Woman Charged: Death Of 18 Month Old Baby
57-year-old Jennifer Franks sat quietly in the prisoner’s enclosure in this morning’s [Mar.23] Plea Court before standing and hearing the indictable charge of unlawfully killing an infant, Nasir Burgess, on September 9th 2011 read out to her.
Because the charge is indictable, it can only be tried in the Supreme Court and Ms Franks must return to Plea Court in April 2012 for Mention. Ms Franks is defended by lawyer Saul Froomkin, QC.
In outlining the circumstances, the DPP Prosecutor said that Ms Franks was caring for the infant in a daycare operation, had left the location for a short while and on her return was told that the child had difficulties. The child was taken to the hospital where it was determined that the child was dead.
Ms Franks was released on $50,000 bail with one like surety. She was also required to surrender her travel documents but she can travel out of Bermuda provided she gets permission from the Courts.
On Friday 9th September the 18 month old toddler was at a residential day care facility when he was found in an unresponsive state. He was rushed to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead later that afternoon. An autopsy was carried out by a specialist pediatric forensic pathologist from Toronto, Canada.
Last year police spokesperson said, “The autopsy has concluded that the death of the 18 month old male child was not through natural causes.”
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Why WASN’t Ms Franks REMANDED IN CUSTODY? She didn’t get caught stealing candies or speeding it is a DEATH of A CHILD! WHy was she released on $50,000 bail with one like surety. This is a very serious MATTER! SO now family members and friends of the family have to SEE 57-year-old Jennifer Franks in the community and ACT like nothing happend!ONLY IN BERMUDA!
Doesn’t she get a trial first before you decide she is guilty?
The court probably decided that she was not a flight risk or a danger to society. She is entitled to due process just like everyone else.
# cosign just wondering …. she should have been locked up til her court date… only in BERMUDA!!! smfh
We take drugs more serious then Murder. If someone gets caught with cocaine they will be remanded asap. Rapist and murderers are protected by laws.
Yes, you are right Ganja Mon. Ridiculous to say the least. Can you imagine the heartache for the parents? Can you imagine leaving your child in child care facility and being told he didn;t make it through the day, HUH? I would be in Mid Atlantic Centre. I sure hope this lady never ever watches babies again.
Guilty until found innocent and not Innocent until found guilty.mmmmmm when did the law change?
I’m not saying that she’s guilty, but you have to question: 1) was she registered as a child care provider via the government, and if so then 2) what the requirements are for child care provider regulationis are in Bermuda
It raises a whole lot more questions then just this one case, but the entire registration system.
To all Negative Commenters. – Yes she was registered and she has been looking after children for many years. She maintains a very clean environment and is a true business woman with written contracts and regulations with regard to the servces she provides. She is very particular who she takes on and at times has a waiting list for her excellent servies. So BACK Off. Innocent until proven guilty.
Makes no difference, she made a mistake and now the child’s family is suffering and she will also. Such a shame
Um excuse me …Rule number one for a caregiver (and with her supposed extensive span of years taking care of children) is to NEVER EVER EVER LEAVE A SMALL CHILD ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!! Like how stupid can you be. i hope she’s locked up and throw away the key and has to think about how her very careless actions caused the death of this poor sweet beautiful child.
My heartfelt sympathies go out to Nasir’s family and loved ones.
It does not matter if she was registered or not. Child care is child care. so what if it had been a case where she was asked to watch a child for a fwe hours while the parent did errons and the child died, you are going to say she should be watching the child because she is not a registered caregiver. I know of REGISTERED CAREGIVERS who do some questionable things who should not waching kids. Lets not go there with this registered crap because that dose not matter at all.
she absolutely should be remanded. You mean to tell me that the child’s life is only worth a “surety” of $50,000? and she is still allowed to travel? This system makes no sense. Its not about “innocent until proven guilty” – she is the resgistered caregiver and the child died whilst he was in her custody? who else u think should be held responsible?…… i pray for justice for the child’s family
and by “registered” i mean left responsible and in charge as far as the parents are concerned
Mrs Franks was and is a great child care provider…. almost certain she did not leave the child unattended (sure she had an adult standing in while she stepped out)… couldn’t have found a better carer… I’m certain that this is a sad situation for both families… Mrs Franks always appeared to be very passionate about her duties…
well then u seem to know so let us all know. Did she have someone standing in? If so then why is she not
on the carpet for not paying attention to the child?
that’s not what the article says, and the court said. She left for awhile, and when she returned was told the child had problems. Maybe that was another child saying that to her, who knows, but guess we’ll find out soon enough. Poor baby
Lawless, if you have never lost a child you will never begin to understand the pain that a parent is dealing with. If you do not know the whole situation I suggest you mind your business.
This comment is for Lawless . . . It is evident that she did not have someone watching over the babies because IF she did then the baby would be still here DUH!! I completely agree with Piss Off, you need to mind your own business.
The authorities need to do random spot checks at some of these facilities. I had my daughter in a home care nursery and the lady told me she only had one other child. When I showed up unexpectantly one day I found five kids there. She claimed that it was just for the day, but then I found out she wasn’t being truthful about her numbers. Needless to say I yanked my little one out of there pronto and put her in a proper day care facility. I thought that being in a home environment would be better for my child (and yes she was registered)but I guess not. As for Ms. Franks “leaving for a short while”…clearly she wasn’t there when whatever happened but she should still be held accountable. The parents left their child in HER care not the care of someone else who they may not have known or wasn’t as responsible as Ms. Franks. Sad to say but she may have been a wonderful caregiver, but she made a bad err in judgment and now she has to pay the consequences for it. Sad all round for all involved….
I agree with you Dee. The government should make sure that registered child minders follow the rules of registration. Spot checks should be carried out regularly. I had a similar experience to you, maybe I was naive but I thought the registration meant that the rules on child numbers had to be adhered to.
Dee’s story sounds just like what I experienced-makes me wonder if it was the same caregiver. I had my daughter in a home based nursery where the lady said she only had two other kids. Everything looked fine.
The first day after I left my three-month old there, when unpacking her bag that night I noticed that only two of her diapers had been used. As she was in a clean diaper when I collected her, I thought ‘well, that means that she was only changed once during the day and a fresh one put on just before I was due to collect her.’ Furthermore, I would send her bottles already made up and ready for the fridge at the caregivers-all but one of her bottles were returned full. Alarm bells went off.
So the second morning I questioned the lady about it. She was taken aback and started stuttering all over the place. I guess she didn’t think I would check that kind of stuff. She told me that she had extra diapers and formula there and used what she had instead of using my stuff. So I left my dauhter but when I got to work I just had a weird feeling all morning thinking about what the lady said. It didn’t make sense and something just didn’t feel right.
Anyway, around mid-morning I decided to take an early lunch and stopped by. I could hear my baby crying uncontrollably (a mom knows her baby’s cry!) before I even got to the door. The caregiver was so shocked to see me and didn’t even want to let me in but I could see past her. My baby was in her bassinet crying weakly and there were SIX other kids there! I pushed my way in and the woman was saying something about she was just watching some relative’s kids for the day or something. What was really pissing me off was that there was a toddler in a high chair and the caregiver had a bowl and spoon in her hand, and the kid had clearly been eating. My poor NEWBORN baby was dripping with sweat and shaking, and when she heard my voice started making a weak,croaking kind of noise-my eyes are filling up with tears even thinking about it now…even as a new baby she must have been so relieved I was there. It was clear that she had been crying for ages and ages while this woman fed a toddler who looked old enough to feed himself-her OWN child, I later found out.
I was so enraged at this point that I wasn’t buying any of her excuses. I demanded my daughter’s stuff and sure enough, all of her bottles were full where she hadn’t even been fed. I later discovered she was in a wet diaper and none of her diapers had been touched. The caregiver was stammering all over the place and I can’t even remember what I said, I was so angry. To make a long story short, I left, fed my poor baby in the car and didn’t look back. I called that b**ch later on to give her another earfull and to let her know that I was going to be reporting her azz-WHICH I DID.
I had to quit my job, stay home and take care of my own child until she started Gov’t preschool which was a huge sacrifice but my husband supported me 110% and worked overtime like crazy to make up the slack. After that bad experience, I just didn’t trust anyone to look after my child because I came to the cold, hard realization that nobody would love her as much as I did! As a mother, sadly that’s just the way it is, ladies.
im in tears reading your experience. she should be named and publicly, this is why people’s children die whilst in care of others at a very early age… very sad….
I agree, she is being hidden, at least if she continues people will know to be aware… Sorry you had this was experienced.
Did you follow up and make sure this woman is not still watching children cos i would have been on her like white on rice
Just realized I had a few typos in my post but the main error is that I meant to say ‘earful’-not earfull’…I actually did pretty good in English class, believe it or not!
this woman should be named. that is a frightening story. did you report her??? she should not be looking after any children. she is an accident waiting to happen
I know for a fact that spot checks are carried out on registered caregivers. My condolences to the family of the baby boy.
Shes needs to sit in a cell and wait for her hearing !
The Burgess family are without their LOVE ONE – A BABY – INNOCENT !
Travel – where? NO COMPREHEND THIS !
REALLY HARD TO BELEIVE !
GOD BLESS THE BURGESS FAMILY !
@lawless and @cygnet it does not matter that she was competent or nice.. she made a mistake.. she should not have left the child.. she was a caregiver ..my heart bleeds for the burgess family…clealry it looks like she could have prevented this ‘accident’ from happening.. and that is why she is responsible and is being prosecuted for manslaughter..the young boy will never return but a harsh penalty should be imposed to set an example to others who are caregivers
I agree, if “ANYONE” is found guilty of such an offence they should be sentenced according…and no, I haven’t a clue if someone was there or not, however, my hope is that she had someone there while she was out..(mother, sister,aunt, etc) and that the reason she left the child was maybe because it was nap time. umjussayin..
As a mother, my heart automatically went out to the the Burgess family during their time of pain…and that in due time, justice will prevail…. along with the peace in their hearts, as we know, a jail sentence will never be enough for the lost of a loved one….. CONTINUED BLESSINGS TO THE FAMILY….
Parents need to check on caregivers —-pop in and see your child when they are not expecting you.I have heard of very young children being smacked and caregivers giving all the children medication so that they will sleep and the caregiver can have a rest. Now that is really scarey
My prayers are with the little boys family. Some of Justice system do not take the murder of children serious. most of the time it is a slap on the wrist. Ask Cassidy’s murderer who got 4 years and 2 months
It does not matter how “nice” Ms. Franks was a life was lost. Nasir was in her care.
My sympathies to the Burgess family.
Some teachers are “nice ‘—that does not make them a good teacher. Ms. Franks was “nice” but obviously not a responsible caregiver