All too common

Nicole Soto had no chance. Just 3 months old, Nicole died last weekend of starvation. Her parents told Oklahoma City police they “forgot” several times to feed the girl, who weighed just 3 pounds when she died — less than half her birth weight. The parents did find time every day to smoke dope, though. They admitted as much to investigators. The father, 20, is a known gang member, according to police. The mother is just 19. Nicole has two siblings, who are 22 months old and 3 years old. Both have now been removed from the family’s apartment, which police said was filthy and roach-infested. Would that this were a rare story in Oklahoma. Instead it’s all too common. During fiscal year 2011, about 66,500 child abuse or neglect cases were reported to the Department of Human Services. Of those, 8,110 were confirmed.

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