Badly Decomposed Bodies Of Four D.C. Children Found By U.S. Marshalls Delivering Eviction Notice

Linda Young - AHN News Writer

Washington, DC (AHN) - Four children living in one of the poorest neighborhoods of the nation's capital didn't live long enough to be evicted from their home. The badly decomposed bodies of the children were found by U.S. Marshalls who went to serve an eviction notice at a Washington, D.C. apartment on Wednesday morning has led to questions over why no one knew they weren't in school.

After discovering the bodies, the U.S. Marshalls took the woman who had answered the door into custody for questioning, although it is unclear how or when the young victims died.

U.S. Marshalls say the woman was calm.

Police say they don't know if the woman was related to the children. The condition of the bodies makes it impossible to identify the children without scientific tests, but they are believed to be four girls between the ages of 5 through 18.

Police say the bodies have been there for at least two weeks and that there was no sign of forced entry into the apartment.

Councilman Marion Barry, the former Washington mayor represents the ward where the bodies were found. He questioned why no one reported the children missing.

"Somebody should have known that these young people were not in school or someplace," Barry was quoted as saying by CNN.

It seems that someone was concerned about the children in April.

A department spokesman said the D.C. Child and Family Services agency had received a report on the family in April through the city child abuse and neglect hotline. After several attempts to contact the family, the Agency made a last attempt in May and said it had decided then that the family had moved away.

After the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency gave up in May, the schools were no help either; it appears that none of the children was enrolled in public school.

According to Associated Press reports, public school officials said that none of the children at that address was enrolled in school, although records showed that one had attended as a fifth-grader before withdrawing in 2006.

Mayor Adrian Fenty said that it was difficult to keep track of children.

"It is probably too easy in this system to not track young people from public schools to charter schools to home schooling," said Fenty.

The mayor's administration has recently started oversight of the city's school system, but its oversight was of no help in protecting the lives of the four children.

Original Article -

Badly Decomposed Bodies Of Four D.C. Children Found By U.S. Marshalls Delivering Eviction Notice January 10, 2008 AHN