When you're poor and find a place you can afford the real REAL threat of being evicted by complaining is overwhelming and so people say nothing to keep a roof over their heads.
I have to' argue that just because the SW's didn't report any adverse situations in her prior foster homes doesn't mean they didn't exist. I worked for several years as a court appointed advocate for children in the foster system and know how overwhelmed the SW's were. The entire system is flawed, and Angelica may not have understood that her own bad decisions would have consequences because her own living arrangements never had consequences. She is an example of how things go wrong in a horrible system.
@@missunderstood8028 Nobody's excusing anything. Plz consider that identifying contributing factors to horrific mistakes only helps us figure out better ways of avoiding such tragedy. People need money to live, to survive, especially in America: where even basic healthcare is designed to saddle you with lifetime debt. And desperation makes most ppl, and most certainly parents, take crazy decisions.
Ugh those sweet brave little babies tried so hard to save themselves. Heartbreaking. Like others have mentioned, my sympathy waned after the 3rd story of neglect. She became her mom, and now her youngest is missing siblings, just like her. What a sad story all the way around.
im not so sure she knew the danger of a fire in the house , but was protecting them to dangers of running on the street . also daycare for a single parent is very hard , she was put in a tough spot
I see that I'm not the only one who is disturbed by the fact that the role of the clearly negligent and at least partially responsible landlord wasn't even commented on ??? Was he just able to "merrily" collect his insurance payout after this absolute disaster that he played an active roll in creating ?
You can’t put your kids lives in the hands of anyone else. If an adult was with the kids they would have gotten out. It’s why you can’t rely on anyone else!! She KNEW the risk of the house, didn’t move and left them open to ALL risk!!! Stop making excuses.
It is reasonable to assume that Angelica suffered from Complex Developmental Trauma (PTSD that has its roots in childhood trauma). She was likely to have anxiety, panic, poor judgement and impaired executuve functions. Poor mothers without reliable childcare are left with few if any choices and can only afford apartments owned by slumlords. Angelica likely learned at an early age not to trust anyone (with good reason) so it is not surprising she would turn down help even when it was available. I have far more compassion for Angelica and I believe her sentence was excessive. I do not think she intended to harm her children.
Absolutely agree, the sentence does seem excessive to me but at least now she is in a place where she can get mental health treatment, something she should have been offered in her childhood after losing her sister in such a traumatising way. Trauma just repeats down the generations. In do wonder where the father of Angelica Belen's children was, and why he couldn't have looked after them while she was working? You make a child, whatever the circumstances, 50% of that child's welfare rests on your shoulders, no ifs, no buts.
I'm skeptical of the "help" that was available. It's very hard to get reliable childcare with no money, let alone childcare for three kids. Plus two of the kids had special needs which makes it harder. Now add that her job required her to work nights and tell me what daycare is available for that schedule? I highly doubt there was as much help available as her relatives claimed. A lot of people just assume government benefits/resources are ample when they've never had to use them.
The landlord is just as guilty as the mother. In any civilized country, it would be his responsibility to leave the house in a good condition before renting it to anyone.
@@eadweard. you're right. He is even more guilty, given the fact that the house had already burned before and the wiring in the basement was never properly looked at. That man is a danger to society.
Rough childhoods aren't an excuse for lack of critical thinking or bad behaviors. So sad those poor children died alone & terrified 😔Great analysis again. Thanks Dr G😊💙❤
Blah blah blah blame (one of) the victim ... pretend there's not a massive amount of research that proves children with damaging childhoods don't disproportionately become damaged adults. Some people are far happier wagging their fingers and piously pontificating than working out how we can support and help dysfunctional young adults transcend their abusive upbringings.
Dr. Grande, I feel like I'm always the negative one, but what about that monstrous landlord?? I have six children and was fortunate to be able to stay home with them. My husband worked. I would never even think about leaving them, but there's something about this case that upsets me. Of course the little children are the first concern and a heartache for their horrible death. But what about the fathers of the children? Child support?? Family support?? There were no specific things brought out for what help she didn't take advantage of. There too much about this terrible case for me to know about a just outcome for her. Where are the fathers of children?? I never had any offer of assistance in my life when our family was barely making it. There's no help for families in America.....get real.
I think she was probably entirely ignorant of the ramifications of the dodgy electrics and have a large empathy deficit in so far as understanding the damage and abusive upbringing has in so far as it mitigates against being an adult whose default position is acting in a rational, organised and responsible way. And it's not as if she was out partying - she was scared about losing her job. I don't see that keeping her locked up in a prison for near two decades is going to help anyone bar the operators of the prison.
"She chose to live a chaotic life" - did she, or was she simply unable to do so due to her state of mind? It's easy to imagine ourselves dealing with problems like superhumans, however in practice how many of us would've cracked under similar pressure?
The consequence of her action was the horrific death of three of her children in the most horrific way imaginable. I'm not sure why adding a gratuitously punitive jail term is going to help that? It might have been better if society cared more about support and remedial help for the victims of abusive upbringings than waiting for them to f-ck up (in this case with unimaginably horrific consequences) and then heap on further misery under the heading of "consequences".
I would want to know a lot more about her cognitive abilities. I wonder if at anytime during contact with CPS if they did any evaluations on her to see if she could even process and implement any of the advice or assistance she was being given. Clearly, she failed her children. Conveniently, juvenile court records are sealed; so we will never know the full extent of just how badly CPS failed both her and her children. I’m a very experienced foster and a medical professional. It didn’t have to end this way.
What a tragic story. My heart breaks for that mother. She seemed like she was trying. I’m sure she was overwhelmed, exhausted and depressed. She didn’t have anyone there to hold her hand or coach her. And that’s what she needed. A coach. Therapy. Assistance. Child care. It’s such an unnecessary tragedy. We ship so much money overseas to be laundered by evil people, so much money wasted while people like this suffer when such a tiny amount of money could employ enough professionals to properly help them. It’s the senselessness of it all and the greed of those in power that makes it difficult not to feel despair.
Thank you for this. Your content is, as always, excellent. I thank G-d that I have never been in the sort of circumstances that this poor woman had to face.
Wouldn't the landlord and city hold some responsibility for leasing an unsafe house to the family? I lived in an apartment that had a pit in the basement where heating pipes ran to other apartments. It was open to soil at least 8 feet down with a wooden plank over it. When it rained and heat was on, moisture and odor would premeate the entire appartment. The landlord wouldn't do anything. I called the health department in town and they said that it was in the basement and not living area and wouldn't do anything. I used a dehumidifier and kept the basement windows open all the time. Helped a little. Wonder if we were being exposed to radon. My ex still lives there.
Depends on area. In a city I used to live in, a bunch of people died in a house fire and the landlord was deemed responsible as the basement suite wasn't up to code for bedrooms (windows too small to escape, etc).
the landlord might bear some responsibility, but, legally, that would not lower the mother's responsibility. She engaged in reckless and neglectful conduct.
Lots of cellars have dirt floors. I suppose the landlord could fill it in with more dirt? It would still be dirt either way. Running a dehumidifier forever won't rid a dirt floor of moisture.
I agree with your assessment, Dr. Grande. My heart breaks for everyone involved in this story. I'd like to share the story of a woman that worked at the same place I did years ago. This story has a completely different outcome for the mother. This woman had 5 children and was home at night with them. Her husband worked the 3rd shift and he realized he'd left his lunch at home. She decided to take it to home at work, leaving her children at home alone. If I recall, they were all in bed. LIke with Angelica, she assumed they'd be fine. While she was gone, the house went up in flames, killing 4 of her 5 children. She wasn't charged with anything and, down the road, she and her husband even had one more child. That was certainly bittersweet. Here's why she probably had a better outcome than Angelica: 1) She was not a previous offender, 2) She had good standing in the community and had a great job, 3) She was a homeowner, and 4) She was upper-middle class. Take what you will from all that. In the end, our company and her community rallied around her, trying to ease her, her husband's, and surviving daughter's pain. Yes, there was some whispering about her terrible decision, but she was afforded more compassion than crucifixion. I've made some bad decisions, myself, and am glad that none led to anything like these 2 cases. I'm prone to believe that most everyone has done the same. At the very least, I hope that people who hear about events such as these learn that some risks are never worth it, and such lessons learned from others' decisions save lives.
This is so sad. I can't imagine being responsible for the death of your babies. How could you live or go on knowing your to blame? She has to live with that every day of her life and there is no escaping it.
Some would sense that Angela and the landlord, share a part of the tragedy on that fateful day, but sense also, that neither of them intended such an event to occur. Should evidence to the contrary come to light, the full weight of the law will be exacted, of that I feel sure. And yes, you are right, she will likely remain rueful of this event the rest of her life, sad as it has been to-date.
I think she was doing the best she could under desperate conditions. No.. she was VERY wrong leaving her children but, her upbringing had to guide her to poor choices. I hope she gets some good therapy while in prison and can get out and live a life that isn’t under desperation circumstances. Not sure this makes sense but I feel a bit sorry for this women yet heartbroken for those beautiful children.
As a mother of a child with disability and ASD, I wouldn't be able to manage if I didn't have my family's support. There are therapy sessions, appointments, home exercises and recurrent hospitalizations. It's not a job for one person.
One of the worst things to happen to society has been excusing people for heinous acts because they had a womp womp bad childhood. Maybe we should sterilize them so they can’t have kids.
I absolutely agree that her sentence was warranted. She knew that what she was doing was wrong. Her unfortunate and traumatic childhood doesn't change the fact that she made a choice that had tragic consequences. It was her responsibility as a mother to protect those poor children, and she failed miserably. I also believe that the fact that those two little boys had disabilities made her choice to leave them locked in a room alone particularly heinous. Bravo Doc Grande for another excellent analysis. ✌️
No way a single woman could successfully care for twins boys with serious medical issues and two other young children. No way you could hold a job etc...
Good evening, Dr Grande. Please do a case on Lou Pearlman, the former manager of Backstreet Boys and N’Sync, also the main character on the 2019 Documentary: Boy Band Con. He was convicted of Ponzi scheme in 2007 until his death in 2016
Happy Black Friday, Dr. Grande! I hope that you and your family had a festive Thanksgiving! As to your analysis of the Angelica Belen case, I agree with you for the most part. Angelica had a tragic past, but her own poor choices and decisions led to having four children out of wedlock at a young age, was unable to provide a safe environment for them, had been evicted from previous residences and was aware, without being an electrician, that something was wrong with the house she finally rented. Leaving a five-year-old in charge of the house while she went off to work, with no other adult present, was both careless and dangerous and locking the children in a room was an invitation to tragedy. But, as you said, she had done this before with no serious consequences, although she had been caught twice before for doing it. She counted on that sort of luck again. What I would like to know is if her IQ had been evaluated beforehand. If she had some mental disabilities, that might explain a lot, as would her performance in school. As for the slumlord that owned the property, who was a notorious slumlord who had been cited by numerous code violations regarding his properties, whatever happened to him? However, as the sole resident adult parent, she bears the brunt of responsibility for the deaths of her children. And as for the sentencing, she probably will not serve the whole term.
What exactly started the fire? Shouldn't the Landlord go to jail too? He must have known how bad the wiring was. I feel he was just as culpable as the mother was.
She had a trauma filled childhood with no one to teach her how to be a good mother. She had children with special needs. She could not find a good paying job but tried to work anyway. The child care situation in this country is horrible. Seems like so much was against her. Yes she used bad judgement but I can't help but feel bad for her.
I feel bad her kids but i don't feel bad for her. So many things happened that led up to this tradegy that should've been wake up calls for her. She also had resources she could have used to help with her childcare issues. How anyone can leave 3 young children home alone for hrs is beyond me.
She had no business having kids AT ALL. Single mom, unfit as a parent, no money, no education, no husband, no house, and on top of that she had a special needs kid. Her and all of her kids should've never been born in the first place. All of them were nothing but a social problem. Hash but true. Neither of them will ever contribute anything positive to society given the circumstances they were living in.
I think if that other mom got 17 months for neglectful death of one child, as you said the equivalent time of about 4.5 years would have been fair for this mom. Plus, she will live with the guilt for the rest of her life. If she were leaving her kids home alone to go out and party, I'd say yes she deserves 18 years or more in prison. But she was not! She was going to a new job she was afraid she would lose. She tried to find care for her kids while she went to work to provide for them. If she did not work, we would label her as a welfare mom. So many people in our society, who are pro life, don't give a sh*t about children's lives after they're born. A young woman who had a horrible upbringing didn't have the good decision making skills to raise these poor children by herself. I hope she gets the mental health support in prison and heals and has a peaceful and meaningful life afterwards. RIP angel children 💔
She was a welfare mom and earned that label. This is a mother of five children with no husband who can't hire a babysitter when she goes to work a mere three-hour shift. I am pro-life and proud of that. I have no sympathy for this "mom." Her disgusting lifestyle didn't magically happen to her, it happened because of her. A woman who was "doing her best" might decide to abstain from having sex (which creates babies) and instead focus on gaining a skill set and a decent place to live. And I seriously doubt this self-centered self-absorbed woman feels an ounce of guilt for murdering her children. She probably thinks it was somehow the fault of other people and that she is the true victim.
You say people who are pro-life don’t care about children once they’re born but you’re also saying 4.5 years is an adequate punishment for a woman responsible for the deaths of her three children? We actually care about children but apparently you don’t because you’re okay with setting a precedent that neglectful mothers who cause the deaths of their children will get a slap on the wrist. We shouldn’t feel bad for her, there’s absolutely no reason she should’ve left those children home alone. I don’t care about her job, her number one responsibility wasn’t her job, it was her kids. They would’ve been better off in foster care than with her...
So, Angelica's mother's boyfriend who killed Angelica's little sister gets 15 years....but Angelica, who has faced nothing but abuse and lack of care throughout her childhood and youth gets 15 years also, when perhaps the landlord was responsible for his badly kept house and therefore fire....perhaps Angelica was not mother of the year, but she was only 19 when she had her 1st baby, only 19, only 19, only 19 with no support really...just think of all the children who have support and good homes, at 19 just graduating high school, with proud, loving parents showering gifts and loving support......then imagine Angelica's daily life...poor Angelica, her poor babies, human tragedy, so heartbreaking for all the neglected children like Angelica.
Dr. Grande, where is your new brick wall? Also, thank you for telling the story of poor people who just can't get things right. Sad all the way around.
Loved your thoughts on punishment. You always help us understand the law as it pertains to human behaviour. Thanks for your hard work. Keep it up and take care.
Thank you for being on RUclips, Dr. Grande!! Your videos are so entertaining and informative. And you put out more content than most people, so I always have more videos to watch!! My mom, dad, brother and I love your channel, we are ordering gear for my parents for xmss, they're going to be so excited.
In the early 1920s, before the Depression, children were turned out for exercise and sunshine. My 5 year old Mother ran to her friend's house. The friend was behind a screen door and locked in while her Mother ran to the store.The store was 2 blocks away and it was common to walk that distance. According to my Mother, her friend found matches and started a small fire. It was a small house and had a kerosene heater and kerosene was also used to bring out the shine of old wood. To remove the scent it was aired out doors. You can imagine the rest of the story. My Mother did not go for help because she was trying to get the door open. The other child burned before her eyes. The other child was found in front of the screen door her hands against my mother's hands which were also burned. It was a nightmare she never forgot. The Mother of the deceased child did not face criminal charges at all. The loss of her child was considered to be sufficient. However, she did not lie to the authorities to trry to deny blame at all. There was not even a hint that she should suffer more than she had. She was not under the eye of that era's social services. As far as my Mother was aware the entire community came together to physically and spiritually support the family. How times cham
Tragic. I think people with little to no means need to think hard of their future if it ends up as kids instead of lust. Great point of wreckless actions could carry the worst case scenario.
A word on the electrical issues. Its easy for an amateur to mistakenly wire a circuit, from the electrical panel to 240V, instead of the intended 120V. Or it could have been done deliberately. The house could have originally had a gas stove, but the owner replaced with an electrical one requiring a 240V circuit. Instead of adding a new circuit, he just rewired an existing one from 120V to 240V. That can simply be done by moving that circuit's neutral at the electrical panel to a spare breaker, of opposite phase. It also explains the light popping, if it was on that same circuit. Its a very easy and cost saving corner to cut.
Quire horrible situation. But laws these days are so strict. In the 80s it was normal that I was home alone at 5 5 days a week. I loved the hours before the test of my family was home. At 6 I got up alone and came home alone. She didn't burn down the house she just had no option but to leave them to provide for them. She couldn't know the house catches on fire
No not poor lady b shit u don't lock 3 young children up and go to work OK I was caught in a house fire my gas bottle exploded only just survived so I know what those poor children endured and how they died so that shit mother should be charged with capital murder go figure ........ .
This one was really hard for me to listen to. I was rocking my two year old to sleep. I felt such a lump in my throat, thinking about how scared those babies must have been with the fire, even more so when you described them putting toys in the corner trying to get out. I had a friend in high school who had an accident involving a fire and things with fire are touchy with me. Not much bothers me, but, this one got me.
So so tragic.. it sounds like she was trying... had gotten a job, tried to find a sitter for her children. I imagine its quite difficult to watch after 3 children especially children with health issues. And the availability of childcare in this country is ABYSMAL! There actually may not be such a thing as extremely early morning or very late childcare, which makes it very hard to get by as a worker.
Your viewpoint of the worst-case scenario being the expectation for a reckless act and those being fortunate when that does not happen is particularly valid and insightful. I hope you do not mind if I borrow...
Dr. Grande would you consider looking at the parents of Jan Broberg? Netflix did a documentary about her called Abducted in Plain Sight. She is an actress who was kidnapped twice as a child by a family friend. Thank you!
PLEASE DO A PROFILE ON JASON DAVID FRANK. He was the Green /White Ranger on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers who tragically lost his battle with Mental Illness November 19th 2022. Guy was a childhood hero for thousands of us. PLEASE I think you are the only channel that could examine him with with respect he deserves. Please like if you agree so Dr Grande Notices.
How much better would it be if she had not had those children in the first place? She probably wanted and needed someone to love her. That's often why young women in terrible poverty and fairly hopeless circumstances manage to get pregnant, thus making their situations impossible. If I could be ruler of the world birth control would be mandatory from the age of possibility of conception, for both boys and girls, and no one should be allowed to have a child until they have passed required courses, cared for children in a monitored setting, and passed required tests for a license. Society and all its members would benefit enormously from this law.
This is such a tragic case it's painful to comment about it. What a terrible death the children had to endure. The twins were adorable. Angelica was clearly irresponsible and if she has a conscience she will be tortured by it far more than the 18 years she has to spend in prison. I feel bad for her too. This is a sad story all the way around. She may not have realized the on and off again lights could cause a fire, and I can understand how she might have been fearful to report it based on a rent increase or eviction. I can also understand her rationale in terms of locking her children in one room. She probably thought it would be safer than having them fall down the stairs or wander down into the basement, But I don't understand her leaving them alone or unsupervised, Especially when she had other options.
I agree her sentence as being fair. I can empathize somewhat; her circumstances being an overwhelmed single mother of 4 children (a couple with disabilities), unemployment, no childcare, and a dogged determination to prove she could handle it on her own. But she did have plenty of red flags and warnings, plus support continuously offered to her. She knew right from wrong. She got what she deserved, the children didn't. RIP little babies🌹
There is no way a person should be expected to schedule their life around the possibility that a fire will suddenly break out in their house. I can understand the neglect charge, but the government doesn't prevent slumlords from creating an unexpectedly unsafe environment. The deaths can be attributed to predatory practices of the American housing system. The social care system can't say that she was confirmed to be an unsuitable mother because then they should have taken her children away, which they didn't. Technically, since they didn't do their job and they are the overseers of children in the government, they should be put on trial. I don't like how society puts her in a position to fail, then claims it is 100% her fault for being in that position.
So by your reasoning someone with a DWI should go to jail for the same amount of time as a drunk driver who killed someone, I would be good with that I guess but it doesn't happen. You say services were available to her. Did you ever try to get those services? Those social workers want people off their rolls no matter what. My daughter was married to a man who abused her and when she left, she tried to get help. What a joke that was. She would fill out paperwork, turn it in and on the very last day they would claim they never got it, or they needed something else, but it was too late, and she had to reapply and then in the next 30 days they would pull that crap again. Twice I myself turned her paperwork in, made them give me a receipt and they still tried to claim they never got it.
I think she just really wanted to work for a living and it all just went really really wrong.. she definitely definitely didnt want this to happen. She kept leaving the kids alone, because she was alone. Its just so so sad.
I think it should be also discussed, if there was any fault on the side of social workers who left the children with her when she a) repeatedly failed to not leave them alone; b) had a history of probably not being a very mentally stable person. She certainly didn't leave them unattended only the two (or three, counting the fatal one) reported cases...
There was no intent. No malice. The young woman was overwhelmed with 4 kids. No money, no parents and a government more interested in funding illegal aliens than providing adequate assistance for living expenses. I have first hand experience with this. Her life was a ticking time bomb. The punishment was despicable. In the UK women do not go to prison for infanticide... Mental illness is assumed...and the death of her children was punishment enough. She was treated worse than most rapists and murderers in NYC. There are laws against excessive punishment. Of course, men have no idea how difficult it is to raise even one child on your own.
Intent doesn’t really matter, would it be any different if she was overwhelmed and killed them to rid herself of responsibility? Not really, still three people died. At some point you have to take responsibility for the choices you make.
Ooooo, for the first time I do not agree with you. I have children and I suddenly became sick. It's affected my life drastically. As a result, everything that could go wrong has and despite my strongest efforts of turning things back around reaching for all the aid from the likes of the government and my doctors, I have been put off or straight up denied so many times to the point that I'm accepting my fate. it is a struggle that I don't think I will come out of alive. I would hope that the very same people who've turned me down would not speak on my behalf when I'm gone. It is not my fault but literally everyone else's to why everything is bad. I've done everything I'm supposed to do and waited like they said. Ive waited and waited. Months would go by and no progress. But as soon as I miss a call, everything is denied just like that. I've never dealt with anything like this in my life and is baffled at how and why doctors and the government claim they will help but truthfully only have you jumping through hoop after hoop after hoop in hopes of exhausting you to the point of insanity with so much because they put you through. It's discouraging it's disheartening and I am extremely depressed and hopeless now. And if there was something at the end, it came at a huge price. My life is turned upside down and will never be the same again. I've lost so much and is still losing. This woman had probably reached a point that I am on my way of reaching. she believed she had to put her kids in an unsafe place. Either that or the streets or car. her family is not there for her either and their fathers aren't around. She was truly alone like me but didn't give up maintaining a job. It's overwhelming and not to mention she most likely had mental issues on top of taking care of young ones who themselves had disabilities . She needed help in the most way, but everyone expected her to do it alone. The only thing that didn't sound right was her immediately lying that her sister was inside with the kids. She was either so overwhelmed of the persecution of her by the state, or she really didn't do the best she could and knew that. At the point if seeing my place on fire knowing that i consciously took the chance on leaving my kids behind for a job, my heart would sink and I would give up right then and there. I would probably die on the spot from a broken heart. Here I've lost my two kids because the government placed so much importance on me having a job to show that I'm trying. It's hard to make great decisions overwhelmed exhausted yet here we are expected to.
I've read a lot of comments and I swear this story would have been the perfect topic for our nature vs nurture debate in my psychology class. I have so many questions though. Where was the father? Why keep having children with deadbeats? She couldn't afford to raise herself, why have kids at all? I'm not trying to judge, just genuinely curious. Also, I understand the need to work, so I get that she was backed into a corner the ONE time. However, her leaving her children unattended seemed to be a bit of a pattern with her. There was so many different decisions she could have made.
How awful! Those poor babies! I can’t imagine leaving children at their ages home alone!! When my fuses pop bc of a gfi, I kinda thought it was to protect from fire?? I’m going to have an electrician come to fix one of my outdoor boxes!
Terrible parent, so sad to hear this story and the fate of the kids. Even when she arrived at the scene of the fire, Angelica immediately started to lie to circumvent accountability. Every child deserves good parents. Not every parent deserves children. Angelica should be in jail for longer imo.
We don't know 100% of the circumstances of her situation. Clearly she was overwhelmed by having 4 children and being a single mother. With that said, what were her reasons for declining additional resources and refusing outside help? Having the answers to those questions, would likely shed more light onto our understanding of why she made the repeated decision to leave her children alone. I think her punishment was fair, looking strictly at her case only. I can't imagine the punishment she dishes out to herself every night before sleep. Such a tragic story all around.
Just a reminder I'm not diagnosing anybody in this video; only speculating when someone is arrested for starting a fire but it might have just been a bunch of oily rags in a corner in a garage like this.
![DDG & G Herbo - Nosey [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/I9Ra0Zc2NlQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Some do not choose to live in chaos. They just have never known anything different.
Not a defense. Fully responsible. They suffered awfully. She didn’t have to have kids she couldn’t afford or care for
When you're poor and find a place you can afford the real REAL threat of being evicted by complaining is overwhelming and so people say nothing to keep a roof over their heads.
the depth of damage to a child is illuminated by her life-story through adulthood
I have to' argue that just because the SW's didn't report any adverse situations in her prior foster homes doesn't mean they didn't exist. I worked for several years as a court appointed advocate for children in the foster system and know how overwhelmed the SW's were. The entire system is flawed, and Angelica may not have understood that her own bad decisions would have consequences because her own living arrangements never had consequences. She is an example of how things go wrong in a horrible system.
Absolutely. It’s more common than not as horrifying to imagine. That’s one of the reasons I became a foster parent. To be one of the good homes.
Agree
Oh plz, for real?
There's no excuse for this.
Trade your children for a 3 hour shift?
F that, you call out. I'm sure she's familiar with that.
Thank you!
@@missunderstood8028 Nobody's excusing anything. Plz consider that identifying contributing factors to horrific mistakes only helps us figure out better ways of avoiding such tragedy. People need money to live, to survive, especially in America: where even basic healthcare is designed to saddle you with lifetime debt. And desperation makes most ppl, and most certainly parents, take crazy decisions.
Ugh those sweet brave little babies tried so hard to save themselves. Heartbreaking. Like others have mentioned, my sympathy waned after the 3rd story of neglect. She became her mom, and now her youngest is missing siblings, just like her. What a sad story all the way around.
What’s all that stuff in the background on your new set? It’s rather strange & distracting.
im not so sure she knew the danger of a fire in the house , but was protecting them to dangers of running on the street . also daycare for a single parent is very hard , she was put in a tough spot
I see that I'm not the only one who is disturbed by the fact that the role of the clearly negligent and at least partially responsible landlord wasn't even commented on ???
Was he just able to "merrily" collect his insurance payout after this absolute disaster that he played an active roll in creating ?
You can’t put your kids lives in the hands of anyone else. If an adult was with the kids they would have gotten out. It’s why you can’t rely on anyone else!! She KNEW the risk of the house, didn’t move and left them open to ALL risk!!! Stop making excuses.
It is reasonable to assume that Angelica suffered from Complex Developmental Trauma (PTSD that has its roots in childhood trauma). She was likely to have anxiety, panic, poor judgement and impaired executuve functions. Poor mothers without reliable childcare are left with few if any choices and can only afford apartments owned by slumlords. Angelica likely learned at an early age not to trust anyone (with good reason) so it is not surprising she would turn down help even when it was available. I have far more compassion for Angelica and I believe her sentence was excessive. I do not think she intended to harm her children.
I agree.
I agree too.
Absolutely agree, the sentence does seem excessive to me but at least now she is in a place where she can get mental health treatment, something she should have been offered in her childhood after losing her sister in such a traumatising way. Trauma just repeats down the generations. In do wonder where the father of Angelica Belen's children was, and why he couldn't have looked after them while she was working? You make a child, whatever the circumstances, 50% of that child's welfare rests on your shoulders, no ifs, no buts.
I concur
🦋
I'm skeptical of the "help" that was available. It's very hard to get reliable childcare with no money, let alone childcare for three kids. Plus two of the kids had special needs which makes it harder. Now add that her job required her to work nights and tell me what daycare is available for that schedule?
I highly doubt there was as much help available as her relatives claimed. A lot of people just assume government benefits/resources are ample when they've never had to use them.
The landlord is just as guilty as the mother. In any civilized country, it would be his responsibility to leave the house in a good condition before renting it to anyone.
Not _as_ guilty, no.
@@eadweard. you're right. He is even more guilty, given the fact that the house had already burned before and the wiring in the basement was never properly looked at. That man is a danger to society.
"The worst case scenario should be the expectation of an offender who is reckless."
🔥
Facts.
Rough childhoods aren't an excuse for lack of critical thinking or bad behaviors. So sad those poor children died alone & terrified 😔Great analysis again. Thanks Dr G😊💙❤
Not an excuse butdefinitely a cause
@@valjohnson1927 Was a factor not a cause. Our choices generally are causes.
@@zenawarrior7442 a causing factor
Blah blah blah blame (one of) the victim ... pretend there's not a massive amount of research that proves children with damaging childhoods don't disproportionately become damaged adults.
Some people are far happier wagging their fingers and piously pontificating than working out how we can support and help dysfunctional young adults transcend their abusive upbringings.
@@simonw1313 ❤️❤️❤️
This story is a good example of how people with problems tend to accumulate more problems.
Dr. Grande, I feel like I'm always the negative one, but what about that monstrous landlord??
I have six children and was fortunate to be able to stay home with them. My husband worked. I would never even think about leaving them, but there's something about this case that upsets me. Of course the little children are the first concern and a heartache for their horrible death. But what about the fathers of the children? Child support?? Family support?? There were no specific things brought out for what help she didn't take advantage of. There too much about this terrible case for me to know about a just outcome for her. Where are the fathers of children?? I never had any offer of assistance in my life when our family was barely making it. There's no help for families in America.....get real.
I agree. I think it's easy for us to judge. I think it's hard to find anyone to babysit special needs children.
I immediately wondered how she could afford daycare or a sitter on a hostess salary
I think she was probably entirely ignorant of the ramifications of the dodgy electrics and have a large empathy deficit in so far as understanding the damage and abusive upbringing has in so far as it mitigates against being an adult whose default position is acting in a rational, organised and responsible way. And it's not as if she was out partying - she was scared about losing her job.
I don't see that keeping her locked up in a prison for near two decades is going to help anyone bar the operators of the prison.
I love how Dr. Grande always compassionately cuts through the bullshit.
"She chose to live a chaotic life" - did she, or was she simply unable to do so due to her state of mind? It's easy to imagine ourselves dealing with problems like superhumans, however in practice how many of us would've cracked under similar pressure?
Totally agree.
Agree, strongly.
She chose to get pregnant and have 4 children.
@@nealkelly9757 - You exaggerate the degree of rationality that actually existing humans exhibit.
@@nealkelly9757 She chose to have sex with a loser/s who didn't help look after the children he produced.
Thanks for sharing this one Dr Grande. I do feel for Angelica, but I don’t think it excuses her from the consequences of her actions.
The consequence of her action was the horrific death of three of her children in the most horrific way imaginable. I'm not sure why adding a gratuitously punitive jail term is going to help that?
It might have been better if society cared more about support and remedial help for the victims of abusive upbringings than waiting for them to f-ck up (in this case with unimaginably horrific consequences) and then heap on further misery under the heading of "consequences".
I would want to know a lot more about her cognitive abilities. I wonder if at anytime during contact with CPS if they did any evaluations on her to see if she could even process and implement any of the advice or assistance she was being given. Clearly, she failed her children. Conveniently, juvenile court records are sealed; so we will never know the full extent of just how badly CPS failed both her and her children. I’m a very experienced foster and a medical professional. It didn’t have to end this way.
What a tragic story. My heart breaks for that mother. She seemed like she was trying. I’m sure she was overwhelmed, exhausted and depressed. She didn’t have anyone there to hold her hand or coach her.
And that’s what she needed. A coach. Therapy. Assistance. Child care.
It’s such an unnecessary tragedy.
We ship so much money overseas to be laundered by evil people, so much money wasted while people like this suffer when such a tiny amount of money could employ enough professionals to properly help them.
It’s the senselessness of it all and the greed of those in power that makes it difficult not to feel despair.
Thank you for this. Your content is, as always, excellent. I thank G-d that I have never been in the sort of circumstances that this poor woman had to face.
Wouldn't the landlord and city hold some responsibility for leasing an unsafe house to the family? I lived in an apartment that had a pit in the basement where heating pipes ran to other apartments. It was open to soil at least 8 feet down with a wooden plank over it. When it rained and heat was on, moisture and odor would premeate the entire appartment. The landlord wouldn't do anything. I called the health department in town and they said that it was in the basement and not living area and wouldn't do anything. I used a dehumidifier and kept the basement windows open all the time. Helped a little. Wonder if we were being exposed to radon. My ex still lives there.
Depends on area. In a city I used to live in, a bunch of people died in a house fire and the landlord was deemed responsible as the basement suite wasn't up to code for bedrooms (windows too small to escape, etc).
the landlord might bear some responsibility, but, legally, that would not lower the mother's responsibility. She engaged in reckless and neglectful conduct.
Lots of cellars have dirt floors. I suppose the landlord could fill it in with more dirt? It would still be dirt either way. Running a dehumidifier forever won't rid a dirt floor of moisture.
Dr Grande seems very thorough with this analysis. He emphasizes the factual information we all need to know about.
Always.
Please cover the Squilla Robinson Cabo Mexico murder case
i only dispute that she knew the dangers of the flickering light in the house . i wouldnt automatically think fire trap.
I agree with your assessment, Dr. Grande. My heart breaks for everyone involved in this story. I'd like to share the story of a woman that worked at the same place I did years ago. This story has a completely different outcome for the mother. This woman had 5 children and was home at night with them. Her husband worked the 3rd shift and he realized he'd left his lunch at home. She decided to take it to home at work, leaving her children at home alone. If I recall, they were all in bed. LIke with Angelica, she assumed they'd be fine. While she was gone, the house went up in flames, killing 4 of her 5 children. She wasn't charged with anything and, down the road, she and her husband even had one more child. That was certainly bittersweet. Here's why she probably had a better outcome than Angelica: 1) She was not a previous offender, 2) She had good standing in the community and had a great job, 3) She was a homeowner, and 4) She was upper-middle class. Take what you will from all that. In the end, our company and her community rallied around her, trying to ease her, her husband's, and surviving daughter's pain. Yes, there was some whispering about her terrible decision, but she was afforded more compassion than crucifixion. I've made some bad decisions, myself, and am glad that none led to anything like these 2 cases. I'm prone to believe that most everyone has done the same. At the very least, I hope that people who hear about events such as these learn that some risks are never worth it, and such lessons learned from others' decisions save lives.
Dr. Grande I've been wanting to to tell you I like the background lights.
This is utterly heartbreaking, poor children.💔😢
Thank you for the insightful analysis, Dr.Grande.❤
This is so sad. I can't imagine being responsible for the death of your babies. How could you live or go on knowing your to blame? She has to live with that every day of her life and there is no escaping it.
Some would sense that Angela and the landlord, share a part of the tragedy on that fateful day, but sense also, that neither of them intended such an event to occur. Should evidence to the contrary come to light, the full weight of the law will be exacted, of that I feel sure. And yes, you are right, she will likely remain rueful of this event the rest of her life, sad as it has been to-date.
i guess she can live knowing she did not intend for them to die but was trying to work to feed them
@@tankthearc9875 She left them ALONE. And there IS something called food stamps and wick. No excuse PERIOD.
I think she was doing the best she could under desperate conditions. No.. she was VERY wrong leaving her children but, her upbringing had to guide her to poor choices. I hope she gets some good therapy while in prison and can get out and live a life that isn’t under desperation circumstances. Not sure this makes sense but I feel a bit sorry for this women yet heartbroken for those beautiful children.
As a mother of a child with disability and ASD, I wouldn't be able to manage if I didn't have my family's support. There are therapy sessions, appointments, home exercises and recurrent hospitalizations. It's not a job for one person.
One of the worst things to happen to society has been excusing people for heinous acts because they had a womp womp bad childhood. Maybe we should sterilize them so they can’t have kids.
@@RawiahAlshehri presumably she wasn’t forced to have kids.
There isn’t an appropriate “BUT” before she left her children
Actually if she refused help and continued to have kids she couldn’t care for that was not ‘doing her best.’
Wow. These dads just skate by. No consequences ever.
I absolutely agree that her sentence was warranted. She knew that what she was doing was wrong. Her unfortunate and traumatic childhood doesn't change the fact that she made a choice that had tragic consequences. It was her responsibility as a mother to protect those poor children, and she failed miserably. I also believe that the fact that those two little boys had disabilities made her choice to leave them locked in a room alone particularly heinous.
Bravo Doc Grande for another excellent analysis. ✌️
The landlord should hold responsabilty for renting a house that is not suitable for living.
I'm surprised this doesn't occur more often 😕
*Dr Todd Grande Angelica Belen behavior problem foster care appreciate your videos Listening 🌟 from Mass USA TYVM 💙 Todd*
No way a single woman could successfully care for twins boys with serious medical issues and two other young children. No way you could hold a job etc...
Basements give me the creeps too. I lived in a house for three years and never once entered the basement there. 😂
I like your doggie!!
Dr Grande with another banger!!!!
OMG, that's a heartbreaking story!
Good evening, Dr Grande. Please do a case on Lou Pearlman, the former manager of Backstreet Boys and N’Sync, also the main character on the 2019 Documentary: Boy Band Con.
He was convicted of Ponzi scheme in 2007 until his death in 2016
Whoa! That is such a sad story....those poor children.😢 Excellent analysis, Dr. Grande. ❤️
Happy Black Friday, Dr. Grande! I hope that you and your family had a festive Thanksgiving!
As to your analysis of the Angelica Belen case, I agree with you for the most part. Angelica had a tragic past, but her own poor choices and decisions led to having four children out of wedlock at a young age, was unable to provide a safe environment for them, had been evicted from previous residences and was aware, without being an electrician, that something was wrong with the house she finally rented.
Leaving a five-year-old in charge of the house while she went off to work, with no other adult present, was both careless and dangerous and locking the children in a room was an invitation to tragedy. But, as you said, she had done this before with no serious consequences, although she had been caught twice before for doing it. She counted on that sort of luck again.
What I would like to know is if her IQ had been evaluated beforehand. If she had some mental disabilities, that might explain a lot, as would her performance in school.
As for the slumlord that owned the property, who was a notorious slumlord who had been cited by numerous code violations regarding his properties, whatever happened to him?
However, as the sole resident adult parent, she bears the brunt of responsibility for the deaths of her children. And as for the sentencing, she probably will not serve the whole term.
Black Friday? That’s racists
Adore your analysis Dr. Grande!
What exactly started the fire? Shouldn't the Landlord go to jail too? He must have known how bad the wiring was. I feel he was just as culpable as the mother was.
She had a trauma filled childhood with no one to teach her how to be a good mother. She had children with special needs. She could not find a good paying job but tried to work anyway. The child care situation in this country is horrible. Seems like so much was against her. Yes she used bad judgement but I can't help but feel bad for her.
I feel bad her kids but i don't feel bad for her. So many things happened that led up to this tradegy that should've been wake up calls for her. She also had resources she could have used to help with her childcare issues.
How anyone can leave 3 young children home alone for hrs is beyond me.
She had no business having kids AT ALL. Single mom, unfit as a parent, no money, no education, no husband, no house, and on top of that she had a special needs kid. Her and all of her kids should've never been born in the first place. All of them were nothing but a social problem. Hash but true. Neither of them will ever contribute anything positive to society given the circumstances they were living in.
In this case isn't there some justice when a landlord won't upgrade? Sounds very obvious that Angelica couldn't keep up! Maybe I'm missing something.
I always enjoy your podcasts.
I enjoy your analysis.
But, I'm glad that I like to stay home with my cat and dog.
Thank you
Peace 💕🇺🇲
I think if that other mom got 17 months for neglectful death of one child, as you said the equivalent time of about 4.5 years would have been fair for this mom. Plus, she will live with the guilt for the rest of her life. If she were leaving her kids home alone to go out and party, I'd say yes she deserves 18 years or more in prison. But she was not! She was going to a new job she was afraid she would lose. She tried to find care for her kids while she went to work to provide for them. If she did not work, we would label her as a welfare mom. So many people in our society, who are pro life, don't give a sh*t about children's lives after they're born. A young woman who had a horrible upbringing didn't have the good decision making skills to raise these poor children by herself. I hope she gets the mental health support in prison and heals and has a peaceful and meaningful life afterwards. RIP angel children 💔
She was a welfare mom and earned that label. This is a mother of five children with no husband who can't hire a babysitter when she goes to work a mere three-hour shift.
I am pro-life and proud of that. I have no sympathy for this "mom." Her disgusting lifestyle didn't magically happen to her, it happened because of her. A woman who was "doing her best" might decide to abstain from having sex (which creates babies) and instead focus on gaining a skill set and a decent place to live.
And I seriously doubt this self-centered self-absorbed woman feels an ounce of guilt for murdering her children. She probably thinks it was somehow the fault of other people and that she is the true victim.
You said this perfectly.
You say people who are pro-life don’t care about children once they’re born but you’re also saying 4.5 years is an adequate punishment for a woman responsible for the deaths of her three children? We actually care about children but apparently you don’t because you’re okay with setting a precedent that neglectful mothers who cause the deaths of their children will get a slap on the wrist.
We shouldn’t feel bad for her, there’s absolutely no reason she should’ve left those children home alone. I don’t care about her job, her number one responsibility wasn’t her job, it was her kids.
They would’ve been better off in foster care than with her...
So, Angelica's mother's boyfriend who killed Angelica's little sister gets 15 years....but Angelica, who has faced nothing but abuse and lack of care throughout her childhood and youth gets 15 years also, when perhaps the landlord was responsible for his badly kept house and therefore fire....perhaps Angelica was not mother of the year, but she was only 19 when she had her 1st baby, only 19, only 19, only 19 with no support really...just think of all the children who have support and good homes, at 19 just graduating high school, with proud, loving parents showering gifts and loving support......then imagine Angelica's daily life...poor Angelica, her poor babies, human tragedy, so heartbreaking for all the neglected children like Angelica.
Dr. Grande, where is your new brick wall? Also, thank you for telling the story of poor people who just can't get things right. Sad all the way around.
Loved your thoughts on punishment. You always help us understand the law as it pertains to human behaviour. Thanks for your hard work. Keep it up and take care.
Omg the toys under the window and to get attention completely broke my heart
Mine too 🥺💔
Thank you for being on RUclips, Dr. Grande!! Your videos are so entertaining and informative. And you put out more content than most people, so I always have more videos to watch!! My mom, dad, brother and I love your channel, we are ordering gear for my parents for xmss, they're going to be so excited.
Wow Dr Grande churning out great videos!!! Thank you ❤
In the early 1920s, before the Depression, children were turned out for exercise and sunshine. My 5 year old Mother ran to her friend's house. The friend was behind a screen door and locked in while her Mother ran to the store.The store was 2 blocks away and it was common to walk that distance. According to my Mother, her friend found matches and started a small fire. It was a small house and had a kerosene heater and kerosene was also used to bring out the shine of old wood. To remove the scent it was aired out doors. You can imagine the rest of the story. My Mother did not go for help because she was trying to get the door open. The other child burned before her eyes. The other child was found in front of the screen door her hands against my mother's hands which were also burned. It was a nightmare she never forgot. The Mother of the deceased child did not face criminal charges at all. The loss of her child was considered to be sufficient. However, she did not lie to the authorities to trry to deny blame at all. There was not even a hint that she should suffer more than she had. She was not under the eye of that era's social services. As far as my Mother was aware the entire community came together to physically and spiritually support the family. How times cham
So sad! Single parenting is overwhelming.
Tragic. I think people with little to no means need to think hard of their future if it ends up as kids instead of lust. Great point of wreckless actions could carry the worst case scenario.
Great one ! The ghost bit was hilarious! Haha
Hello 👋 good Dr. Grande . Another excellent analysis with humor 😀 about the ghost. But it's a really sad 😟 case. Thank you
A word on the electrical issues. Its easy for an amateur to mistakenly wire a circuit, from the electrical panel to 240V, instead of the intended 120V. Or it could have been done deliberately. The house could have originally had a gas stove, but the owner replaced with an electrical one requiring a 240V circuit. Instead of adding a new circuit, he just rewired an existing one from 120V to 240V. That can simply be done by moving that circuit's neutral at the electrical panel to a spare breaker, of opposite phase. It also explains the light popping, if it was on that same circuit. Its a very easy and cost saving corner to cut.
Considering her record of recklessness and being corrected on yet she continued a path of danger for her children. 18 years is appropriate
Quire horrible situation. But laws these days are so strict. In the 80s it was normal that I was home alone at 5 5 days a week. I loved the hours before the test of my family was home. At 6 I got up alone and came home alone.
She didn't burn down the house she just had no option but to leave them to provide for them. She couldn't know the house catches on fire
Poor lady. It seems her situation was turning around and then the fire happened.
Yes, but it’s really unwise to leave a handful of tiny kids home alone. Surely she knew that.
No not poor lady b shit u don't lock 3 young children up and go to work OK I was caught in a house fire my gas bottle exploded only just survived so I know what those poor children endured and how they died so that shit mother should be charged with capital murder go figure ........
.
This one was really hard for me to listen to. I was rocking my two year old to sleep. I felt such a lump in my throat, thinking about how scared those babies must have been with the fire, even more so when you described them putting toys in the corner trying to get out.
I had a friend in high school who had an accident involving a fire and things with fire are touchy with me. Not much bothers me, but, this one got me.
So so tragic.. it sounds like she was trying... had gotten a job, tried to find a sitter for her children. I imagine its quite difficult to watch after 3 children especially children with health issues. And the availability of childcare in this country is ABYSMAL! There actually may not be such a thing as extremely early morning or very late childcare, which makes it very hard to get by as a worker.
Very, very sad story😢I am also sorry for Angelika !
Your viewpoint of the worst-case scenario being the expectation for a reckless act and those being fortunate when that does not happen is particularly valid and insightful. I hope you do not mind if I borrow...
She didn't get pregnant by herself. Nothing excuses what she did but where are the fathers???
Oftentimes, women want to keep the kids to themselves instead of sharing custody with the father(s)
Dr. Grande would you consider looking at the parents of Jan Broberg? Netflix did a documentary about her called Abducted in Plain Sight. She is an actress who was kidnapped twice as a child by a family friend. Thank you!
Just thank you Doc. For your continued dedication to real life and real human stories. Love ya as always 🐈❤️
Yesss king go off
Why did she keep having more kids after the twins and where the hell were the "fathers"?! Those lowlives should also be in prison 🙈💦
Why did she have children? Men kept impregnating her. But it's all her fault....right???
@@user-ic9qm8mb4t
I didn't say that. I asked where the hell the "fathers" were and why aren't they also in prison.
PLEASE DO A PROFILE ON JASON DAVID FRANK. He was the Green /White Ranger on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers who tragically lost his battle with Mental Illness November 19th 2022. Guy was a childhood hero for thousands of us. PLEASE I think you are the only channel that could examine him with with respect he deserves. Please like if you agree so Dr Grande Notices.
How much better would it be if she had not had those children in the first place? She probably wanted and needed someone to love her. That's often why young women in terrible poverty and fairly hopeless circumstances manage to get pregnant, thus making their situations impossible. If I could be ruler of the world birth control would be mandatory from the age of possibility of conception, for both boys and girls, and no one should be allowed to have a child until they have passed required courses, cared for children in a monitored setting, and passed required tests for a license. Society and all its members would benefit enormously from this law.
This is such a tragic case it's painful to comment about it. What a terrible death the children had to endure. The twins were adorable. Angelica was clearly irresponsible and if she has a conscience she will be tortured by it far more than the 18 years she has to spend in prison. I feel bad for her too. This is a sad story all the way around. She may not have realized the on and off again lights could cause a fire, and I can understand how she might have been fearful to report it based on a rent increase or eviction. I can also understand her rationale in terms of locking her children in one room. She probably thought it would be safer than having them fall down the stairs or wander down into the basement, But I don't understand her leaving them alone or unsupervised, Especially when she had other options.
I agree her sentence as being fair. I can empathize somewhat; her circumstances being an overwhelmed single mother of 4 children (a couple with disabilities), unemployment, no childcare, and a dogged determination to prove she could handle it on her own. But she did have plenty of red flags and warnings, plus support continuously offered to her. She knew right from wrong. She got what she deserved, the children didn't. RIP little babies🌹
There is no way a person should be expected to schedule their life around the possibility that a fire will suddenly break out in their house.
I can understand the neglect charge, but the government doesn't prevent slumlords from creating an unexpectedly unsafe environment.
The deaths can be attributed to predatory practices of the American housing system.
The social care system can't say that she was confirmed to be an unsuitable mother because then they should have taken her children away, which they didn't.
Technically, since they didn't do their job and they are the overseers of children in the government, they should be put on trial.
I don't like how society puts her in a position to fail, then claims it is 100% her fault for being in that position.
The owner of the house should have been liable as well.
You need a license to drive but anyone can create life. Creating life is Possibly the greatest responsibility any human has.
That was a harsh sentence.
So by your reasoning someone with a DWI should go to jail for the same amount of time as a drunk driver who killed someone, I would be good with that I guess but it doesn't happen. You say services were available to her. Did you ever try to get those services? Those social workers want people off their rolls no matter what. My daughter was married to a man who abused her and when she left, she tried to get help. What a joke that was. She would fill out paperwork, turn it in and on the very last day they would claim they never got it, or they needed something else, but it was too late, and she had to reapply and then in the next 30 days they would pull that crap again. Twice I myself turned her paperwork in, made them give me a receipt and they still tried to claim they never got it.
I think she just really wanted to work for a living and it all just went really really wrong.. she definitely definitely didnt want this to happen. She kept leaving the kids alone, because she was alone. Its just so so sad.
Whose bright idea was it to make “I had a bad childhood” as relevant to being held responsibility for crimes?
What a terribly sad case. Whatever sentence she received, she has to live with the rest of it.
And the cycle goes on and on.
I think it should be also discussed, if there was any fault on the side of social workers who left the children with her when she a) repeatedly failed to not leave them alone; b) had a history of probably not being a very mentally stable person. She certainly didn't leave them unattended only the two (or three, counting the fatal one) reported cases...
This is just so incredibly sad…
Poor babies. Poor baby Angelica, too.
if she left them to party then I would agree with the sentence but it was to work, I think 10 years would Of been fair.
Hi Dr. Todd!
There was no intent. No malice. The young woman was overwhelmed with 4 kids. No money, no parents and a government more interested in funding illegal aliens than providing adequate assistance for living expenses. I have first hand experience with this. Her life was a ticking time bomb. The punishment was despicable. In the UK women do not go to prison for infanticide... Mental illness is assumed...and the death of her children was punishment enough. She was treated worse than most rapists and murderers in NYC. There are laws against excessive punishment. Of course, men have no idea how difficult it is to raise even one child on your own.
Intent doesn’t really matter, would it be any different if she was overwhelmed and killed them to rid herself of responsibility? Not really, still three people died.
At some point you have to take responsibility for the choices you make.
They were found in the corner of that room. It's horrific.
Ooooo, for the first time I do not agree with you. I have children and I suddenly became sick. It's affected my life drastically. As a result, everything that could go wrong has and despite my strongest efforts of turning things back around reaching for all the aid from the likes of the government and my doctors, I have been put off or straight up denied so many times to the point that I'm accepting my fate. it is a struggle that I don't think I will come out of alive. I would hope that the very same people who've turned me down would not speak on my behalf when I'm gone. It is not my fault but literally everyone else's to why everything is bad. I've done everything I'm supposed to do and waited like they said. Ive waited and waited. Months would go by and no progress. But as soon as I miss a call, everything is denied just like that. I've never dealt with anything like this in my life and is baffled at how and why doctors and the government claim they will help but truthfully only have you jumping through hoop after hoop after hoop in hopes of exhausting you to the point of insanity with so much because they put you through. It's discouraging it's disheartening and I am extremely depressed and hopeless now. And if there was something at the end, it came at a huge price. My life is turned upside down and will never be the same again. I've lost so much and is still losing. This woman had probably reached a point that I am on my way of reaching. she believed she had to put her kids in an unsafe place. Either that or the streets or car. her family is not there for her either and their fathers aren't around. She was truly alone like me but didn't give up maintaining a job. It's overwhelming and not to mention she most likely had mental issues on top of taking care of young ones who themselves had disabilities . She needed help in the most way, but everyone expected her to do it alone. The only thing that didn't sound right was her immediately lying that her sister was inside with the kids. She was either so overwhelmed of the persecution of her by the state, or she really didn't do the best she could and knew that. At the point if seeing my place on fire knowing that i consciously took the chance on leaving my kids behind for a job, my heart would sink and I would give up right then and there. I would probably die on the spot from a broken heart. Here I've lost my two kids because the government placed so much importance on me having a job to show that I'm trying. It's hard to make great decisions overwhelmed exhausted yet here we are expected to.
Heartbreaking 😢
Oh my goodness, this is so sad!! :'(
I was left alone in a car at that age. I was also locked in but my mother was always home.
I've read a lot of comments and I swear this story would have been the perfect topic for our nature vs nurture debate in my psychology class.
I have so many questions though. Where was the father? Why keep having children with deadbeats? She couldn't afford to raise herself, why have kids at all? I'm not trying to judge, just genuinely curious. Also, I understand the need to work, so I get that she was backed into a corner the ONE time. However, her leaving her children unattended seemed to be a bit of a pattern with her. There was so many different decisions she could have made.
very sad case of bad choices due to lack of stability
How awful! Those poor babies! I can’t imagine leaving children at their ages home alone!! When my fuses pop bc of a gfi, I kinda thought it was to protect from fire?? I’m going to have an electrician come to fix one of my outdoor boxes!
Terrible parent, so sad to hear this story and the fate of the kids. Even when she arrived at the scene of the fire, Angelica immediately started to lie to circumvent accountability. Every child deserves good parents. Not every parent deserves children. Angelica should be in jail for longer imo.
We don't know 100% of the circumstances of her situation. Clearly she was overwhelmed by having 4 children and being a single mother. With that said, what were her reasons for declining additional resources and refusing outside help? Having the answers to those questions, would likely shed more light onto our understanding of why she made the repeated decision to leave her children alone. I think her punishment was fair, looking strictly at her case only. I can't imagine the punishment she dishes out to herself every night before sleep. Such a tragic story all around.
Just a reminder I'm not diagnosing anybody in this video; only speculating when someone is arrested for starting a fire but it might have just been a bunch of oily rags in a corner in a garage like this.
Another good vid from Laird Todd Grande
What a tragic story 😢
Can you cover the case of Squarilla Robison murdered in Cabo?