Kevion Shand...A life shortened 03-04-04 to 02-21-09

At approximately 6:00PM on Saturday February 21, 2009 Emergency Medical Services and the New York Police Department responded to a 911 call at 1368 Metropolitan Avenue in the Parkchester Section of the Bronx. Emergency workers found a toddler unconscious laying on a couch with nothing on but a pair of sweat pants. The toddler was Kevion Shand and he was pronounced dead at the scene...the cause of death was a blunt impact to his head with brain hemorrhage according the the City Medical Examiners Office. Kevion's death was ruled a homicide and on Sunday February 22, 2009 Kevion's grandmother, Angela Barksdale was arrested on a second degree murder charge.



Although Kevion's death is tragic it certainly was not unforeseen. The details leading up to Kevion's death, although sketchy are all too familiar. What is most striking is not the details that led directly to his death but the circumstances that placed him in the hands of his alleged killer. As it is these circumstances which indirectly led to Kevion's death. While it is probably more sensational to divulge all of the gory details that directly led to Kevion's death; it is more pertinent to examine the details that led to him living in the Bronx with his Maternal Grandmother. A woman who the neighbors could not believe had anything to do with the death of her grandson, because by all accounts she loved him. In order for us to truly understand what happened to Kevion we have to change our way of thinking. Parents and/or caretakers that abuse their children may love them very much. And many have no intentions on causing severe harm or death to them. Does this excuse their behavior? No but it will put into perspective the reasons why no one realized that young Kevion was in danger. Let us start from the ending and move to the beginning of Kevion's life.



On Friday February 20, 2009 Kevion soiled himself and as a result Ms. Barksdale became angry, which then led to Kevion's death. According to Ms. Barksdale she accidentally dropped Kevion in the bathroom several times. "He fell into the bathtub. I tried to pick him up, but he fell down. I tried to pick him up again, but he fell down again. I took him out by the armpits, but he fell on the floor...then I put him on the toilet, but he fell again, and banged his head on the sink, then hit his head on the floor." Ms. Barksdale then dressed Kevion at some point and laid him on the couch and left him there until 6PM the next evening. Her reasoning, "I thought he was sleeping and I didn't want to wake him up". It may seem easier for Ms. Barksdale to state that she accidentally dropped Kevion;however the brief details in her statement to the police are all too telling as to what actually occurred. Kevion is four years old and probably still had not fully mastered being toilet trained. For many caretakers and parents this is frustrating and they tend to respond to the children in a manner that only creates anxiety which of course leads to more potty accidents. What parent places a child on the toilet after they have had a bath...don't children generally go to the bathroom before getting in the tub? It seems that Kevion was placed in the tub in haste, and taken out in the same manner; which led to his fatal injuries. Ms. Barksdale was angry because she had to clean Kevion and while she may not have intended to injure him, she certainly was attempting to punish him for not being fully potty trained. Maybe Ms. Barksdale was under the influence of Cocaine at the time and did not realize Kevion was dead when he lay motionless on the couch for an entire day? Maybe she was just so relieved that finally she could get some rest that it did not occur to her that children do not sleep an entire day without waking unless there is a problem. Maybe she just really didn't care because Kevion had angered he so badly and now he had bruises on his face and she would surely be questioned if she sought medical attention for him. Regardless of her reason for inaction, and the reason for her actions in the bathroom Ms. Barksdale is the person allegedly directly responsible for the death of Kevion.



In December 2007, Melba Proctor was arrested for assaulting Jamal Shand with a lamp. She is currently incarcerated after being convicted of this crime. This is the incident which directly led to Kevion being placed in the care of his alleged murderer. While there are conflicting stories as to how Ms. Barksdale actually obtained physical custody of Kevion; she surely would not have had the opportunity if her daughter were not incarcerated. Unfortunately for Kevion, he was born into a situation where violence seemed to be a part of his life. His mother, is incarcerated for assaulting his father; his Maternal Grandmother has a history of arrests for assault and trespassing...and has currently been arrested and charged with his murder. Many have asked the question...why was Angela Barksdale given these children? The answer is simple...when given the option of foster care or a relative most people prefer a relative care for their children. It has been stated that Ms. Proctor actually gave her children to her Maternal Grandmother and not her mother; and it was her grandmother that gave her mother the children. Ms. Barksdale claims that she obtained the children from Ms. Proctor, when she was incarcerated. Either way, Ms. Barksdale ended up with the children. While I would love to ask the question...where is Jamal Shand, it really is not relevant. As there is nothing to state that Mr. Shand would have provided a safe and stable environment for Kevion. In fact I am more apt to believe that he would not have had as much patience with Kevion as Ms. Barksdale did. After all he has to be aware that his children's mother was incarcerated...he was the victim. He felt unsafe enough to call the police for protection for himself yet did little to nothing to protect his children.



When neighbors saw Ms. Barksdale with Kevion she was loving and doted on him. Kevion by all accounts seemed happy and loved his grandmother...so what went wrong? What led a seemingly normal person to murder a four year old child. Simply put...Anger. One does not have to dive deep into the statements of Ms. Barksdale to see that she was angry the Kevion had soiled himself. This is not the first nor will it be the last case of a child being beaten to death because they soiled themselves. Add into the mixture Cocaine Addiction, Anger Management Issues and a Violent Criminal History and you have a story that while no one would like to imagine it; is the story of many youngsters. The question is how do we decrease the number of children exposed to these negative behaviors. We first have to acknowledge that a lack of love is not what causes All caretakers to abuse. Then we have to recondition ourselves to believe that child abuse is everyone's business and everyone should get involved. If there is nothing wrong then Child Protection Services will investigate and close the case...if there is something wrong; even if it isn't what you thought was the problem then that family will get the assistance that they need. After all if you don't get involved their is a child that will inevitably have the same fate as Kevion or worse.