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Skyla Brooks
June 5, 1998 - March 21, 2000
Born in Oklahoma to a mother who didn't deserve her, Skyla Brooks
came into the world on June 5, 1998 and would leave sooner than she
should have, on March 21, 2000, just a couple of months before she
would have turned two years old.

Skyla's biological parents were not meant to stay together forever. When
the relationship ended, Tammy Renee Brooks had no problem moving
on with her life and that included moving in with a new man. That man,
Kurt Vomberg Jr., would be a huge mistake. It was obvious that Kurt was
more important to Tammy then her own daughter. This seems to be a
terrible pattern that repeats with single mothers, all too often.

Almost immediately, family members began to notice the abuse of Skyla
and Robyn Brooks, her grandmother, tried everything to get Skyla taken
away from Tammy. There seemed to be nothing that Robyn could do to
make that happen. The last time Robyn had seen Skyla, February 16,
2000, Robyn said that Skyla was alert and playful. She had been trying
to get DHS to do something about the abuse and was no successful:

‘‘I do not think DHS was involved as much as they could have 
been, but I also believe DHS workers have too heavy of a load. ‘‘Grandparents also do not have enough say so. Those two 
things worked against Skyla and cost her her life"
Robyn Brooks

Kurt Vomberg had called emergency personnel to his home stating that
Skyla had been choking and he shook her pretty hard in an effort to save
her. Creek County Sheriff, Larry Fugate said:

"but the doctor said that's not possible"

The abuse suffered by Skyla in her short life included being smacked so
hard on the forehead, that it left knuckle marks. Skyla had been bitten 
over most of her body, had broken bones both old and new. Skyla was
also burned with a cigarette and had bruise and torn skin as a result of
having been sexually assaulted.

Below is a picture I HATE to put on this page. I made a decision that if
ONE parent looks at these kinds of pictures and decides that the life of
their child is more important than a new boyfriend or girlfriend, then it is
worth putting them on the pages. I asked myself, how could ANY parent
allow this to happen to their child. Then the answer came to me, there is
no way a parent could allow this to happen to their child. Sadly, some
people are able to make babies and give birth to them, that does NOT
make them a parent. Parents are people who nurture, love and care for
their children, they do NOT allow bad things to happen to them if it is in
their control to stop them from happening.

The official cause of Skyla's death is listed as Shaken Baby Syndrome.

"They let me hold her before she died. I sang three of her favorite nursery songs to her before she passed away in my arms" 
Robyn Brooks

Kurt Arnold Vomberg Jr, who was 30 years old at the time and Tammy
Renee Brooks, who was 27 at the time, were arrested and held in the
Creek County jail on first degree murder and lewd molestation charges
in connection with Skyla's death. Skyla was pronounced dead at the
Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The time was 6:25pm and
the day was March 21, 2000. It had only been 24 hours since she was
admitted to the hospital.

Kurt Vomberg Jr. plead no contest to second degree murder and child
abuse. His sentence for violently killing Skyla was a measly 3 years in
prison. Tammy Renee Brooks received 20 years in prison for child
neglect. It's disgusting that these two will be free some day while Skyla
and those who actually LOVED her will be in a prison for the rest of their
lives.

 News articles:

Sapulpa: Child-abuse prevention program is today
by: Staff Reports
Thursday, April 03, 2008

SAPULPA -- A child-abuse prevention program is set for noon Thursday at the Creek County Court- house gazebo, 222 E. Dewey Ave.

Held as part of Child Abuse Prevention Month, the program will feature speakers, literature, balloons, clowns and a special appearance by Pawnee Bill and his horse.

The keynote speaker will be Mark Gonzales of Oklahoma City, whose daughter Sydney was a shaken infant and now has special needs.

Also, a memory quilt/banner in hon- or of Skyla Brooks will be presented to her grandmother Robyn Brooks.

Skyla was 21 months old when she died in Creek County in 2000 from "Shaken Baby Syndrome" because of abuse inflicted by her mother's boyfriend.

Kurt Vomberg Jr. is serving a prison term for second-degree murder.

The toddler's mother, Tammy Brooks, is serving a prison sentence for child neglect.

In the event of rain, Thursday's program will be moved inside the courthouse, into one of the courtrooms, according to Becky Bland, one of the event's co-chairwomen. 
 


Protecting kids everyone's job
By GINNIE GRAHAM World Staff Writer
4/1/2006

The grandmother of a child who died of abuse speaks out for the victims.

Robyn Brooks wore her granddaughter's photo on her lapel and fought back tears when she spoke of her death.

Skyla Brooks, 21 months old, died in March 2000 from head injuries
caused by violent shaking or blunt force. She also had bite marks on her
scalp and knuckle bruises on her forehead.

"It continually happens," said Brooks, who is Skyla's paternal
grandmother. "After Skyla died and I was at the Child Abuse Network,
they just let me talk. It was at that time I realized how much child
abuse we have going on."

April is Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month, and advocates came together Friday at the Tulsa County Juvenile Center to remind the public of Oklahoma's dire statistics.

In Oklahoma, 51 children died last year from abuse and neglect, the
highest number of deaths in a decade. A record number of foster children -- more than 7,500 -- are in state's care.

For Skyla's slaying, Kurt Vomberg Jr., the mother's boyfriend, pleaded
no contest to second-degree murder and child abuse and received a
35-year prison term. Tammy Renee Brooks, the child's mother, received a 20-year sentence for child neglect.

Brooks said child abuse and neglect is unlike other causes because of
its far-reaching effects. She plans to retire next year and devote
herself full-time to child advocacy.

"Like most people, we knew child abuse happens, but until it happens to
you, it's hard to understand," Brooks said. "It's my passion to make
this real to other people. The public needs to understand and look at
this issue."

Tulsa Juvenile Division Chief Judge Doris Fransein said her docket is
filled with youth who have childhood traumas.

"Our community expresses sympathy for abused and neglected children, but expresses fear and aversion of our delinquent children and are willing to lock them away," Fransein said. "These kids are one and the same."

Being abused or neglected as a child increases the likelihood for arrest
as a juvenile by 59 percent. Abused and neglected children face an
increased likelihood of adult criminal behavior by 28 percent and
violent crime by 30 percent, according to a national Institute of
Justice study.

As many as 80 percent of young adults who had been abused met the
criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder by age 21. About 73
percent of prostitutes were sexually abused as children, and about 95
percent of child abusers were child-abuse victims, according to the
Parent Child Center.

Foster children have more academic difficulties from suppressed
cognitive development and often struggle making meaningful attachments to adults, according to several studies.

The direct cost of child abuse and neglect in the country is about $24
billion a year, which includes maintaining a child welfare system,
health care and law enforcement.

About $69 billion a year is spent in indirect costs, which represent the
long-term costs such as special education services and crime.

"I sense that once the shocking headlines of child abuse fade away, the
public sits back, feeling that child is now being taken care of,"
Fransein said.

"But we cannot sit back until we make sure that child transitions into
adulthood as a productive adult with most of the inflicted injuries
healed."

Brooks started a campaign called Pennies from Heaven to help raise money for the Child Abuse Network, which handles investigations through an interdisciplinary approach at one location.

Family and Children's Services and the Parent Child Center offer
counseling and prevention programs. The Court Appointed Special
Advocates serve as the special interest for a child at the request of a
court.

"Everyone has spare change they can give," she said. "Child abuse is a
major problem. Anytime there's a change, it's a slow change. But this is
something we cannot let people forget." 

For information about preventing child abuse in the state of 
Oklahoma, click the links below. If they can't help you, ask for someone who can. NEVER give up looking for help for an abused child!
Office Of Child Abuse Prevention



Call this number to report child abuse ANY WHERE in the United States!
1-800-4-A-Child  1-800-422-4453





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