Sentenced: Great-Grandmom Caring For Kids Burned In Fire Has Dementia, Parents Charged

[Sugar Cookie]

A prosecutor is detailing the multiple criminal charges the parents of two young children critically burned in a house fire in Colonial Heights are facing.

Joshua Cabaniss and Cierra Pitts, who were indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday, face nine charges, including three counts of abuse of a child – disregard for life, three counts of cruelty to a child and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The couple’s three children and their grandmother were inside the family's Covington Road home when the fire started on May 15.

Their 5-year-old son escaped, while a bystander rescued the grandmother.

The other two children, ages one and two, were rescued by first responders and brought to VCU’s burn center with third- and fourth-degree burns.

Colonial Heights Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Noelle Nochisaki said it took months to bring the charges to the grand jury because there was a lot of work investigators had to do to make sure the proper charges were brought.

The children remain hospitalized at VCU Medical Center "for the burns they sustained,” Nochisaki said.

Prosecutor details charges against Colonial Heights parents; kids critically burned remain hospitalized

Joshua Cabaniss and Cierra Pitts are facing nine charges, including three counts of abuse of a child, three counts of cruelty to a child and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

www.wtvr.com

The great-grandmother who was watching her three great-grandchildren in May when a fire broke out in her Colonial Heights home that severely burned two of them, was found to be mentally incompetent due to her dementia, according to court records uncovered by CBS6.

CBS6 legal analyst Todd Stone said, "the offense date for the charges against the parents suggests that there might be evidence that they knowingly entrusted their children to a caregiver, their great-grandmother, who did not have the capacity to adequately care for them.”

According to court and police records, the court ordered Davis to undergo a competency hearing after Colonial Heights prosecutors said she stabbed her companion dog multiple times in August 2020.

She was found not competent to stand trial, and she was ordered to receive outpatient treatment in March 2021.

By October 2021, a doctor found Davis “continues to not understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against her” and opined that Davis was still not competent to stand trial due to her dementia.

In fact, Davis’s own lawyer wrote in a bond motion that she was “unrestorably incompetent” because of the dementia.

While receiving outpatient treatment, Colonial Heights Police charged Davis in September of 2021 with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after they said she left a three-year-old child in her car outside the Goodwill store in Colonial Heights for at least 9 minutes.

The person who reported the child inside the car to police said there were no keys in the ignition and the child appeared hot.

Court records also show a Child Protective Services worker called police less than two months before the fire at Davis’s home that severely injured her two great-grandchildren, and reported that Davis allegedly locked her four-year-old grandchild, the same one whom police said she left unattended in her car twice, out of the home due to her not listening and wanting to come inside.

Both of Davis’ charges related to leaving a child in her car alone were set aside by prosecutors.

Davis was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the animal cruelty case.

Great-grandmother caring for kids burned in fire has dementia, court records reveal

The great-grandmother who was watching her three great-grandchildren when a fire broke out in her home was found to be mentally incompetent due to her dementia, according to court records.

www.wtvr.com

Grandma needs to be in a nursing home and prohibited from having contact with kids or pets.

 

[Hermy]

This is what the two littlest ones suffered:

• Third-degree burns damage or completely destroy both layers of skin including hair follicles and sweat glands and damage underlying tissues. These burns always require skin grafts.
• Fourth degree burns extend into fat, fifth degree burns into muscle, and sixth degree burns to bone.

National Institute of General Medical Sciences

NIGMS supports basic research to understand biological processes and lay the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

nigms.nih.gov

 

[Alxprkrkrls]

The dad wearing “the grandmother” shirt deeply disturbed me…

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Mar 25, 2024

Almost a year after two young children were severely burnt in a Colonial Heights house fire, their mother pled guilty to several felony and misdemeanor charges for leaving them in the care of a family member that day who prosecutors say "couldn't have even a goldfish."

Cierra Pitts and the children's father, Joshua Cabaniss, were each charged with three counts of abuse of a child, three counts of cruelty to a child, and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

During the plea agreement, the prosecution stated Pitts knew of the dangers involved with leaving her three children, then 5, 2, and 1 years old at the time, in the care of their great-grandmother, Sharon Davis.

Davis was diagnosed with dementia and was at the center of multiple domestic violence allegations at the time of the fire.

During the May 15 fire, the two youngest children were trapped inside a Pack-and-Play and suffered severe burns across 80 to 95% of their bodies.

The babies were estimated to have to undergo anywhere from 50 to 100 surgeries. According to the prosecution, one of the children will likely have to wear a breathing device for the rest of their life.

Their sibling, a 5-year-old boy, and Davis were able to make it out of the home during the fire.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

The parental rights of both Pitts and Cabaniss have been terminated and both defendants cannot have contact with the children unless allowed by their adopted parents.

According to the prosecution, Pitts and Cabaniss "knew Davis could hurt the children" and Child Protective Services created a safety plan to prevent the kids from being in Davis's care before the fire.

Pitts had no prior criminal history before the fire.

"The prosecution's theory was not that she had done anything intentionally directly to harm them, but she left them in the care of an aging grandparent and she shouldn't have done that," Todd Ritter, Pitts's attorney, told CBS6.

Pitts will serve one and a half years of active time as part of the agreement.

"She's hurting as a parent, she hurts for the children and the lasting damage that they will have to live with," Ritter said.

Mother of children burned in Colonial Heights house fire pleads guilty to felony charges

On Tuesday, Pitts pled guilty to three felony counts of child abuse/neglect and three misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

www.wtvr.com

Nov 29, 2023

The father of two children critically burned in a house fire in Colonial Heights was ruled incompetent to stand trial at this time.

Colonial Heights Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Noelle Nochisaki said an evaluation received by the expert appointed to complete Cabaniss’s competency evaluation led to the decision to rule him incompetent to stand trial at this time.

Cabaniss “was ordered to complete outpatient restoration services through Riverside Regional Jail. A restoration review hearing will be held on March 5, 2024, at 9:00 a.m.” Nochisaki wrote in an email.

Dad of 2 toddlers critically burned in Colonial Heights fire found incompetent to stand trial

The father of two children critically burned in a house fire in Colonial Heights was ruled incompetent to stand trial at this time.

www.wtvr.com

 

[DamagedGoods]

"The prosecution's theory was not that she had done anything intentionally directly to harm them, but she left them in the care of an aging grandparent and she shouldn't have done that," Todd Ritter, Pitts's attorney, told CBS6.

She didn't just leave them in the care of an aging grandparent. She left them with an aging grandparent who had a history of violent and negligent behaviour towards animals and children, plus dementia FFS. If she didn't do this intentionally to harm them, then she shouldn't be trusted to function on her own since clearly her judgment is almost as wildly impaired as great-grandma's.

 

[GoneWest]

I’m confused how she was even allowed to live on her own if it was ruled she was not guilty by reason of insanity in murdering her companion dog.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Defendant: PITTS, CIERRA CHEYENNE

Charge: ABUSE CHILD, DISREGARD LIFE

Disposition: GUILTY
Disposition Date: 04/09/2024

Concluded By: GUILTY PLEA

Jail/Penitentiary: PENITENTIARY

Sentence Time: 5 Year(s)
Sentence Suspended: 4 Year(s)

Probation Type: INDEFINITE SUPERVISION
Probation Time: 5 Year(s)

The man does appear to have any court case s attached to the above crime but he is a career criminal.

Virginia Judiciary Online Case Information System

You can search him in the above link