Mother Charged In Beating Death Of Toddler
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GRAND PRAIRE (CBSDFW.COM) - A Grand Prairie grandmother says Child Protective Services failed, and now her 4-year-old grand daughter, Leiliana Wright is dead.
Jeri Quezada, 30, was arrested and charged with causing injury to a child, after her daughter died from what was described as "blunt force trauma."
Alisa Clakley is the girl's grandmother who took care of her until she was 2 while her mother was in prison. She said after the girl's mother got out of prison, they very rarely saw her or their granddaughter, and at one point had to go to court to find out where she was. Additionally, despite Leiliana showing up at their home with strange bruises for months, and repeated calls to CPS, nothing was ever done, according to Clakley.
"It was several phone calls made. And with the things that were going on in the home, somehow, she was allowed to stay. Something has got to change," says Clakley. She says the bruises became more prevalent and could not be explained.
"One time we got her and she had two black eyes and bruises on her cheeks. And they said she had run into a table or something like that."
Clakley says CPS needs to respond. "I think they failed her, the system failed her. I know I am just her grandmother, but they failed big time," says Clakley.
The agency confirms they did receive calls to the home, but would not elaborate further. They say they are investigating the death.
This isn't Quezada's first run in with the law. She was convicted and sentenced of Burglary of a Habitation in Dallas County in June 2011. It was a 6 year sentence. Quezada was on mandatory supervision by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice through March of 2017, according to agency spokesman Robert C. Hurst.
She met with her parole officer on a scheduled basis and was required to abide by the mandatory supervision rules and regulations set forth by the department. Quezada was in compliance with all conditions of her supervision prior to her arrest, according to Hurst.
She is in the Grand Prairie Jail on a $500,000 bond.
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