Authorities Say 4-Year-Old Judah Morgan Was Beaten To Death By His Father After Courts Wouldn't Allow Aunt To Intervene; Aunt Is Now Fighting For Change In Law
CHICAGO (CBS) -- At just 4 years old, Judah Morgan was tortured and beaten to death in Northwest Indiana.
His father is now charged with his murder.
Judah's aunt fought for custody, but the courts did not allow her to intervene. Now, she tells CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey she is fighting for change across the state.
"My husband and I and - our children want Judah's life and death to mean something, and to bring light to what's going on," said Judah's aunt, Jenna Hullett.
Four-year-old Judah called Hullett "mommy." She received kinship placement when he was just 4 months old, and lived with their family in Knox, Indiana about 80 miles southeast of Chicago until this past April, when Hullett said the state arranged to have Judah live with his biological parents for "a six-month home trial visit."
Hullett was worried, "because of the drug use and the way their relationship was very toxic - and the way they live was very filthy," she said.
Video shows Hullett talking to Judah while he is in the bathtub – disclosing a troubling revelation.
Hullett: "What happened to your eye right there?"
Judah: "It hurts."
Hullett: "Why does it hurt? What happened?"
Judah had been coming home from regular visits with injuries, which he blamed on his biological parents. This incident in the bathtub was an example.
Hullet: "What did she do?"
Judah: "Hurt me."
Hullett and her family tried to fight the new placement, but were told that legally, they had no leg to stand on. Just 6 months into his stay with his parents — Mary Yoder and Alan Morgan — they got the call that Judah was killed.
"I think I run out of tears," Hullett said.
Charging documents say Alan Morgan lost his temper and beat Judah to death, investigators say, as a punishment for not being potty-trained.
Hickey: "He had someone who wanted to take care of him, but the way the system is set up in Indiana, you couldn't do that."
Hullett: "It's still pending in the courts for the guardianship for him."
Now, Hullett wants to change that.
"This is good policy to fix this situation," said Indiana state Rep. Sen. Mike Bohacek (R-Michiana Shores).
Hullett has teamed up with Sen. Bohacek to give kinship caregivers more power in these situations.
"That's where I think the way this bill lands by giving the parent or the family caregiver the opportunity to intervene in the case - because they know the family better than anybody else - either for reunification or against for unification," Bohacek said.
Hullett says getting this change through is the least they can do.
"We just want him to know he is a superhero," she said. "We want his name to mean something for other children."
Morgan was charged with murder and child neglect. Judah's mother was charged with child neglect causing death.
The Indiana state legislation Hullett is pushing for with Bohacke, SB410, just passed through the state Senate and has been referred to the House. We will keep following up.