BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A 6-month-old baby boy in Brevard County who died more than four months ago in the care of the Department of Children and Families will finally be laid to rest. There was a back and forth over who would pay for the burial, and the baby has remained at the morgue.
The newborn was found in a plastic container inside a unit at the Palms East complex in Cape Canaveral in March. Brevard Family Partnership, a subcontractor of DCF, sent a check to cover burial expenses, which is required by law because the child was in state custody.
The child's biological mother had lost custody, and hasn't been able to see the child at the morgue.
"I feel let down, you know, just like I have no right, no say so, or I have no voice," his mother Roxanne Raphael said.
DCF placed the child in the temporary care of 25-year-old Ricky Tubbs in February. The agency told us Tubbs and another man living in the home passed all background checks.
Brevard County deputies discovered the baby boy after they spotted two other young children living in the home wandering around the neighborhood, unattended. That day, the children were left in the care of Tanya Galvin, who investigators said had a documented history of violence.
"Just trying to get to the bottom to see how much investigation was done to make sure these children were safe," attorney Orlando Sheppard told Jones.
DCF took Tubbs at her word when she told them no one else was living in the home. We did a quick search of Galvin through Brevard County court records and probation records list the apartment as her address.
DCF told us four welfare visits were done between Feb. 15, the date of placement, and March 1 and Galvin was not present during those visits. Galvin remains in jail on no bond and charged with aggravated manslaughter. Tubbs has since bonded out, and faces a child neglect charge.
Cox Media Group
