Couple Held in Boy’s Death Called Exemplary Parents

A Glendale couple charged with fatally beating their 19-month-old foster son never showed signs of being dangerous and were considered exemplary parents, county and foster care officials said Friday.

“They not only were good, we regarded them as superior,” said Dr. Ronald Ricker, a physician who serves as executive director of the Linden Center, a private agency that contracts with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

“We have not come up with anything that in any way, shape or form that would suggest to us that there was any problem with them at all,” Ricker said.

The foster parents, Maria Del Carmen Elizabeth Paz, 29, and Fernando Enriquez Paz, 34, were charged with murder Friday. Each was in custody on $1-million bail pending arraignment Thursday in Glendale Municipal Court.

County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said Friday he wants the Children’s Services inspector general to investigate the case and report back to the board. The report should include a review of the Paz family’s qualifications and training to become foster parents, he said.

*

Officials said preliminary reviews of the case revealed no obvious errors by the Linden Center or the Department of Children and Family Services in supervising care of the baby, Julio Gonzalez.

Amaryllis Watkins, a division chief for the county department’s specialized programs, which includes foster care, said the circumstances leading to the child’s death are under review.

“There just did not appear to be a problem with these foster parents,” Watkins said. “It’s a shock. We’re quite dismayed.”

County officials said a bruise seen on the child’s left side when a Linden Center social worker visited the family Dec. 20 was determined to be caused by his playing and trying to walk, rather than by abuse.

Also, Julio and his twin brother were seen earlier in December by a pediatrician who indicated the foster parents were taking good care of the boys, officials said.

County and center officials said a social worker from the center was visiting the Paz home at least once a week and a county social worker was visiting each month. The last visit by a county social worker was Nov. 17, and it was unclear Friday when the next visit was due, officials said.

“This does not appear to be a case of system negligence,” said Robert Wiltse, the county department’s foster family agency program manager. “I think everybody was doing what they were supposed to do and unfortunately a tragedy occurred.”

The couple were arrested Tuesday after an autopsy by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office concluded that Julio, who had been taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena in critical condition after suffering breathing problems, died of head trauma Sunday, Glendale police said.

Police said they became involved in the case because “suspicious bruises” were seen on the child.

The toddler’s twin brother and the couple’s biological children, a 9-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl, were taken into protective custody pending further investigation, authorities said.

*

Schuyler Sprowles, a spokesman for the county department, said Julio and his brother were born about four months premature and were taken into protective custody straight from the hospital. The boys were placed in the Pazes’ home July 31, he said.

Sprowles said Julio’s birth mother, who lives in the Lancaster area, was notified of the death. The child’s father, who does not live with the mother, had not been contacted Friday afternoon, Sprowles said.

Ricker and county officials said this was the first death involving the Linden Center since the county began contracting with the center for foster care in October 1991. The center’s foster family program includes about 25 children, Ricker said.

Authorities said the Pazes were foster parents for about nine months, and until the end of November had two other foster children, who were relocated for unrelated reasons.

Police said there were no previous reports of abuse or domestic violence at the Pazes’ home.

Neighbors on East Windsor Road said the Paz family kept mostly to themselves.

“I never noticed anything unusual, but they were just quiet. I hardly ever spoke to them,” said Sirvant Michelian, who lives nearby. “This is so terrible. I can’t believe this kind of thing could happen.”

Deanne Tilton Durfee, executive director of the Los Angeles County Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect, said her agency would hope to complete a review of the case within about 30 days.

“On the face of it there appears to be no blatant dereliction of responsibility,” she said. “We try to prevent this from happening again. That’s the point.”

Correspondent Steve Ryfle contributed to this story.