Missing Miami Toddler’s Mother Shocks Court Revealing ‘She Is Dead’
Miami homicide detectives were urgently searching for Angela Dufrene, a missing toddler, when her mother made a stunning admission in court this week revealing the toddler was dead. “She is dead,” Marjorie Dufrene, the Miami toddler’s mother, told the judge on Thursday. The mother went on to say, “She’s no longer with us.”
This shocking information came to light in the court just hours before the Miami police department had issued a bulletin asking the public to help locate the toddler, Angela, who had gone missing at least eight months ago in the month of November. Unfortunately, it was not until this week that it was discovered that the Miami toddler was missing. The discovery was made following an anonymous tip of abuse, which caused the Florida Department of Children and Families to investigate the mother from Miami and her family.
Mother of missing Miami toddler stuns court: 'She is dead' – Miami Herald https://t.co/Ex5d1SkWun
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Sources told the Miami Herald the mother has detailed several different stories to both child-welfare investigators and the police regarding what had happened to the toddler. One of the stories included the child suffered from a fatal fall. After the fall, the mother claims she discarded of her daughter’s body in a dumpster.
As a result of the conflicting statements the Miami mother had given investigators regarding her missing toddler, they were holding out hope the toddler may have still be alive. If Angela was still alive, she would be 2-years-old by now. Angela has a twin brother who is currently in a foster home.
CBS Miami reports detectives investigating the missing – and possibly dead – toddler are increasingly frustrated as they have so little information to go on. To date, even a photo of the toddler has yet to be discovered. Despite the mother’s confession that the missing Miami toddler is dead, the search continues to find the toddler — or at least to find her remains.
When the mother of the missing toddler from Miami finally revealed the child was dead, the judge questioned the mother for additional information. “Does that mean she’s dead?”
“Right,” The mother replied.
The Miami judge wanted more specific details regarding the death of the Miami toddler, so she asked the mother is she could tell the court what the child’s date of death was. The mother responded, “Sometime last year.”
The Miami judge is extremely troubled that the family had not been monitored more closely as the mother had a long history with the agency and had previously lost custody of three of her other children back in 2013.
“It seems like someone in Broward is sleeping, all the priors here and nothing was done. It’s astounding, quite frankly.”
Broward County is somewhat unique in the state of Florida, according to the Miami Herald, as all child abuse allegations are investigated by the sheriff’s office.
“We are very concerned about the well-being of this child,” a DCF spokeswoman, Jessica Sims, said. “The department has initiated a child protective investigation regarding the circumstances that led to the disappearance of the child and we will continue to work closely with law-enforcement.”
To date, the mother has yet to be convicted of a crime involving the missing toddler. She is cooperating with the police, however.
It was in 2013 when this Miami mother first came under scrutiny with child protective services after she was arrested for child battery and neglect. Court records reveal the mother from Miami was put on probation for a year and fined. After she was arrested, she was stripped of the custody of her three children who live with their biological father. It was in April of 2014 that the mother let the court know she was expecting twins, on maternity leave, and unable to continue to make payments on her fine until after the twins were born. She was granted additional time to pay the fine.
What is unclear at this point in time is why the twins were allowed to remain in the mother’s care when they were born given the probation and scrutiny she was under. At the very least, why wasn’t someone from child protective services checking on them?
[Image via Shutterstock]
