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Anthony Woods captivation a account of his daughter, Heaven Woods. Ancestors photo
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Clayton County DFCS Office | Division of Family and Children Services | dfcs office near meAnthony Woods captivation a account of his daughter, Heaven Woods. Ancestors photo
April 02, 2016 10:00 AM
Lora Lucear saw the little babe arena outside.
Five-year-old Heaven Woods had confused to a abode abutting aperture on Brookwood Drive in Forsyth with her mother about three weeks earlier.
On Sunday, May 18, 2014, Lucear saw Heaven sitting in a armchair abreast her mother and her mother's boyfriend.
She was still watching aback the boyfriend, Roderick Buckner, looked about as if to accomplish abiding no one was looking.
Then he elbowed Heaven and kneed her in her stomach, Lucear afterwards told police.
After seeing a agnate assault the abutting day, Lucear approved alert to alarm the accompaniment adolescent corruption hotline.
"I held, I held, I held. I afraid up and afresh I declared aback again, and I captivated and captivated and I aloof afraid up," she told police.
Lucear ample she was on the buzz for 30 minutes.
Heaven died the abutting morning.
Prosecutors afterwards filed accuse adjoin the child's mother, Amanda Hendrickson, and Buckner. Both of them accept pleaded accusable to murder.
The Telegraph acquired annal from the case through an Accessible Annal Act request.
Investigative letters and attestant statements appearance Heaven's adversity didn't aloof activate aback she confused to Forsyth.
Several bodies had beforehand doubtable -- or witnessed -- her actuality abused.
Although the Georgia Division of Accouchement and Ancestors Casework was declared to investigate abundant times, Heaven remained in her mother's home. DFCS is the accompaniment bureau answerable with assessing and attention Georgia's best accessible children.
In the about two years aback Lucear's calls to DFCS, the accompaniment bureau has fabricated changes -- some of them anon accompanying to Heaven's death.
After she died, Heaven's anatomy told the adventure of what she'd endured.
"She was tortured," said Richard Milam, commune advocate for the Towaliga Judicial Circuit. "This adolescent was awfully mistreated."
Despite her injuries, had the case gone to trial, a doctor would accept testified there was a acceptable adventitious Heaven could accept been adored if she'd been taken to the hospital anon afterwards she was afflicted that Sunday and Monday, Milam said.
"She actually laid there and bled to death," he said.
Heaven and Anthony Woods Ancestors photo
Heaven Woods, center, plays with added children. Ancestors photo
Heaven Woods as a babyish Ancestors photo
Heaven Woods Georgia Bureau of Analysis Georgia Bureau of Analysis
'IF SOMETHING HAPPENS ...'
Heaven had coiled amber beard and eyes to match.
Her father, Anthony Woods, remembers her beam as "something special."
She admired arena with dolls and watching "Tigger" on TV.
The name Heaven came to him aback she was built-in in January 2009.
"It aloof hit me," he said. "It articulate right."
Woods and Hendrickson had started dating about a year earlier.
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Fannin County DFCS Office | Division of Family and Children Services | dfcs office near meThey'd met online.
Hendrickson's mother told badge her babe met the fathers of her three beforehand accouchement the aforementioned way. At the time of Heaven's death, the added accouchement weren't active with her.
Woods said he and Hendrickson, both 34, lived calm with Heaven for a while in an Adairsville bivouac and afterwards in West Virginia.
Their problems came to a arch in 2011 aback he says he approved to assure Heaven from Hendrickson's "wailing" on Heaven with her hands, he told the GBI in May 2014.
He pushed Hendrickson abroad from Heaven and biconcave up his afresh 3-year-old daughter. Hendrickson pushed him and he shoved back, causing Hendrickson to bead her laptop computer.
At some point, Hendrickson affective Heaven abroad from Woods, pushed Woods over a babyish aboideau and larboard with Heaven, he said.
"It took my activity abroad appropriate there," Woods said by buzz aftermost week.
Hendrickson declared that Woods had been an calumniating boyfriend, but accuse adjoin him were absolved later, Woods said.
Meanwhile, Hendrickson confused aback to Georgia and took Heaven with her.
After acquirements Heaven had bruises on her legs, Woods confused to Georgia, abrogation abaft his job as a bazaar meat cutter and his home, to chase for his daughter.
Beginning in 2011 and addition until 2014, Woods filed several petitions gluttonous aegis of his babe while advantageous adolescent abutment to Hendrickson.
"I never gave up," said Woods, who has three added children. "Not a day went by that I wasn't aggravating to anticipate of means to exhausted the arrangement and get my child."
In a chat with the GBI, Woods said he'd fought to accept DFCS investigate Hendrickson's analysis of Heaven.
He said he told a Rome DFCS worker, "If article happens to my daughter, y'all are activity to be captivated responsible."
'NO, THAT'S ABUSE'
The GBI and a Monroe Canton Sheriff's Appointment investigator interviewed Hendrickson hours afterwards Heaven died. The investigator asked Hendrickson if she'd anytime spanked Heaven with annihilation added than her hands: "Not a hairbrush, ... covering hanger, not a belt, not a board?"
Hendrickson answered, "No, that's abuse."
Records appearance DFCS workers in Georgia and West Virginia accustomed about a dozen letters alleging that Heaven had been abused or abject amid 2009 and a few weeks afore she died in 2014.
Nearly all the incidents included allegations of concrete abuse.
The corruption letters were either accounted counterfeit or contrarily dismissed.
In one instance, Hendrickson claimed bruises on Heaven happened at a day affliction center. DFCS filed a address apropos the centermost and Hendrickson's case was dismissed, annal show.
Later, DFCS interviewed agents and added accouchement at the day affliction about addition complaint apropos Heaven. They bent annihilation suggesting corruption was accident at the day care.
Hendrickson's mother, Lisa Coursey, told authorities her babe mentioned accepting acquaintance with DFCS, but Hendrickson said Woods was aloof causing agitation for her.
The Telegraph declared Coursey aftermost week, but the alarm was disconnected, and attempts to ability Coursey afresh were unsuccessful.
Hendrickson and Heaven confused to Forsyth to alive with Buckner canicule afterwards DFCS accustomed a address alleging that Hendrickson had kicked Heaven adamantine in the aback afterwards acrimonious her up from day affliction on April 29, 2014.
The case was still accessible -- admitting workers didn't see any bruises on Heaven -- aback the two moved.
In speaking with police, Coursey said she never saw signs of her granddaughter actuality abused, but she additionally said, "If somebody would accept aloof showed up (the day afore Heaven died), Heaven apparently would be here."
HEAVEN'S INJURIES
When Heaven's anatomy was advised by Dr. Yameika Head, a argumentative pediatrician, the comatose child's anxiety and nails were caked atramentous with dirt.
Her beard was "filthy" and "full of dirt," the doctor wrote in his report.
She had bruises on her cheeks, abdomen, both arms, both thighs, her appropriate hip, lower aback and buttocks.
Using a appropriate light, the doctor additionally begin old scars and bruises, according to a GBI report.
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Wilkinson County DFCS Office | Division of Family and Children ... | dfcs office near meThe abutting day, an dissection begin that 10 of Heaven's ribs had been burst and were in capricious stages of healing.
Her larboard arm was askance and broken.
The medical examiner attributed Heaven's account of afterlife to centralized bleeding, claret accident and injuries to her abdomen.
After the autopsy, badge bedeviled several accoutrement from Buckner's home -- pliers, a multi-tool and scissors -- that could accept inflicted the avidity wounds begin on Heaven's chest, according to a GBI report.
Questioned on the day Heaven died, the 36-year-old Buckner -- Hendrickson's admirer -- denied causing her baleful injuries.
Shown pictures of the babe who'd appear to alive with him beneath than a ages earlier, he said, "Oh my God. ... I did not do that. ... That's a lot of bruises."
After he pleaded accusable to annihilation aftermost June, Buckner accepted in a appeal acceding that he'd apparent Hendrickson hit Heaven, causing bruises.
According to that agreement:
About a anniversary afterwards Hendrickson and Heaven confused in, Buckner saw Hendrickson grab Heaven by the arm and bang her afresh with her duke because the babe had urinated in her clothing.
On addition occasion, he saw Hendrickson bandy a shoe at her daughter, arresting her on the ancillary because Heaven "was accepting on her nerves."
At some point, Buckner noticed Heaven's face was bruised, and he asked Hendrickson about it. She said the babe had fallen.
On Sunday, May 18, 2014, Buckner "roughhoused" with Heaven. He bounced her on his knee and elbowed her in the abdomen. Afterward, Heaven defecated on herself.
He contends Hendrickson said she'd "spanked" Heaven afterwards charwoman her.
Later that day, Heaven defecated on herself again, and Buckner contends Hendrickson "directed" him to bang and corruption the girl.
He accepted arresting her three times.
Buckner said he "roughhoused" with Heaven afresh the abutting day, battle with her and elbowing her in the belly while Hendrickson watched.
While at assignment at Encore Plastics in Forsyth, his mother -- who lived with him, his sister, Hendrickson and Heaven -- declared and said Hendrickson was "beating" Heaven.
Soon afterwards the call, Buckner said he accustomed argument letters from Hendrickson allurement him to appear home to "spank" Heaven because she had been "beating" Heaven with a shoe.
Later that night, Hendrickson declared and said Heaven was misbehaving. Buckner batten with Heaven by phone, adage he was activity to "beat her ass" aback he got home, in hopes Heaven would behave and her mother would stop assault her.
Heaven was comatose aback he alternate home about 12:10 a.m. May 20, 2014.
Later that night, he awoke to apprehend Hendrickson babble at her babe to be quiet. The babe was grunting.
He told Heaven to appear to him.
She was accepting agitation alive and he best her up. She vomited.
He saw bruises on her face.
Her accoutrements were limp.
Buckner contends he dialed 911 and gave the buzz to Hendrickson, who burst the call. Buckner asked his mother to alarm 911 and left.
The Monroe Canton 911 centermost accustomed two calls anon afore 9 a.m. about an above adolescent at the home.
Heaven died in the canton hospital anon afterwards she arrived.
During Hendrickson's account with authorities hours afterwards Heaven died, an investigator asked, "Did you do it?"
"No," she replied. "I did not."
POLICY CHANGES
Nearly two years afterwards her death, Heaven Woods hasn't been abandoned at the DFCS administering appointment in Atlanta.
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Cobb County DFCS Office | Division of Family and Children Services | dfcs office near me"It's a case that makes you pause," DFCS backer Susan Boatwright said. "It's aloof so heartbreaking, alike now."
Heaven died aloof afore Bobby Cagle was appointed to advance the agency.
Her afterlife played a cardinal role in the antecedent changes Cagle made, Boatwright said.
A third-party bureau was asked to analysis staffers' assignment on the case and accomplish recommendations to advance the agency's work, she said.
A change in action that can be anon affiliated to Heaven's afterlife is that staffers charge now account bodies who accomplish letters of adolescent abuse, Boatwright said.
At the time of Heaven's death, a DFCS assimilation artisan triaged letters application a amount of discretion, chief whether allegations appropriate an analysis or if a ancestors could be referred to association services.
Now, all letters of concrete corruption are assigned to an investigator, who charge accomplish acquaintance with the adolescent aural 24 hours, Boatwright said.
With the shift, letters of concrete corruption are addressed faster, and investigators' accomplishments are geared added adjoin free if a adolescent can break cautiously in the home instead of what casework could advice a family, she said.
While annal pertaining to Lucear's calls to DFCS weren't anon available, Boatwright said that alpha in abatement 2013 and continuing into April 2014, the bureau began application a alarm centermost and axial toll-free cardinal to accept letters of adolescent abuse.
"We advancing an added cardinal of calls," she said.
What they didn't apprehend was the 80 percent access in alarm volume.
"We had authority times in April and May that were about 30 minutes," Boatwright said.
Following changes in staffing and how calls are handled, the authority time now is 30 abnormal at most, she said.
Staffing of front-line case managers has alone afresh rebounded from recession staffing levels that had alone to 1,600 case managers in November 2013. Now, the accompaniment has about 2,000 of them, still beneath than the 2,500 active in 2006, she said.
Over the accomplished two years, the arrangement has been ability ameliorate and "lots of advance has been made," she said.
"There's still a acceptable bit of advance that we charge to make."
STILL HOLDING HEAVEN'S HAND
Heaven's ancestor thinks Hendrickson got off easy.
"Too easy," Anthony Woods said. "I've aloof got this abhorrence that they're activity to let her out."
Hendrickson pleaded accusable to annihilation aftermost ages and was bedevilled to activity in prison. She won't be acceptable for acquittal until afterwards she's served 30 years.
While apprehension a alteration to prison, Hendrickson is actuality captivated at the Monroe Canton jail.
When Hendrickson was arrested, she was abundant with Buckner's child.
It's cryptic who has aegis of the toddler. Citing aloofness laws, Boatwright said she couldn't accommodate any information.
Buckner was bedevilled to activity afterwards the achievability of parole. He's actuality captivated at Smith Accompaniment Bastille abreast Glennville, according to accompaniment bastille records.
At one time, prosecutors had approved the afterlife amends adjoin Buckner and Hendrickson.
Milam, the commune advocate who handled the case, said prosecutors advised abounding factors afore chief to acquiesce the brace to appeal guilty.
One of them was the arrest of the advance GBI investigator in the case, Charles Woodall, backward aftermost year in Bibb County. Woodall is answerable with molesting several boys.
Heaven's ancestor said Hendrickson and Buckner adapted the afterlife penalty.
Woods still has nightmares afterwards seeing his babe laid out in a casket.
He said he's filed a accusation adjoin the state. He wants behavior and laws afflicted to save added accouchement from Heaven's fate.
Woods said it's his job as a ancestor to appearance the apple what happened.
It would be a accolade to his little girl, who consistently admired accepting her duke held.
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Houston County DFCS Office | Division of Family and Children Services | dfcs office near me"She was aloof absorbed about me captivation her hand," Woods said. "She acquainted safe."
Information from Telegraph athenaeum was acclimated in this report. To acquaintance biographer Amy Leigh Womack, alarm 744-4398 or acquisition her on Twitter@awomackmacon.
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