I have had tears rolling down my face since I read this story earlier today....

[SDuderstadt]

somehow, I just cannot get this sweet little girl out of my mind. I always thought as I got older, I would understand the world. I was wrong.

http://www.crimenews2000.com/images/people/tn_vera,schala.jpg

Schala Vera
Posted by Sheriff in Child Abuse


Schala Vera, 3 - died in the hospital with bruises from a belt and buckle
Susan Witbracht, 26; Dauntorian Sanders, 23 - mother of the girl and her boyfriend arrested on murder charges
Chandler (Maricopa County), AZ

Girl's death spurs anti-abuse push
The Arizona Republic - 03/22/10

Covered in bruises, 3-year-old Schala hid from her mother's boyfriend in the bathroom. She squeezed herself between the toilet and the vanity and died there, alone. The details of her death shook longtime nurses and veteran police officers.

Everyone who touched Schala's case - the detectives, paramedics, doctors and social workers - were so disturbed by what they saw last August that they took action. They united with child advocates on a statewide campaign to describe the horrors of child abuse and what might be done to prevent it.

"I cried for two weeks, every day," said nurse Kepra Jack, who tended to Schala when she arrived at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. "I cried when I was taking care of her, and I cried myself to sleep that night.


"It was the hardest death I've had, ever, in 11 years. I don't know when or if it will ever go away," Jack said, tears still coming to her eyes seven months after the girl's death. "All I could think was, 'Somebody has failed.' "

Schala arrived at the hospital naked, her hair wet, her body purple and blue.

She had marks on her arms, legs, shoulders, head, wrist and back that matched the stitching of a leather belt that Chandler police found on the bathroom vanity. Bruises covered the back of her hand; she had raised her arms to protect herself. Police reports say Schala upset her mother's boyfriend by not listening to him.

Susan Witbracht bathed her daughter that morning because she wasn't feeling well. According to the police reports, Witbracht's boyfriend, Dauntorian Sanders, then hit the little girl over and over with the belt.

Schala's face fell between her knees, and then Sanders whipped her back, investigators reported. She was picked up and dropped again and again on the bathroom floor, police say. While she was sprawled on the tile, a door was slammed repeatedly into her head, reports say.

Sanders went to Walgreens to buy cigarettes, the reports say. When he came back, Schala was naked, propped against the vanity, her legs in front of her, her eyes and mouth open. Sanders calmly called 911. When emergency help arrived, it was too late. He and Witbracht were arrested. The case is pending in Maricopa County Superior Court.

"You get the job done. You can't be emotional about it. You can be emotional later," said veteran homicide Detective Gary Fuller, the lead investigator on Schala's case. Fuller's co-workers say he was extremely professional and helpful throughout the entire case, but afterward, it was clear the tragedy had affected him.

Read more: Girl's death spurs anti-abuse push


Mom, Boyfriend Indicted in 3yo's Murder
My Fox Phoenix - 09/09/09

A Chandler couple has been indicted in the death of a 3-year-old girl. Mother Susan Witbracht, 26, and her boyfriend Dauntorian Sanders, 23, have been indicted with the blunt force death of 3-year-old Schala Vera. On Aug. 31, police responded to a home in the 2300 block of E. Wild Horse Place in Chandler in reference to a 3-year-old not breathing. Schala did not survive.

In questioning, Sanders admitted to hitting the little girl with a belt, and told detectives he first started hitting her in June. But he said that Monday, he "got out of control" and hit her with more-than-usual force.

Witbracht admitted she had witnessed these beatings frequently but didn't try to stop the abuse, court documents allege. Witbracht denied any involvement in the fatal beating, but did say she had beaten her daughter in the past.


Report: Man had been beating girl for months
East Valley Tribune - 09/02/09

A Chandler man arrested in the death of a 3-year-old girl told police he has been beating her since June, but Monday’s was worse than usual, according to court documents. Dauntorian Sanders, 23, said he and his girlfriend, Susan Witbracht, 26, have both beaten the girl with a nylon belt.

The girl is Witbracht’s daughter and the mother told police she demanded Sanders to stop the beatings, but she did nothing to stop him. Chandler police arrested the couple Tuesday after an autopsy that found the girl died from blunt force trauma.

“Witbracht further stated she adored the boyfriend even after knowing the results of the autopsy,” court documents state. Witbracht and Sanders were each booked on suspicion of first-degree murder and child abuse.

Police were called to the home Monday about 2:50 p.m. when the child was unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at 4:30 p.m. at Gilbert Mercy Hospital. She had bruises on her legs, arms, torso and head that were consistent with a belt and belt buckle, police said.


Mom, Boyfriend Arrested in 3yo's Murder
My Fox Phoenix - 09/01/09

Chandler Police have arrested a woman and her boyfriend for the death of a 3-year-old child. On Monday afternoon, police responded to a home in the 2300 block of E. Wild Horse Place in Chandler in reference to a 3-year-old not breathing. The child later died at a hospital after CPR was unsuccessful.


A Tuesday autopsy found that the child's death was a homicide. The child died of multiple blunt force traumas -- there were bruises all over the child's body from getting hit with a belt.

The child's mother, 26-year-old Susan Witbracht, and her boyfriend 23-year-old Dauntorian Sanders, have been booked on first degree murder and child abuse charges.


Mom, boyfriend arrested for 3-year-old's death
KTVK TV - 09/01/09

Police officers arrested a Chandler couple for the death of the woman's 3-year-old child.

On Monday afternoon, Chandler police officers were called to a home near Cottonwood Street and Wildhorse Place in reference to a child who was not breathing.

Officers and firefighters administered CPR then transported the child to a hospital where she later died.

Police say autopsy findings indicated the child's death is a homicide attributed to multiple blunt force traumas.

According to Chandler police Sgt. Joe Favazzo, the girl was covered in bruises from apparent belt and belt buckle strikes.