DCF leader: ‘Pause judgment’ after fatal fall
Hartford mom charged after son, 2, fell from third-floor window
The Connecticut Department of Children and Families is asking the public to “pause any judgment” on people facing allegations of child maltreatment following the arraignment of a Hartford mother who faces a manslaughter charge in connection with her toddler son’s fatal fall from a window in the city.
“As the family and community grieve the loss of this baby, Corneliuz S. Williams, please pause any judgment on individuals who are subject to child maltreatment allegations,” DCF Commissioner Vanessa Dorantes said in a statement issued Friday.
Dorantes said that the department’s case with the family was on the cusp of being closed when Corneliuz died.
Corneliuz, 2, died on July 24 just days after he fell head first from a window in the family’s third-floor apartment on Capitol Avenue while home alone with his four sisters, who were all 12 or under, records show.
Tabitha Frank, Corneliuz’s mother, was arraigned in court in Hartford on Thursday on 10 counts
of risk of injury to a minor, and first-degree manslaughter. Officers who responded to the boy’s fall reported “deplorable” and “uninhabitable” conditions that included cockroaches and insects,
molding food, feces and layers of grime in the home.
DCF has said that they had an open case with the family when the boy fell but had declined to share further details of their involvement with the family until now, previously stating that their last visit to the family’s home was in mid-June and the conditions of the home were not as severe.
Frank and her family spoke out before and after court proceedings Thursday, adamantly denying any abuse or neglect of the children. The mess in Frank’s home, family members said, was the kind you’d expect for a single mother with five children home on summer break.
On Friday, DCF said that Frank’s home only allegedly met the statutory criteria of “physical neglect resulting in a substantiation” once before, in 2016, before Corneliuz was born.
“The last contact we had with the children was in mid-June 2023 and based on the assessment at the time, further child protective services involvement was not warranted — and the case was in the process of being closed — resulting in no additional visits or contact,” said Dorantes.
The department said they had connected Frank with a community provider to help her support her five children.
Frank and her attorney, Wesley Spears, said that at the time of the toddler’s fall, Frank was driving for Uber to earn money to care for her family. The boy’s father, who has not been charged, was supposed to come to the home to help care for the boy but did not arrive on time, according to Frank.
Members of Frank’s family, including her father and sisters, rallied around her in court Thursday wearing black T-shirts with the message “it takes a village” written on them.
Frank’s sisters said their sister needed more support from the fathers of her children, DCF, the housing system and other systems of support to care for her children.
“It takes the collective efforts of all members of our community — family members, neighbors, professionals, and concerned citizens — to ensure that children can safely remain at home,” said Dorantes in a statement Friday. “A simple gesture of offering help may change the life of a child and their caregiver.”
DCF and police are conducting an ongoing joint investigation into the boy’s death.
Frank is scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing in Hartford on Thursday. She is currently free on a $100,000 bond, records show.
Reasonable suspicions of child maltreatment can be made anonymously 24/7 to Child Abuse and Neglect Careline by dialing 1-800842-2288.
Families in need of assistance can dial 211 or visit www. connectingtocarect.org for behavioral health support, according to DCF.