Nutter: DHS Did Not Have Open Case On Deceased 6-Year-Old Khalil Wime
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - City officials say the Department of Human Services did not have an 'open case' with the six-year-old boy who died this week, allegedly at the hands of his parents in their Point Breeze neighborhood. Relatives of the young victim say the Family Court system should never have returned Khalil Wimes to their care.
While various media reports have included relatives questioning why DHS didn't intervene and come to six-year-old Khalil Wime's aid, given the family's history, Mayor Nutter was careful to chose his response.
READ: Police: 6-Year-Old Died Of Malnutrition, Abuse; Parents In Custody
"The two children who lived in the home, one of whom was Khalil, had no matters involving the Department of Human Services at all. None. Next question."
The medical examiner ruled the cause of death was blunt force trauma and malnutrition. Khalil's parents, 49-year-old Floyd Wimes and 44-year-old Tina Wimes, face murder charges.
"You know who let those kids down are the parents."
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says, "Parents are supposed to protect their children, not beat them up and starve them to death."
Ramsey says government can't raise every child in Philadelphia, "that's where the fault lies. That's where the blame lies. Nowhere else."