L.A. County left a baby in the care of her 11-year-brother. Now, she's dead

California Baby Found Dead with 'Sunken Eyes' As Child Services Ignored Signs of Abuse After Mother Kicked Out Teen Son and Left 11-Year-Old to Care for Younger Siblings with Little Food

The honk of his mother’s car horn meant food, if only for a day. It was a signal to Jennifer Wood’s four children, ages 18, 11, 3 and 1, that they needed to come outside and pick up the starchy dishes she was leaving behind. Wood, 37, had quit her job at 7-Eleven in January and had begun leaving home for two to three days at a time, eldest son Alvondo Williams Jr. told the Los Angeles Times. Once she was gone for a week, traveling to Las Vegas …

L.A. County left a baby in the care of her 11-year-brother. Now, she's dead

Despite receiving multiple reports this spring about a family with an absent mother and gnawing hunger, DCFS never opened a case.