Devani, before she was scalded over 80% of her body while in the care of a couple that DCS placed her with. Photo source: AZ Children's Lives Matter Facebook page.
There were no warrant or court order when the social worker made the decision that ruined the life of the little two-year-old girl at the time. This beautiful little girl's life was ruined by DCS because they supposedly were "concerned" that her parents might do her harm in the future. There was no shred of evidence to back up their concern. The whole nightmare was started by an anonymous call reporting a fight the parents had.
There was never any child abuse, or even allegations of such, with Devani’s real parents. Sources have reported that both Michelle and Jonathan were devoted, loving parents who obviously thought the world of Devani.
While in the placement of the first foster home her mother noticed bruises and bite marks on Devani and after the social worker did not act on this her mother, Michelle went to the police and Devani was removed from that home.
Then she was placed in the care of David and Barbara who was approved and licensed foster parents since 2002.
Almost immediately after her daughter was placed with the Frodshams, Michelle saw signs that Devani was being sexually abused. According to reports:
There were thumb marks on her daughter’s hips and arms, scratches, bruises.
She developed a painful, smelly urinary tract infection that Michelle reported to caseworker Jeannette Sheldon and her supervisors, but her concern was dismissed.
Instead, Mr. Frodsham’s wife blamed Michelle, saying that the UTI was from Devani’s real mother giving her too much juice during visitations. Devani was taken to a doctor who worked with DCS, who backed up Mrs. Frodsham’s story and blamed the juice, ignoring the signs of sexual abuse.
The social workers, who are supposed to be trained in recognizing signs of abuse, didn’t question the illogical proposition that, somehow, Devani consumed so much juice in her 2-hour visit per week with her mother, under supervision, that she developed a UTI and kept it for 8 months. Nor did they question the fosters’ neglect in taking Devani to a doctor for medical treatment for an infection which caused her to hold her private area and cry in pain.
Both parents were allowed to visit with Devani in the beginning and the person transporting Devani said the love within the family was obvious.
What they [DCS] were trying to protect her FROM is the exact thing that they did to her.
Mr. Frodsham is currently in prison, serving a 17 year sentence for state and federal crimes. According to the lawsuit:
Thea Gilbert – court-appointed attorney for Devani.
After the pornography pedophile ring was busted by ICE, Gilbert approved Devani’s placement and subsequent adoption by Samantha and Justin Osteraas, despite clear warnings that the woman was prone to violence.
After Devani was adopted by Samantha and Justin Osteraas she has a different legal name but her advocates say that for them she will always be Davani Rose.
Samantha Osteraas of Tucson, Arizona stood accused of scalding her little adoptive child causing third-degree burns to 80% of her body. This results in the amputation of all of her 10 toes.
The now seven-year-old Devani on Friday, October 12 appeared in court and she told the judge and jury what happened to her. The media and people in court did not know what to expect when they saw her as nobody has seen her since the incident.
Although they knew that she had undergone 29 surgeries and skin grafts since she was burned after Christmas in 2016. At some point, she was placed into a medically-induced coma and her organs had been shutting down.
They had no idea that if this little girl can walk. Advocates had no idea if the little girl would be able to walk again. Everybody was happy to see her walk into court.
Devani testified that Samantha Osteraas held her down in the bathtub with a pink towel. She named Osteraas and pointed her out to the jury. Court watchers told us that they saw the trauma on the child’s face when she looked at Osteraas and their eyes met. They reported that their hearts broke as Devani “froze up” for about a half a minute.
Osteraas testified the child got into the hot water on her own and then stayed there until Osteraas found her in a dazed state.
Deputy Pima County Attorney Alan Goodwin had urged jurors to use common sense in deciding whether a child would sit in scalding water as the burns deepened, and whether a mother who claimed to care would wait hours to get help. The girl was “on death’s door” before Osteraas sought help, he said.
She said repeatedly that she was “in shock” and that was why she made 17 phone calls to a paramedic neighbor and his wife as well as to her husband before finally calling 911.
After the verdicts were read, the jurors returned to the deliberation room to decide whether prosecutors had proven three so-called aggravating factors in the case:
that the child had suffered emotionally,
that she was 5 years old when the crime occurred, and
that she was harmed by someone in a position of trust.
The jury found all of these factors were proven, which will allow the judge to consider them when determining Osteraas’ sentence.
Samantha Osteraas of Tucson, Arizona, faces between 10 and 24 years in prison for hurting Devani, the little girl that the Arizona Department of Child Services placed into her care after removing her from a foster home where she was being abused in a pedophilia pornography ring.
Devani’s family, parents and grandmother, were not even allowed to see her testify. They are still fighting and praying that by a miracle their little girl will be returned to them. All they wanted to do was see her with their own eyes, something they was denied since she was so severely injured in foster care and under state supervision. Even a request to see her through a 1-way glass window was denied.
Two of the foster parent placements approved by Thea Gilbert and the Pima County DCS face at least a decade in prison each for heinous crimes committed against children.
Still, Thea Gilbert not only remains involved in the case, but she also refuses to so much as recuse herself.
Just a closing thought. Why are the standards by which biological parents are held accountable, far stricter than those of the biological fosters and adopters?
