Once again I have received
an e-mail from someone informing me of a child who has been abused to death.
I want to thank Jenny for all of her help in making it possible to remember
a child who went through so much needless pain and suffering at the hands
of her own parents.
Delcelia Witika
March 21, 1991
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On March 21, 1991, New Zealand authorities
received a phone call from a woman who stated that she had just returned
home to find her two year old daughter dead. Claiming she had been away
for a couple of hours, Tania Witika, the mother of the child, called from
a video store.
The ambulance driver, Martin Smith, found a child
laying dead in the fetal position. Delcelia Witika was laying on a piece
of filthy plastic which was on her bed. On her bottom, feet and hands were
what appeared to be scars from having been burned.
Delcelia had bruises over much of the rest of her
body and was terribly emaciated. Martin asked Eddie Smith about the burns
and was told that Delcelia had fallen into a hot bath a few weeks earlier
and that Eddie had |
not taken her to the hospital to have the burns treated.
The police were initially going to charge only Eddie
Smith and Tania Witika was to be a witness against him. Later, it was determined
that Tania was guilty of not taking Delcelia for proper medical treatment.
Tania clammed that Eddie had been beating her as well as abusing Delcelia,
that when she tried to help Delcelia, he would beat her.
Crime scene photos have proven this to be one of
the worst cases of child abuse ever. Delcelia was use as a punching bag,
her blood was splattered throughout the house on carpets and walls. There
was a pool of blood on the plastic that replaced sheets and a blanket on
Delcelia's bed. Proof that she had vomited during her final night was found
dripping down the bed post. Delcelia's neck showed signs of having been
scratched, her mouth was in terrible shape with some of her teeth having
been smashed and upper lip having been torn away from her gums and she
had scars on her scalp where the hair had been pulled completely out.
On the night that Delcelia died, Tania clammed that
Eddie had held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her if she
did not go to a party with him. A video provided as testimony, later showed
that Tania was partying and having a good time with Eddie at this party
while her daughter lay at home, dying.
As the investigation went on, charges were increased
to include the willful mistreatment of Delcelia from the months of July
1990 to the month of October 1990 causing unnecessary suffering,
failing to provide proper, needed medical care for the burns which were
discovered to have been the result of placing Delcelia into hot water,
murder and manslaughter.
At first, Tania told the police that she alone was
responsible for the death of her daughter. After finding out that Delcelia
had suffered through massive sexual abuse, she said that Eddie was the
one who had been responsible for most of the injuries. Tania pleaded not
guilty to all charges stating that she suffered from Battered-Woman's-
Syndrome" at the hands of Eddie Smith. Eddie blamed everything on Tania.
Eddie Smith pleaded guilty to the first three charges but had the nerve
to plead not guilty to the others.
During the trial, Pathologist Jane Vuleic revealed
that Delcelia had died of Peritonitus which was caused by the blows she
took to her abdomen during the abuse she suffered. Jane Vuleic also stated
that Delcelia suffered from severe malnutrition, burns to 15 percent of
her body, a broken jaw and many other injuries.
The Pathologist at the trial, Jane Vuletic told
the court that Delcelia died of peritonitis caused by blows to her abdomen.
She said Delcelia also suffered from severe malnutrition, a broken jaw,
and burns to 15 per cent of her body and many other injuries.
In December of 1991, Eddie Smith and Tania Witika,
were each sentenced to ONLY 16 years for the torture, abuse
and death of Delcelia. A very small price to pay for the life of a child!
Both were sentenced to 16-year prison terms. Neither
would serve their full sentence. Tania served only 2/3 of her sentence,
Eddie would not serve much more. Tania was paroled in September of 2002
and Eddie in February of 2003. Delcelia was only able to be paroled in
death!
In April of 2003, Tania Witika decided that she wanted
to be a social worker and work with young victims of domestic violence,
going as far as to quit her job in order to do so. New Zealand Social Services
Minister, Steve Maharey has doubts that Tania will ever get to work with
domestic violence victims.
While no one is able to stop Tania from applying
for a job with any Social Service Angency, Maharey says it would be extraordinary
if she got front line work. He compared this scenario to that of a doctor
having been convicted of murder, able to practice again, saying:
"I can't imagine it happening." "I just can't
imagine anybody
in their right mind hiring her. Who would
take the risk of the public disapproval around that?"
National's social services spokeswoman, Katherine
Rich had this to
say about it"
"It would be a major leap of faith for an
employer to offer her a significant position as a social worker. Horrendous
life experiences don't necessarily train a person to deal with other horrendous
life experiences."
Update:
In 2005, Tania married and in 2008 she had another
baby. Custody
of the baby was taken by Child, Youth and Family
before it was even
born. The baby and Tania were under 24 hour supervision
after the
birth. The baby was allowed to go home with the
father while Tania
would have to undergo psychological assessment
and
would have to
prove to CYF that she was a fit parent. Tania,
who now goes by the
last name of Hopping, had no comment about the
situation.
For information about preventing child abuse in New
Zealand, click the links below. 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!
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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