Karla News

Brianna Mariah Lopez: Broken Angel

Brianna Lopez was just five months old, but in those five months she endured more suffering than most of us will in a lifetime. What her own family did to her is so vile most of us couldn’t imagine it. But the truth is, her story is just one of thousands of unspeakable abuse so many children know all too well.

Born February 14, 2002 …Valentines day, Brianna was premature but otherwise healthy. She died July 19th of the same year. I think anyone who knows her story will say she probably never seen an ounce of love in her short time here on earth. She was bitten, shaken, squeezed, thrown and much worse. Brianna’s own mother took part in some of the abuse, admitting to pinching and biting baby Brianna when she was fussy.

The night Brianna died, her mother is reported to have fallen asleep, as Brianna’s father and uncle stayed up with her. During the night, Brianna was repeatedly thrown up in the air, hitting the ceiling, then allowed to slam to the floor. As if that wasn’t already bad enough,her father and uncle also took turns raping her, time and time again.

The following is an excerpt from a Brianna Facebook Page:

On July 19, 2002, Baby was taken to the emergency room where she died. The cause of death was cranial cerebral injuries due to the fact that she was a battered baby. She had bruising all over her head and ears and human bite marks on her face, neck, and body. A blunt force injury to Baby’s head in the last three days or less resulted in a large subdural hematoma on her brain. X-rays revealed Baby’s skull was fractured in two places, on two different bones, and that the fractures were 5-7 days old.

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Old blood was found during brain tissue examination, which meant that Baby had received a separate brain injury in the past. Baby’s optical nerves were filled with both fresh and old blood, which meant that she had been violently shaken on at least two occasions. X-rays of Baby’s torso revealed two broken ribs that were broken several weeks before her death. Baby also had recent bucket-handle fractures of her thighs and one of her arms. This type of fracture results from the limbs being forcefully twisted or yanked causing the growth plate to be separated from the bone, thus resembling the profile of a bucket handle being lifted from its horizontal position.

There is more information on that page describing a nurse’s observation of Brianna’s bottom and girl bits that I cannot re-write. The pain that little girl endured is unimaginable. Another sad truth to this story is that there were people within the family who knew little Brianna was being abused, but no one spoke up for her. And a matter of fact, no one is even willing to allow little Brianna to rest, or receive love, even after death. There is no doubt the only people that have any love and respect for Brianna, are people she’s never met.

Though the community raised thousands of dollars to help the family pay for a funeral and memorial , family members declined. They buried her quickly and quietly in a cemetery, even excluding some some family members from attending. Shortly thereafter the mound above her grave was raked flat and the identification marker removed.

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The marker was later returned but when people who never met Brianna started visiting her resting place to leave gifts and flowers to honor the child, the family built a locked metal enclosure around her grave site. A ceramic, cherubic angel, with a, index finger pressed against it’s lips, tell those passing by to keep quiet. Quiet about what happened? I sure hope not.

No one related to Brianna took the time to take a photo of her. The only picture taken of Brianna was taken by a detective shortly before her autopsy. He took the picture of her bruised and battered face and transformed it. The bite marks gone, the bruised, erased. It’s the Brianna, the way those in her community, like to remember her.

Brianna’s story has touched many, and as a result there have been changes made to the law in her area’s jurisdiction. But it isn’t enough. There is no way to end this story on a happy note. Every where, every day, every minute there is something bad happening to a child. And in all the same breath there are people watching it happen, and not doing a damn thing to stop it. If you know of a child who is being abused it is up to you to report it.

http://brianna-lopez.last-memories.com/

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46040537919#!/group.php?gid=46040537919&v;=info

http://www.child-abuse-effects.com/child-abuse-death-of-baby-brianna-lopez.html