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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