editorials

The world shifted this week when we learned that 4-year-old Demond Reed's life was taken so viciously. How can we occupy the same space, breathe the same air, drive the same streets as anyone capable of bringing such an awful end to a tiny boy's life?

Hearts are aching for sweet-faced Demond, the Minneapolis boy who was beaten to death, likely sometime last week, then stuffed in a bag and dumped in a closet like a piece of trash. With the heartache comes outrage and the inevitable, reflexive search for ways to protect our most vulnerable.

It's almost impossible to fathom this kind of violence, especially when the victim is a defenseless child. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner reported Tuesday that Demond died of homicidal violence, his small body battered, bruised and struck with a blunt object. His ribs had been fractured, puncture wounds were found on various parts of his body, and there was evidence that he had been bitten.

The alleged killer is a woman who was supposed to be his caretaker, an adult cousin with four young children of her own. Carla C. Poole, 37, was charged Tuesday in Hennepin County Court with second-degree murder. She was babysitting Demond because his father, Tony Reed, was in jail for a probation violation. Reed went to the workhouse on Jan. 22 and was released Feb. 7 -- close to the date authorities believe the boy was murdered at Poole's north Minneapolis home.

Both Poole and Reed have drug convictions in their pasts, and Poole was investigated for suspected child abuse in 2006 but was not convicted.

Demond is not the only victim in this case. Consider three of Poole's children, ages 4, 6 and 11, who police say not only witnessed the crime but also participated in or witnessed the beating. According to the charges, Poole told her two younger children to help hold Demond while she hit him. Then the children were instructed by their mother to lie and say that someone named Shawna had taken the boy from the home.

After other family members asked about Demond, Poole reported him missing. But under continuing questions from family members and investigators, the children eventually told police their story.

It's devastating to consider the potential impact this horrific event will have on the lives of those children. The research is painfully clear: Kids who grow up in violent, neglectful households are more likely to have psychological problems or repeat the pattern of violence themselves.

So as more information comes out about Demond's death, it's crucial to examine all of the ways it might have been prevented -- starting with his father's decision to leave him with a troubled relative. But it may be more important to consider what can be done to help the children who survived the tragedy on Morgan Avenue North and the thousands of other children who are growing up abused in violent, broken homes. They, too, are vulnerable victims who need all of the support this community can provide.