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A judge in Indiana sentenced former Gary resident Riley Choate to 80 years in prison on Friday for neglect in the death of his son, a 13-year-old who had been regularly beaten, confined to a dog cage for two years, and fed a starvation diet.
The boy, Christian Choate, weighed less than 50 pounds when he died on April 4, 2009, of blunt force trauma to the head, the Chicago Tribune reported.
"The pain and the suffering, the degradation this baby went through for two years of his life is incomprehensible," Lake County Superior Court Judge Diane Boswell said, according to the report.
A sister of the victim — one of as many as 10 children who lived with Choate and his wife in a trailer in Gary, Ind. — said that on the day of his death Christian had refused to eat, enraging his father, who punched the boy several times with "full force" before throwing him back in the cage, said the Tribune, citing court records.
Choate and his wife, Kimberly Kubina, the boy’s stepmother, were accused of burying the boy on their property and moving the family to Kentucky shortly thereafter, telling others that Christian had run away.
Deputy Prosecutor Michael Woods described Choate's abuse of Christian as persistent, cruel and depraved, according to a report in the Northwest Indiana Times.
"Christian Choate sat in that cage, losing his mind, losing his strength and probably his humanity,” Woods said, while his father sat at the desk next to the cage playing games on his computer, according to the report.
"There were many other children in this house. They all saw Christian suffer. Those images haunt their sleep and drive them back into counseling," the prosecutor said.
The boy’s body, buried under concrete with a Bible and a cross in the Gary, Ind. mobile home park, was found in May 2011.
"We feel very strongly that the system failed this child, this young man, Christian Choate," Lake County Indiana Sheriff John Buncich said at a press conference Friday. "The system failed him and a lot of information slipped through the crack and we feel his life could have been saved if things had been dealt with in a different manner."
In December, Choate pleaded guilty to a Class A felony for neglect of a dependent causing death, and felonies for moving the boy’s body and depriving his daughter, Christina, of an education. He also admitted to being a habitual offender for previous felony theft convictions, the Times said. In doing so, he avoided a jury trial on charges of murder, battery, criminal confinement and obstruction of justice. In the plea deal, he was sentenced to 80 years instead of a possible 120 if convicted of the original charges.
Before the sentencing on Friday, Choate apologized for his actions, the Chicago Tribune reported: "All my actions will haunt me forever. I loved my son."
Kubina, who was also charged with child abuse, divorced Choate in 2011 and cooperated in his prosecution. As a result, she is due to be released from jail in February, the Tribune said.
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Gimme a break. The father was a monster who never should have gotten a plea deal, and she was an accomplice to torture and murder of a child. She ought to be facing the death penalty, not release in February.
Talk about a system of people who don't give a sh*t. The legal system sucks!
WHY isn't this stepmother getting 80 years? She is evil beyond evil. When their time comes, I pity them. It's not going to be pretty, trust me. This is as evil as it gets.
Buried with a cross and a bible.
She had 10 kids and saw exactly who this man was.
She was right there watching it all. She should get at least 40 years.
An once of weed will get me more than that.
Indiana - red state... Child & Family Services is a waste of taxpayer's $
Connecticut ,Blue state
New York subway murders,,,,,,,, blue state
Washington mall shooting,,,,,,, blue state
California burning woman alive,,,,,,,, blue state.
Chicago,,,,,, 500 murders last year. Blue capital
States don't matter so much when so many people live in the cyber universe.
This is called "target abuse." Joy Behar makes jokes about "women who pick out one of their children just to hate them."
And no one complains.
Dad should have gotten death and step mom 80 years.
This has to do with depravity, not party politics. I wonder why the other children didn't find an anonymous way to let authorities know about this, and why this monster's wife gets to walk after obvious complicity in the boy's abuse and death. It seems too easy to blame underfunded and understaffed child protective services, given the diabolical bluff such crazies as these people manage to construct. It might make more sense to ask the school board about its apparent lack of follow up, given that somebody ought to have known about the existence of these kids. Did the parents claim to home school them? That shouldn't absolve the government from demonstrating some degree of interest about the effectiveness of such instruction. I agree that the wife should get at least 40 years for her complicity, but it seems unfair for taxpayers to have to support the father for the rest of his life. At least he may learn what life in a cage--and probably the occasional beating from his peers--feels like.
Unfathomable that someone could do this to their own children.
Christian was such a beautiful boy and how he suffered. To what gain, Riley??? You sick bastard.
I don't get it. Other articles said that she agreed to serve 25-35 years for cooperating and that she was due to be SENTENCED in February, not released from jail. Maybe MSN got it wrong? It certainly wouldn't be the first time.
Why did they allow a plea deal? I missed that part. He should have gotten the death penalty. Same for the step witch...
My guess is this monster won't last long in prison...people who abuse children generally get focused on in prison.
McGusto: Give it a rest.
I hope the mother gets tortured bad before her release and I'm sure the dad will go thru enough hell that he may take his own life. I hope they get beat to death or close to it at least once a week.
Leave it to some halfwit brainless cockwaffle to drag politics into a thread. Inbred cretin.
This is deplorable and beyond comprehension. Why are these people treated better than the victim? Why are people like this allowed to continue to exist when they kill. We treat the guilty better than the victims with the state, the tax payers and the government paying for their 'rehabilitation' in prison, fed and clothed. Meanwhle if there's a survivor they're forced to pay their own recovery bills and if they've died, the family or someone else is stuck with the funeral expenses.
The only justice that could be served is throwing him in a cage and starving him to death, and regular beatings. This is just so sick and wrong.
I hope they rape and kill him in prison. He doesn't deserve three hots and a cot, medical & all of the things that will be given to him, probably including protection. Something he never gave that poor boy. At least his suffering has ended since nobody could help when he was alive. I hope his sister will be able to overcome the terrible things she has seen and suffered. My prayers are with her and the other children.
Jan-21270 - At least his cell will be close to a cage and those who abuse children usually have a rough time in prison.
http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/nwitimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/03/5034e691-357b-516f-bf41-aed45a691fcd/50f075230f54d.preview-620.jpg
80 years is not enough.... Why should we the American Tax Payer reward him with 3 square meals a day, a bed to sleep on, and cable tv.. etc. Far as i am concerned, we have gotten way to LAX in this country with sentences of this nature.... its time to let the punishment fit the crime.
@ConcernedinAZ
I hope they don't kill him in prison, I hope they continuely rape, torture and physically abuse him everyday that he is alive and I hope they whisper his son name in his ear with every assault.
they should put him in a cage like he did to his son. of course aclu wouldn't like it, but than again they didn't say anything on the boys behave
There are some mighty fine step-parents out there that go well beyond the call of duty with step-kids. They lovingly call them Mom or Dad for the rest of their lives. However, the wicked and evil step-father or step-mother is far from a myth. It is amazing how far that formerly devoted Father or Mother will go to maintain a relationship with a second spouse.
This is a clip from another article concerning this "family";
"Christian's writings detail a very sad, depressed child who often wondered when someone, anyone, was going to come check on him and give him food or liquid," DCS records state.
Court documents allege the boy was beaten for several years and kept in a cage for as long as a year before his death in early 2009. His disappearance went unreported until May, when a tip prompted police to investigate.
In documents released Friday, Christian wrote of how often he had to steal food or use the bathroom in his place of confinement. He said he would be let out to clean or vacuum but had to go back inside immediately afterward, DCS records state.
He wrote about other children playing outside while he was confined inside. If he asked for something to do, he was given paper and a pencil, DCS records state.
Some of Christian's writings were random, while others appeared to be assignments from his stepmother, Kimberly Kubina Choate.
Kubina Choate wrote topics on top of some of the pages including, "Why do you want to play with your peter? Why do you still want to see your mom? Why can't you let the past go? What does it mean to be part of a family?" DCS records state."
This paints a very clear picture of the extent of abuse of this poor kid. The topics explain the mindset of this evil witch. There was absolutely no reason to make a plea deal with her other than lawyer games. The prosecuting attorney and judge are responsible for desecrating the very soul of this little boy. I hope they live long lives and carry this travesty with them to their graves.
Surely, (if there is such a place) this evil father and stepmother will forever rot in hell at eachother's side.
The article is incorrect in the the stepmom is to be sentenced in February not released, and her sentence can be anywhere from 25-35 years on the single charge of neglect of a dependent.
Commonsense101, do you have a link??? Thank you.
Neither of these "parents" should live another day!
This is more than criminal, this is inhumane. No good will ever come from either of these animals.
Give them their last meal, 3 squirts from the IV machine, a pine box and justice will have been served.
They don't even deserve a last meal! They deserve to die the same way this poor boy did! Horrible beyond belief, I hope they rot in hell!
So sad and hard to believe. American society is becoming more and more psychotic.
chefaz-1319563, the article is from Gary Community.com. Local newsgroups often tell the complete story with no holds barred. We have one in my own community in Florida. This one will break your heart.
What a horrible thing to say after treating his son like that! He obviously doesn't know the meaning of LOVE!!!
This makes me sick!!! This is the reason, I question the sanity of people against abortion. Because there are people out there that should NOT be allowed to have children! This wicked man was collecting on tax breaks on his dependents that he abused. It is so mind boggling that NOT one sibling went to find help. We taxpayers should not have to support this monster's sorry azz to be in jail. He should be doing hard labor 12 hours a day 7 days a week.
What do you mean when their time comes? She gets out in February. Then she's scott free.
Poor kid....so much suffering at such young age. It is a hell of a thing to live in fear along with hopelessness everyday for the past two years.
That bastard should do his 80 years in the same cage.
Read #1.24
And he says he loved his son???? Poor Christian, I can't imagine what he went through. R.I.P. angel.
@juno6
I question the sanity of people FOR Abortion, is that not the ultimate child abuse, to have your legs and arms ripped from your body. (Silent Screams!!!!!!!!!!!) A mother's womb the most dangerous place in America. Planned Parenthood bragged last week how they killed 333,000 children last year,,,,, now that's sick.
He should NOT be doing hard labor, like you think....He should be put in a cage in the bottom of a dark hole and left to starve to death..... or a tall tree and a short rope would work even better....
Also He says, "I loved my son." I would have to tell him to shut up! Just shut up!
RIP Christian Choate
I wish I could have taken you under my wings and given you the love and care you deserved. My heart aches knowing that you had to suffer such a horrible life by the hands of your father.
RIP you darling little Angel.
:(
You are free now.
thanks..chris from yucipa...hope mom gets the max...
WHINE WHINE WHINE
Why isn't anyone organizing a massive "GETTING OUT PARTY" for Kim Kubina...?
I know where there are 3 experienced people who can provide her with a proper ride home...
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/11/16464601-ex-wife-arrested-after-florida-man-dragged-behind-truck?threadId=3645136&commentId=73302724#c73302724
80 years is not enough. Our legal system with its prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, affords no suitable penalty for either this man or his wife.
...and she'll be out of jail by February.
Lots of good a cross and a Bible did for the poor kid. Why not give kids food, some freedom and sunshine instead? And motherly love, where was that? Another fine example of fundamentalist religion at work.
The statement by the Police was dead on. The System Failed this child! In these times of cut backs and over worked people in every work related position, I'm sure there are many other Christian's being abused right now! We're told that we need to cut back on Government Programs that are too expensive and a waste of Tax dollars. I haven't checked into it, but I would bet this played a part in why this poor boys death fell through the cracks. Here in Michigan, Gov. Engler (many years back) closed all the Mental Health Facilities that sent hundreds of mentally ill people into the streets. I can only imagine how this has affected our overall crime rates, to and by those individuals, and all that have followed in the past 15yrs because of that decision. The people that we elect to office need to focus on the real fallout of their decisions before making cuts. Anybody remember a job called Truancy Officer? And I'm sorry, but to the few who have mentioned "why didn't the other children in the house go for help"? If you're brought up in a house of disfunction, you don't know any different. They were very controlling parents who placed a great deal of fear and confusion into these childrens minds. So please don't blame the undeveloped minds of the other children. There has always been and will continue to be warped individuals who will do the unthinkable such as what was done here. So first I will blame those idiot "Parents", followed closely by a Government System that has failed us once again.
There was a guy in Argyle, Wisconsin who locked his kids in their room and lit the house on fire back in September. Three of the four died. The wife managed to get the fourth out and a neighbor caught him trying to put her back in the burning house. If you search "Armin Wand" you should be able to find the full story.
There is only one word, Society should be saying to the mother and father involved in this evil act..............
( DEATH )
80 years in a cage is a good start...not that he'll last more than a few months once the inmates find out what he did.
Every time I see stories like this, it reminds me why gays should not be parents (yes, sarcasm intended).
^ your comment is stupid, just stupid...don't lie and say it was sarcasm....it had nothing to do with the story so its obvious you put that out there to plant a seed and then tried to play it off that your just kidding...lies
delete me since I broke code, but 1.48 said something just simply stupid.
My opinion on this is there is a great chance the other children have or will develop BPD or a similar mental disorder...these unfortunate individuals will need intense therapy and close watch..its not their fault, but they will have characteristics that are dangerous to others. sad...that kind of life is not fun.
I'm pretty sure if I were one of the kids in the house I would of told the authorities..God bless whats left of them..
Good luck with that excuse in jail. Your peers may see through that.
Here's hoping the other inmates beat the P.O.S within an inch of his life,allow him to heal,then do it again for 80 years!!
I just had to say something in defense of the other 9 children. When people wonder why they didn't speak out try asking any number of adult survivors of child abuse and they can tell you. They didn't speak out because of fear- I guarantee you they were threatened with the same or worse treatment as they saw this poor child living with. I doubt it was an idle threat too after all they were seeing day in and out the upclose depravities of this "man" abusers also are very good at manipulating the children they abuse into feeling something like love and loyalty to the person who they fear. They were children - they don't have the clarity of thought an adult does and I promise they let things slip around teachers and other adults all of whom decided it was none of their business .
How is this justice? He gets a 6 x 8 "cage" and 3 meals a day while his son got a dog cage and a starvation diet? Let's give him the same treatment!
One can only wonder what kind love was shown to him by his father.
I wish someone can find forgiveness in their hearts for what these parents did to their poor son. But after I read about this terrible abuse that I thought only existed in the Medieval, Dark Ages, I could only shed a tear, and say, "DAMN THEM, DAMN BOTH OF THEM TO HELL!"
I feel sorry for the remaining children in that family; they deserved better. To witness that and have to live through that has changed their lives. Fortunately, children are resilient, and with good counseling they can live on beyond what they were put through -- albeit some psych scars will always remain.
As for their parents ...sorry everyone, I can't help but say it again:
"DAMN THEM, DAMN BOTH OF THEM TO H E L L !"
If there is a God, may it have mercy on their souls.
These were my first thoughts too!
I watched a seriously messed up movie the other day called "The Afflicted" the mother in it made "Mommy Dearest" Joan Crawford look like a f*cking saint she did horrific things to her children too and no one said anything.
I would guess the other kids were just too afraid of it happening to them? I don't know why I click on these articles or watch movies like these (especially the ones based on true stories) they make me batsh*t crazy! I hope these monsters burn in hell!
Steve Herbert
Agreed SH, unfortunately, church and religion fuks up the mionds and heads of their sheeple.
Commonsense, thank you for the article. I am not understanding if DCF was aware of the torture of this child in 2009, or if what the article reports is an accounting of what they were told by other officials or the other children in the home after they found him. (I have flu and eyes are spinning so could have not understood) My God, this poor baby. If DCF was aware of ANY of the abuses in this home, even a hint of probable abuse, caseworkers need to be questioned. And if anyone was ever aware and did nothing, they need to be charged too. For this to"slip through the cracks" is unforgivable. Someone other than the children had to have been aware of what was going on in that house and should have reported something. These "parents" should fry. No plea bargains accepted. My God. This poor child and all of the other kids in that house.
There is something to be said about the death penalty. Some people are so evil and dangerous that exclusion from our society - such as it is - seems reasonable.
"I loved my son" Give me a f'en break. Just put a bullet through the bastards head and do the world a favor...or give him what he did to that poor boy and see what his son went through. The step mom should get the same for not doing anything. Pathetic excuses of human beings.
I hope they put this animal in the main population of the prison they put him in,and he will find out how women beaters,rapists,and child abusres are treated !!!!
By who? The other women beaters, child rapists and cild abusers?
Please don't call this thing an animal. No animal would torture their own child like this thing did. I don't know what it is..... it isn't a plant. Hopefully it'll live 80 LONG years in prison learing a lesson only other prisoners can teach it.
Bull crap. Prisons are filled with women beaters, rapists, etc. You watch too much television.
No one is treated good in prison.
Except "Bubba".
Roadkill
So much for the invisible man in the sky saving this innocent child from harm. Once again, the people failed this kid, and so did the religious buffoons god.
So. That's your cure?
Fresh meat for the prison already filled with degenrates? Lets get this right! Youare rewarding those sick puppies by delivery of some sick puppy... they turning your back to allow them to do the same things we locked them up for?
When these other degenrates finally get out, after years of gourging on, preying on other men - while in jail; you expect them to have been "cured" of whatever sickness put them in there in the first place?
I would have sentenced the psycho to 80 years in a dog cage within a jail cell.
A diet of nothing but dog food as well seems appropriate to me.
A diet of dog sh11 would be seem appropriate to me.
Intel2.................... That would be a waste of taxpayer money.............This thing should not be allowed for an appeal or any just self defense.. This thing and this thing-et should be Terminated immediately........
Can't think of a better time to bring back the gallows. Actually, he should be tied up in the public square and let people throw darts at him for a fee, to help take care of the others who were tortured by this guy. Mom should join him. They don't deserve to die too quickly. Heck, maybe even keep him alive for 2 years as long as the torture can continue. Sounds reasonable to me. You know what they say "do unto others as you'd have others do unto you, and assume they do the same."
Couldn't agree more.
This 'thing' (I won't use the term 'man') is not worth one second more of air. Not one more moment of life.
Not one squandered taxpayer dollar.
He should be taken out in the town square and hanged at noon this Sunday.
Keeping him alive is an affront to our very civilization. We don't have time or resources for any further liberal delusions.
Hang him. I'll make lemonade.
It's difficult for me to wrap my mind around this diabolical maniac's treatment of his own son. What's the old saying.....'the abused becomes the abuser.' I'm not trying to psycho-annalyze this guy but he must have all sorts of demons inside of him to be able to do what he did. Maybe something bad happened to him as a kid and he has all that rage built up inside.
I'm amazed though that some of those other children didn't tell somebody in order to help rescue their brother!
The other children probably were told that one word, and they'd be right next to him, and some probably thought it was normal, that their brother deserved the punishment (given what the step-mom was having the boy write about).
This reminds me of "Cool Hand Luke" and how torturing one prisoner kept the rest in line, up until Luke came along. Furthermore, it seems that at least one of the other kids didn't get to go to public school. Some parents who home school in my state are furious that their kids have to show up for testing, etc., where "the government" can check on them. Stories like this don't sway them.
Witchrunner.... I certainly understand why you would want revenge on these idiots. But think about what type of society you want to live in before ranting on!
If you want a public square slow killing of idiots..... Just what have you become if you're part of it?
they both should of gotten the death penalty
Too many clamoring for the death of this man. Think about it. Death is a release. Death is final. No more moments of anxiety, no more fear of what's next, no more cold or hot, no more headaches or other aches and pains, no more loneliness, no more hunger or thirst, no more kidney discomfort. All these things this young boy suffered for years. And you want this man put to death and freed from this? No. He'll be locked for the rest of his life.
Rob: Instead of reading literature dreamt up by the marketing department of the anti-choice religionistas, do a thorough study of the reproductive system. Nothing like exaggerations and FALSE information to reach the less informed.
Well done, pete - managed to squeeze in a 'liberal', although a bit off subject.
The bitch get out in February? She watched for two years, and gets less time than the baby.
Equal rights for women
Equal pay for women
Equal punishment for women.
Not hardly.
It takes a special kind of monster, inhumane creature, to be able to sit literally next to a caged child and engage in amusing entertainment, all the while KNOWING you are literally starving,constantly causing agony to such a defenseless offspring of your own.This goes way beyond just abuse.This is sadistic, power dominating and beyond cruelty most people can even imagine.
He likely did this more than just to hurt his child. He did this to get back his ex-wife.With forcing his daughter to have to participate by taking care of her brother, he is removed from being involved in actually caring emotionally for his own children like he normally would. Instead he vents his pent up rage, targeting it on his son, because he is a control freak. This is a common behavior pattern and abuse symptom of one. Though the method is unusual, it is sadly not unheard of.
Having worked with abused women and children for more than three decades, the role of this stepmother, sadly is one that I have seen before. Some experts have noted such tend to go along because of concerns for their own children. As they watch their male spouses begin to escalate in abuse to a child, these women may at first try to intervene, but then find themselves rebuffed or even receive some abuse.How they choose to respond all depends on their background and personality.Some will leave.But for those who stay and don't get counseling there is a common reaction besides standing their ground.
They back off, permitting the abuse to continue, some even joining in knowing they are being monitored, if that takes the heat off themselves or other children.Yet it still doesn't excuse them stepping forward and taking action they know to be right.They are not ignorant, nor helpless.Some do believe however, it is better one child suffer, then more. Especially if that child isn't one of their own. As sick as that belief is. During the Holocaust some prisoners turned on their own people and this type of behavior was seen, also noted in other prisons during different wars as well. There may be some of that going on in this case, which is why Kimberly Kubina didn't get a harsher sentence.
Like experts have noted, as abuse escalates over time, people seem to adapt and not realize how far things are progressing. The human mind's ability to become desensitized as the line gets pushed further beyond what normally would shock one.Or the frog jumping in the pot of hot water, quickly jumping out, versus jumping into cold water, that slowly starts heating and until it gets killed.
Interestingly, a number of studies done deomonstrated, practically every average person, given encouragement and assurances, will push buttons of increasing electrical shocks to others. Who are trying to guess answers to questions, while sitting in isolated rooms, up to the lethal level. Even though the buttons sent no true shocks. So the potential does exist in practically all of us to inflict harm to others.
In a world that watches movies where such terrible things happen, violence is accepted so easily and we see around the world how people treat the life of men, women and children, it is such a tragedy that we as humans don't appreciate one another for the absolute incredible treasure and precious gift to the world, each of us truly is.
The fact Christian Choate was denied his birth right to love, happiness, health and a society that supported his needs, is just one more terrible testament of our failure as a society. Surely we can do better for so many other babies being born.To make sure they don't slip between the cracks and others be abused nor die before they get the love, nurturing and attention needed.I truly hope this lovely child's death will not be in vain.
I would like to see this man in a cage him self. what is wrong with people, sadly this is not and will not be the last time somethig like this happened. i my self worked with a young man who lived like this for many years, he did have some very angry issues to work through......
GRRRRR! Gonna blame the system, your damn right ! No effing way should this not have been dealt with before the tragic outcome. I know there is good everywhere in all professions ,but child protection ive come to known and experience is all about money and not for the kids. It seems as long as you can read a book and graduate then you can tell people how to raise kids . When called to investigate someone who is beating a child leaving marks, nothing happens. No balls to stand up to actual pychos who beat kids but pick on single moms who try their best . Yeah i know how it goes. This guy was probably investigated but every single one of those children were present and in his presence and couldnt tell a word of what was happening and he probably made them fear their own lives if they spoke. Seen it happen, caseworker is a pussy, closes the case and goes home for the day. Finds someone less threating to deal with the next day and makes a huge fat paycheck for then breaking up a truley loveing family and ruing the rest of someones life. in either situation the kids always lose.
Actually, it has long been recognized that severe under funding, staff carrying work loads that are double or trip what is recommended by the federal government, high turn over rates because of burn out leading to shortages of well trained professionals, budget crisis, hiring freezes, lack of adequate resources to go around and the dangerous, often personal requirements of sacrifices involved from social workers, are the reasons we see our whole system failing to meet the needs of abused children.
Until politicians are willing to set aside funds for better services, there won't be much improvements down the line.Newer technologies can help to record evidence of injuries, but under staffing must improve, incentives for bilingual workers. Work loads must become reasonable, Just 12 cases, the recommended load, comes to 60-70 people, when siblings and parents are figured in. Imagine 36, or 210 people each month,plus court time, and taking on new cases, one for every six current. You begin to see the problem with keeping on top. I am glad I don't have that responsibility.
I have known so many hard working caseworkers over the years trying to make a difference, but I'm sure some will not always do their best. There was one that set the gold standard though once long ago,Marilyn Minor, a loving incredible woman, often working way beyond her normal work hours with her clients. Who ended up quitting eventually out of sheer frustration and heart break because she couldn't do her job, the system tied her hands. She loved the children in her care, including me and had worked for years for them. I was inspired to be like her when I grew up, until she quit. If someone that amazing quit, for those reasons, then the system truly was broken. Some people do change lives positively, and are miracle workers. It is a tragedy when we lose them from the system because children, families need such people.
No one wants to let one child slip through the cracks. Social workers don't run into homes looking for some kid just to yank out to stick in foster care to make a fat check off of. As a former foster mother myself, I can tell you, there is no fat check being sent out. Even with specialized children, you don't make that much a day. In addition, nobody wants to see one single monster lay a hand on a single child and get away with it.
It is too easy to sit back and just say its the workers not doing their job. The problem is far bigger then that. This is one area people can help change by letting their leaders know they want to see more funds go to. Not just get mad and comment about behind computers.That's how this young boy's death can truly make a difference
Winddancersong..
Thank you for that rational clarity. People who rage about the system and have not worked within it have no credible understanding of the depth and breadth of the issues involved. Social workers make very little, have great responsibility, have vast caseloads, and frequently have their hands tied by the law. Those who work in the system, in all areas, must work within the existing laws and have far too few resources to accomplish realistic goals. They didn't go into this field to become wealthy, they do it because they hope to make a difference. In reality, within a short time span, they become disillusioned, exhausted, and heartbroken. No, not every social worker, foster parent, or legal advocate is pure of heart and unblemished, and even those with good intentions may make mistakes, but the overwhelming majority of them are sincerely trying to help these kids. At least they are doing something more than raging about how awful the problem is.
The plea deal was way too lenient on her - they gave her months, she deserved decades.
Oh my god. Dear Lord. seriously, i am just speechless.
how disgustingly vile! this beautiful beautiful boy deserves so so sos os sooooooooooooo much love. i am shedding tears and i cant seem to stop. none of the other children or mother said anything? FOR TWO YEARS? i wouldnt even treat my animals this way, let alone a boy.
how humiliating , i would go crazy and kill myself if i was in a cage and beaten and starved and completely physically and pyschologically detroyed for two years.
a disgusting ignorant family with 10 kids, who live in a trailer, and after burying the son they killed, decided to move to kentucky (i lived in kentucky so im not offending it at all)— but THE FAMILY, sounds like disgusting white trash redneck imbecils. Oh my god.
i cannot look into the picture of the boy without crying. what horrible horrible torture. i am just heart-broken completely heart broken that this child sat in a cage while his whole family went around their home like nothing (playing games)
........i cant even begin to process this..., there are no words to describe this, !!! torture would be putting it LIGHTLY!!
He was also charged with depriving his daughter of an education. That means that most likely even though she wasn't kept in a cage she was not allowed out of the sight of this evil controlling man. Who would she tell? Her step-mother? She was complicit and should have served much more time even though she cooperated with the authorities. That poor boy and those poor children who were unable to help this boy and themselves. Unfortunately there is no test for parenthood. I wonder where the biological mother was.
why didnt the kids do something?
ghow,That is the burning question for me also.I don't understand why the school system wasn't questioning his absence and calling social services.I wonder what happened to his mother and her family also.I am sick to my stomach.This man and step mom should have both been given the death penalty as this was pre-meditated murder,no and's if's or buts.This should not ever happen in our country to another child.Abusing and murdering children should be considered a federal offense with the death penalty as punishment.
Just A Cleaning Lady... I agree with your comments... In fact I always enjoy your comments. Yes, both should have been put to death...
@ ghow these kids didn't/couldn't do anything as they have probably been physically abused themselves & most definitely mentally abused...when you hear something long enough you believe it even if you knew in the beginning it's not true.
Worst of all, he may be the most fortunate of these kids. He's dead and gone and will not suffer anymore. His brothers and sisters will carry the impact of this environment all of their lives.
@ghow-1147906
You probably never live in 3rd world country, beat, abuse, day in and day out they have to fend for themselves.
Look from their views, all the adults they know are that same kind, do you think they would trust another adult? They fear that if they do something, they may end up being treat the same way as their brother.
just a cleaning lady
Two words: Home school. Step-mom was giving him his writing assignments, so he was being home schooled.
That they moved away after the boy's death and told anyone who asked that the 13 year old boy had run away.
Who's going to check? The home school lobby gets loud and cranky whenever this is brought up. There is nothing in our society or laws that require a yearly check-up on the existence of children, unless it's for academic testing, and the home school lobby even balks at that. For all that we know, there may be more dead children, who have been dead for years, while their murderous parents are listing them as tax exemptions.
Why do you think there are thousands of missing children? How many of them could have possibly been killed by their parents??
Elk Meadow,I can see why nobody was missing him after reading your comments.I forget that we now have home schooling.Thanks for the explanation and for being civil and mature.
"Cooperated with the authorities"? Does that mean if I kill someone and immediately enlighten the authorities of all the details of the crime, that I'll get a couple months is jail? Plea bargaining - bribing criminals.
u r supposed to kill these people....
I can only hope that in prison, word gets out, as it will, and he is found 'hanged' in his cell.
Used to happen all the time back in the day. A child rapist or murderer, etc. was found 'hanged' in his cell.
Perhaps it's time to wax nostalgic.
Times might have changed but the rules stay the same in prison. The father will the get the special treatment.
A pack of smokes to whoever decks the SOB in prison.
The sickest part in that where there is one there are dozens of "cages".......
Once more we are exposed to the tragedy of people who have lost all sense of a moral compass. This couple did not know how to love or raise their children. How does anger get so deep?
They probably grew up in similar circumstances with abusive parents, poverty and ignorance and lacked the imagination or intellect to move beyond those circumstances. Too bad they were allowed to reproduce at all.
Because they are flaming morons. Plain and simple. Uneducated, vile, demonic human beings. That ex wife should be sentenced to life as well. She abused this child with her horrible writing assignments that he was forced to do - assignments wherein he had to say he commited vile sex acts - and THAT is just what we know. All the posters waxing poetic on this stuff - skip it. A child can tell you all of this is bad. And I do not understand why the oldest daughter told no one. It was clear that the sole target was Christian. The daughter could have told a friend or a neighbor. I do not let her off the hook. She knew this brother was suffering.
Also, the ex wife was the one who bought the cage from an unsuspecting neighbor. The ex wife is every bit of an accomplice and child torturer as the "father", and she deserves a hefty jail sentence. I hope the public does not forget that once she is released.
Put the father in a dog cage and beat him regularly. Don't feed him at all. That's what he deserves. Let the punishment fit the crime.
THIS ^ARTICLE IS VERY VAGUE.... THIS ONE HERE IS BETTER
An Indiana couple pleaded not guilty to the alleged abuse and death of a 13-year-old boy whose body was buried in a shallow grave under a slab of concrete – a boy no one even knew was missing for two years.
This child was allegedly brutally beaten repeatedly by his father, Riley Lowell Choate, 39, and his step-mother Kimberly Leona Kubina, 45, before he finally died. He was locked up, chained up, deprived food, beaten with a pipe, and that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Yet Choate’s attorney has asked that all of the charges against his client be dismissed because prosecutors are not able to provide specific dates that the alleged abuse and murder took place. Attorney Randy Godshalk says that the state’s filing alleges the crime took place during a two-year period and that the allegations fail to conform to the requirement of law and lack specificity.
Godshalk has asked and been granted an independent autopsy be performed on Christian. Therefore, Chrisitan’s body will be held by the coroner’s office at least until after a June 14 hearing on the motion.
How could this happen?
It appears to be a case where adults were able to put enough fear into children that they were convinced to keep their most disturbing family secret to themselves.
It was a custody case gone horribly wrong. Mom and dad divorced and dad got custody of 10-year-old Christian Choate and his sister. Christian would now be 13.
Riley Lowell Choate, 39, moved in with Kimberly Leona Kubina, 45, in 2005 after gaining custody of both Christian and his older sister. Several other children lived in the home, presumably Kimberly’s children from a previous relationship.
When Christian arrived he was said to have been in good health, and complained that he missed his mom. He said he wanted to live with her, and for that he was punished almost immediately.
He was locked in a room in a basement. The family moved from their Merrillville, Indiana home to a mobile home in a different part of Lake County and things got worse.
Christian was made to live inside of metal dog cage. According to a probable cause affidavit, the cage was secured with seven locks when Christian tried to escape. His father kept the keys near his computer where he spent time playing video games.
According to the affidavit Christian’s sister was forced to care for him. She was told if she said anything to anyone the same thing would happen to her. She had to feed him and unlock the cage to take him to the bathroom. She was made to force him to do exercises and physically punish him for failing to follow orders.
Police said they believe anyone from outside the house who asked about Christian was told he was being homeschooled.
Christian’s hands were at times tied to the top of the cage. On one such occasion his step-mother spray-painted his chained hands black as additional punishment.
His health began to deteriorate and he began to soil himself. He was kept naked in a diaper. The only baths he was allowed to take were those in ice-cold water, which made him scream.
One punishment was chaining his hands and feet to an upright bed frame. It was difficult for him to stand as his feet became numb. Court records allege that while he was chained to the bed frame he was punched, kicked, beaten with a metal pole in the face and head, and choked until he turned purple.
Food was denied him, and some of the children tried sneaking food to him. His step-mother would tell the other children, “He needs to be locked up. He’s a dog.”
In April of 2009 Christian was too weak to eat. His father became so enraged that he punched him with full force several times in the front, side, and back of his head. He threw him back in the cage.
One day that month Christian didn’t wake up. His sister Christina Choate and her half-sister were ordered to wrap their brother up in sheets and to put him into garbage bags and a storage tote.
The parents then drove Christian to a wooded area. His father and step-mother placed a bible on his chest, covered his body with quick-drying cement, sprinkled him with a substance to make his body decompose faster, and buried him in a shallow grave.
Soon after Riley Coate moved his family to Kentucky. The girls were not allowed to attend school there, talk on the phone, or spend time with friends. It was Christina, Christian’s biological sister, who mustered up the courage to call her mother to tell her what had happened to her brother. Her mother then called Lake County Police.
After an investigation Riley Coate and Kimberly Kubina went to jail for Christian's death. Riley Coate told police he didn’t mean to kill his son, and freaked out when he discovered his death.
Though this happened two years ago, and a child was locked up in a dog cage for a year, no one reported Christian missing.
His biological mother told investigators she had not been allowed to see Christian or his sister since their father gained custody of them on 2005.
Riley Choate eventually led authorities to Christian’s burial place. On May 4 they found the body with the bible still on his chest. The coroner’s office determined he had died from blunt force trauma with internal bleeding and a skull fracture.
Choate and Kubina are charged with murder, battery, neglect of a dependent and criminal confinement.
How is this one better? It was written prior to the sentencing!
Next time try a link...
Thanks Ms Chacon, I shall feel better, if I read the father was put down, like the rabid beast he is... The step Witch... Well, she should get 80 years. The father deserves death...
Skup,
You have to have a posting record of so many posts or so many months of posting before a link will work here. For many, copy and paste have to do. I wish, though that people who do that would have some note about when and where the article was copied from.
Having said that, if a spaces are put between letter or numbers, posters can remove the spaces and attempt to get the link to work.
Why is it that defense attorneys, even though knowing their client has committed a heinous crime, can legally deny that to be the case? Why are the prosecutor and defense attorney not sworn in as are any others that testify to factual knowledge?
francie: What purpose does your comment serve? Joining the thread only to criticize selected statements is a waste of bandwidth.
UNBELIEVABLE that that bitch step-mother isn't going to spend a few decades locked up, even if she did testify. UNBELIEVABLE!!
mkaipo,My sentiments exactly.I hope that the so called system doesn't make a mistake and let her see her biological children ever.They will all need,including christian's sister,many years of psychological counseling to get over the trauma and so that they themselves don't become abusers.
And she was the one who got the cage from an unsuspecting neighbor, leading me to believe that the cage was HER idea. These investigators do a crappy job trying to unearth all of the facts, not just the bodies.
This just makes me want to vomit.
I would have given him life sentence without parole. I do no believe in plead deal for murder. We have to get tough on crime in this country.
These two people are scum bags. They need to be put in a cage and beat to death.
"We feel very strongly that the system failed this child, this young man, Christian Choate," Lake County Indiana Sheriff John Buncich said at a press conference Friday.
And the system is still failing, letting his mother walk free. Anyone who can sit idly by and do nothing is a monster.
No kidding the system failed. So did the judicial system.
Where is your god?
He had nothing to do with it...He was told to leave so He did. He will have to be invited back.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2038135300001/
Hahahaha, good one Bob. So God needs permission now? What a joke! This is the same God that presided over Sandy Hook. The master of ceremonies if you will.
Watch the vid...if you get it you get if not...too bad.
Bob, this is as off topic as you are but, damn, you are one stupid troll.
Oh I get it all right. What a load of crap Huckabee is peddling. God created cancer, that about sums it up. It has NOTHING to do with culture that keeps God out of our lives. He needs no permission. He is indifferent, that's all. Oh, and vengeful.
Thank you, Bob. I got it, appreciate it and agree.
I Can see how it might be possible for
a man
to look down upon the earth
and be an atheist,
but I cannot conceive how
he could look up into the heavens
and say there is no God.
Abraham Lincoln
Oh right Bob - Faux News is certainly the best source of reliable, rational information. No wonder your mind is screwed up. Let's see how this logic works: when good things happen, God gets the credit. When bad things happen, people are to blame (while an indifferent God looks the other way). So, for example, God gives somebody cancer (a BAD thing), but the disease is cured thanks to God helping the doctors. Meanwhile, kids everywhere are abused, raped, tortured, enslaved and murdered. Where's God? Too busy creating then curing cancer. No time to look after neglected innocent kids. Yeah, he's a piece of work.
Christian is finally resting in peace in the arms of his Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus, who loved children, and told others they must come to know him with the faith of children. He also said anyone who would harm a little child would be better off thrown into a lake, with a millstone tied around their neck, than to face Him. He is a God of love, but just as sure, He is a God of justice. It isn't ours to decipher or even to understand. Only to trust. He is sovereign. He is omnipotent. He does allow our free will, but may intercede at any moment, and He does. I pray you may come to know Him.
OK kids, knock it off already.......
I hope he lives every SECOND of those 80 years just like his son did: hungry, caged, scared and lonely.
Just kill them. Some people do not deserve to share the air on this planet.
We should bring back the death penalty in all states.
It is up to the States...it is wrong any other way.
The DEATH sentences need to be CARRIED out....I see that as a huge problem.
Our prisons are overcrowded, and we the taxpayers are paying to keep these animals alive. Food, medical,dental,entertainment,education, ect. This is wrong!
Prisoners have rights! I see criminals having lost their rights, as part of punishment. Our prison system is a HUGE JOKE. We support them, while we are struggling to afford groceries,gas, and such. What do you think? Prison...no rent to pay, no utilities, meals, medical, and such. Hmmmmm ??????
Just unimaginable. That poor beautiful child. Anyone who knew of this vileness should get life in prison--the step-mom & whoever might have seen the boy.
... Death penalty. For both of them.
You loved your son? Yeah no you didn't you f***ing bastard... you only said that to make yourself look 'good' to the press. Well guess where you're going in the afterlife? c:
Certainly not to the good place. Hopefully you suffer years of pain you moronic freaks.
This guy will have a fate far worse than death. Inmates will find out what this guy is in for and there will be regular beatings, rapes, etc. He'll wish he got the death penalty.
Well, whatever they want to do... I only hope they don't kill him because that would be far too kind.
The step mother is being released? She should be put in a cage with the monster. Forget about a prison cell.
She is not being released. She is being sentenced in February. This article got it wrong. Apparently, this author couldn't even rewrite another writer's article without making mistakes.
From the Chicago Tribune:
"Kubina, who divorced Choate from jail in 2011, entered a plea deal with prosecutors and agreed to cooperate in Choate's prosecution. She is set to be sentenced in February on child neglect charges. She has told prosecutors she never reported the abuse because she feared losing custody of other children in the home."
She feared she'd lose custody of the other kids so she helped the murderer stuff her murdered son into a tote and bury him in the backyard and then cover him with concrete... then moved away and went on with her life. If she walks on this, it will be just the system failing this poor child again. She's every bit the monster that he is. I don't know what parent couldn't look at that smiling face and not hug him tight. He wrote letters while in the cage that he just wished his family loved him and wanted him and his grandfather said they could have brought him to his home any time at all if they didn't want him. It really breaks my heart to learn of the fate of this child... and so many chances to be saved yet he's gone forever.
I completely Agree with HOLLY888. They should both get the same punishment. 80 years IS NOT enough for this crime.
Now what about the other 9 kids by this maniac? Since children who are abused tend to abuse their children, are these 9 kids going to be followed into adulthood to get the help they need to help for them to be good parents? Not bloddy likely.
Second, what the Hell was this guy doing having 10 kids? And 10 kids in a trailer home, with no one to check up on him? And we wonder why out kids are having more and more problems.