

They always seem to come out of the woodwork after a tragedy like this. If I was one of these people, I think I'd hide under a rock out of shame for not calling CPS or offering to babysit the babies or SOMETHING to keep this murder from happening. I sure as hell wouldn't be telling people that I KNEW that my "friend" was targeting one of his children for abuse.

As for this baby-beating asshat, his childhood is no excuse. I know plenty of people who went through horrific abuse (physical, psychological, and sexual abuse), yet they have managed not to kill any of their children.

I don't give a flying fuck if your ass was abused or not:

WHY IN THE FUCK DON'T YOU TURN SHIT AROUND & VOW NEVER TO BE LIKE THOSE WHO WRONGED YOU??

Why in the fuck would you become the monster you feared as a kid???

Precisely.

[Whisper]

Why didn't anyone help ten-week-old baby 'beaten to death by his father' after he was hospitalized with a broken arm last month?
Gordon Collins-Faunce, 23, admitted he was 'losing control' of his children
Grandfather of baby Ethan Henderson wants answers

Health services had been warned about bruises on daughter, three

Collins-Faunce 'had targeted' Ethan and had previously broken his arm
[...]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1vYh4J9MI

[Deja]

Look at this picture - anyone else see a similarity to another babykiller? Lose the 'stache and slap on an ugly black wig - it's Casey Anthony.

[Tundratot]

According to the affidavit, a DHHS worker told police that the department had received a referral -- though it's unclear when -- from a day care provider that Ethan's 3-year-old half sister was "covered in bruises" and Ethan and his twin brother were sick and not getting treatment.

Family members say that Ethan was treated by multiple doctors for the broken arm, though there is no mention in the affidavit of a DHHS referral related to that. It's not clear whether the DHHS was alerted to possible abuse at that point or, if it was, what it did. . . .

But she said the problem of mandated reporters not reporting suspected abuse has continued for years.

"In my experience in school systems and the social services field, people are very frightened and don't want to accuse somebody of something that hasn't actually happened," she said.

She said she expects legislation to be proposed to amend the reporting law to clear up any ambiguity.

Randall Manning, executive director of the Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine, said he is unaware of failure to report becoming a licensing issue in Maine.

He has seen two instances in which families have complained to the licensing board when a doctor has notified the DHHS about suspected abuse, claiming it is a violation of confidentiality.

The cases were dismissed because the reporting is mandated under the law, but Manning suspects that some doctors, especially in small practices, may be wary of violating the complex federal confidentiality law known as HIPPA.

Mosher, the injury review panel's co-chair, said some health care professionals believe it is sufficient to notify a supervisor about suspected abuse.

"When I orient people here," she said of the mental health facility where she works in Augusta, "I tell them, 'You are all mandated reporters. You are not required to run a report by anyone.' I specifically do not want to muzzle our staff."

"There are places where the staff feel they cannot speak directly to the department and they have to go through an administrative structure," she said.

Meister said most reports of suspected abuse come from schools, followed by law enforcement, emergency room staffers and then primary care health workers, including nurse practitioners, physician's assistants and family care doctors.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/revi...012-05-18.html

So, why then did the police not investigate?

And is mandated reporting not happening or failing to make it up the chain of command?

[Pete Bondurant]

Perhaps this infant bore too close a resemblance to the postman.

[LadyCygnet]

The cases were dismissed because the reporting is mandated under the law, but Manning suspects that some doctors, especially in small practices, may be wary of violating the complex federal confidentiality law known as HIPPA.

FFS, it is HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. It is not HIPPA, HIPPO, or HIPA. I am sick of "professional" media outlets screwing that up.

That being said, HIPAA does not conflict whatsoever with mandated reporting, and if people would take the time and READ even the highlights of HIPAA or at least call the Department of Health and Human Services to verify that HIPAA does not override mandated reporting, they would know that.

[Tundratot]

Not surprising . . .

Gordon Collins-Faunce entered not guilty pleas to depraved indifference murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault and assault today in York County Superior Court. The aggravated assault and assault stem from earlier alleged incidents.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Coll...raignment.html

It's probably going to be an affirmative defense.

[Krystal]

Not surprising . . . http://www.pressherald.com/news/Coll...raignment.html

It's probably going to be an affirmative defense.

Self-defense, you know how lethal those 10 week olds can be. I'm lucky to have survived my boys that age.

[DamagedGoods]

I'm going to vastly over-simplify here. Sorry.

If I force your hand onto a smoking hot frying pan hoping to punish you; but never having experienced it myself, I'm cruel. If I have had my own hand forced onto a smoking hot frying pan; thereby having full knowledge of the agony it produces, I'm worse.