Why weren't the twins removed before it was too late?

Teen couple go to prison for death of baby
Mom gets 22 years, her boyfriend 13
Karen Farkas, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 14, 2006

Natalie Coday's short life was filled with brutal beatings and abuse by her teen mother and her mother's boyfriend. The 4-month-old girl died almost a year ago.

On Friday, as friends and family wept in the courtroom, Teannia Coday was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Boyfriend David Hatcher was sentenced to 13.

Hatcher, 17, stared at the floor and Coday, 18, heaved with sobs as Summit County Common Pleas Judge Jane Bond said she could not understand how any responsible adult who came in contact with the teens did not see the danger Natalie and her sister, Kanessa, faced.

"These two young people, who were never parented themselves, could not assume the responsibility to care for two special-needs children," Bond said. "Anyone looking clearly at the facts would have seen the tragedy coming."

But the teens bear primary responsibility, she said."Whether young, immature and with serious social and psychological problems, they certainly knew right from wrong and how vulnerable the children in their care were," she said.

Hatcher simply said he was sorry. Coday acknowledged that she was not perfect.

"I wish I could rewind time and redo everything," she said. "I have made my life terrible. I lost two daughters in one day."

A family member is caring for Kanessa.The twins were born prematurely. They and Coday moved often, staying with friends and family.

Police, hospital workers and Summit County Children Services officials contacted the couple several times after receiving calls about the welfare of the twins, including claims that Coday shook one and struck them, prosecutors said.

Coday denied the allegations, and no action was taken.

Hatcher, who was not the father of the children, took care of them as if he were, his lawyer, Andrew Kinder, told Bond.

On Oct. 29, Coday, the twins and Hatcher were living in a small room in the basement of her grandmother's home on Johnland Avenue in Akron. Coday and Hatcher called police to say Natalie was not breathing in her crib.

Police and paramedics found a severely beaten infant with a large bruise on her forehead, a gash under her eye and friction burn marks around her neck, which looked like strangulation marks, according to their testimony at a juvenile court hearing. She was also malnourished.

Doctors and the Summit County Medical Examiner's office found numerous broken ribs and old fractures. Her lungs and liver were torn and she was bleeding internally.

Kanessa also had old fractures to her ribs, and doctors saw red marks around her neck that day.

Hatcher was arrested Dec. 1 after he admitted that he injured Natalie. He said he was overwhelmed by trying to care for the girls. Coday was charged on Jan. 20.

They pleaded guilty last month to involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault and endangering children. Coday also pleaded guilty to permitting child abuse.

Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Connie Lewandowski said Friday it is not known who struck the fatal blows, but officials believe Coday was primarily responsible.

Prosecutors said Coday, who had psychiatric problems, was often violent with her twin daughters and her boyfriend, David Hatcher. They said she went trick-or-treating hours after the death of her daughter.

Teannia Coday's best friend, Brittany Wright, and her mother, Laura Wright, watch as Coday is sentenced to 22 years in prison for killing her 4-month-old daughter and injuring her other daughter. Laura Wright said earlier that Coday, who stayed in her home several weeks, was a good mother. She blamed Coday's boyfriend, David Hatcher, for Natalie Coday's death. "Her crime was not knowing what he was doing to them," she said.

Teannia Coday, with her lawyer, Annette Powers, did not speak or look at boyfriend David Hatcher, with his lawyer, Andrew Kinder, during their sentencing hearing Friday. Each lawyer blamed the other's client for Natalie Coday's death.