Jeremiah Oliver, 5 - Last seen by relative 9/14/13 - Reported missing in Dec. by 7-yr. old sister - Fitchburg, MA

Olga Roche should fall on her sword
By Kevin Cullen| Globe Columnist February 21, 2014


" ...Again, this phenomenon is not partisan. It is institutional. It is why the FBI protected murderers like Whitey Bulger. It is why the Archdiocese of Boston protected predators like John Geoghan. It is why neither the Department of Correction nor Plymouth District Attorney Tim Cruz have held accountable the guards who presided over the killing of Joshua Messier at Bridgewater State Hospital five years ago.

Powerful institutions protect themselves at the expense of powerless individuals, whether they are paranoid schizophrenics from Charlton named Joshua Messier or poor little boys from Fitchburg named Jeremiah Oliver.

If Jeremiah’s family was rich and influential, instead of poor and dysfunctional, Olga Roche would have been gone a long time ago. If Joshua Messier’s parents had a summer house on the Vineyard and a pied-à-terre on Beacon Hill, they wouldn’t still be in the dark, without answers or justice, five years after their son died a horrible death.

If Olga Roche resigns, she’ll land on her feet. They always do. As for the social workers she leads, we pay them off in the dark, and most of them wade into the dark every day, trying to do the right thing. They deserve someone in charge who can see clearly, even if that means seeing the best thing that person can do for all those underpaid, overworked people is to fall on her sword. ..."


http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/02/21/falling-her-sword/rTLov33TSmiagvd3qJfOEO/story.html

Great editorial, IMO. Author nailed it.

Three more charged in Jeremiah Oliver case

Sentinel & Enterprise

Posted:   03/17/2014 04:44:41 PM EDT

FITCHBURG -- Three people were arraigned Monday on charges they lied to investigators about the Jeremiah Oliver case, including Christian Sierra, the brother of Jeremiah's mother's boyfriend.

Investigators believe Christian Sierra, 21, of Fitchburg lied to the grand jury about details related to the case, which may have slowed down or misled the investigation, according to court documents at Fitchburg District Court, where the arraignment was held.

Also arraigned were Ashley Cormier, 24, of Fitchburg and Casey Thibault, 23, of Fitchburg, both of whom are identified as friends of Jeremiah Oliver's mother and her boyfriend. They are each being held on $2,500 cash bail.

Five-year-old Jeremiah Oliver was last seen by relatives Sept. 14. His mother Elsa Oliver, and her boyfriend, Alberto Sierra, are still in police custody and have not said anything about the whereabouts of the boy, who is presumed dead.

Read more:

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/breakingnews/ci_25361416/fitchburg-three-people-were-arraigned-monday-charges-they#ixzz2wHCuAq58

Brother of man who allegedly attacked 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver is one of 3 charged with misleading police

By Martin Finucane / Globe Staff / March 17, 2014

Three people are facing charges of interfering with the investigation into the disappearance of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver, the Worcester district attorney’s office said this afternoon. Those charged include the brother of the man already charged with assaulting the young boy.
 
The three people were charged under the witness intimidation statute, Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.’s office said in a statement. The statement did not say what the three had allegedly done.

Christian Sierra, 21, Cailey Thibault, 23, and Ashley M. Cormier, 24, were arraigned today in Fitchburg District Court, prosecutors said.

Read more:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/03/17/people-charged-with-misleading-police-investigating-disappearance-year-old-jeremiah-oliver/ZixArPpqF3i9uS97dqdP8N/story.html

Authorities say the child's body found Friday on the side of a highway in central Massachusetts is Jeremiah Oliver.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2608594/Body-Massachusetts-highway-said-authorities-5-year-old-Jeremiah-Oliver-disappearance-took-three-months-reported.html#ixzz2zQfdIXW9




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2608594/Body-Massachusetts-highway-said-authorities-5-year-old-Jeremiah-Oliver-disappearance-took-three-months-reported.html

Body found on highway identified as missing Fitchburg boy

Fitchburg boy had vanished in September

By Evan Allen and Jeremy C. Fox | Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent   April 19, 2014

~Snipped~

The body was found in a grassy area off the southbound side of the highway south of Exit 6. In a brief statement Saturday afternoon, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said the body had been identified, but the autopsy report is not complete and no further information would be released at this time.

At a news conference Friday, Early said the body was discovered wrapped in cloth inside what could be either a suitcase or a duffel bag, and said the death “appeared to be a homicide.” A spokesman declined to answer questions Saturday.

~Snipped~

James Gavin Reardon Jr., who represents Elsa Oliver, said the district attorney had not spoken to him about additional charges his client might face.

“Obviously, we know there’s a tragic death, but the circumstances and the responsibility for it are open questions,” said Reardon. “So far as I know, there is still no evidence that my client is responsible for the death, and that’s certainly one of the issues that will be addressed in the court proceedings.”

Questions about Elsa Oliver’s mental state have swirled throughout the case, though on Jan. 24 she was declared competent to stand trial after an examination and sent to MCI Framingham. Reardon said Saturday that on April 2, prison officials transferred her to a mental health facility. Reardon said he did not know what sparked it and he declined to say where she was being held.

Read more:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/04/19/body-found-highway-was-missing-fitchburg-boy-jeremiah-oliver-authorities-say/HDD5vQskIUaWJdOhF7FHvO/story.html

@Freckles:

Thank you so much for posting the update on the Jeremiah Oliver case.

Poor little boy, may he rest in peace.

 

Jeremiah Oliver funeral delayed until May for defense autopsy

By Morgan Rousseau
Published: April 24, 2014

A judge has delayed the funeral of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver so that defense attorneys can carry out an independent autopsy, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

The Fitchburg boy’s body was found Friday inside a suitcase off an interstate in Sterling, seven months after his disappearance. Oliver’s funeral and burial were scheduled to happen this weekend, but Worcester Superior Court Judge James Lemire  on Wednesday ordered that the services be postponed until May 3.

Read more:

http://www.metro.us/newyork/news/local/2014/04/24/jeremiah-oliver-funeral-delayed-may/

Defense allowed to examine Jeremiah Oliver’s body

Boy's mother and boyfriend charged with disappearance, but not with his death

Associated Press

Updated: Thursday, April 24, 2014, 7:55 pm
Published: Thursday, April 24, 2014, 6:03 pm



FITCHBURG, Mass. (AP) — The funeral of a 5-year-old boy from Massachusetts who was found dead last week after being missing for months is being delayed, so pathologists for the defense can examine the body.

A judge Wednesday gave the defense until Monday to complete an examination of the body of Jeremiah Oliver of Fitchburg.

Jeremiah, whose family was being monitored by state child welfare officials, had not been seen since September but was not reported missing until December. His body was found near Interstate 190 in Sterling last Friday. His mother and her boyfriend are facing charges in connection with his disappearance, but not his death.

Read more:

http://wwlp.com/2014/04/24/defense-allowed-to-examine-jeremiah-olivers-body/

Mother of Jeremiah Oliver due in Worcester court today

TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Monday, April 28, 2014

WORCESTER — Elsa Oliver, the mother of the Fitchburg boy whose body was found by the roadside in Sterling last week, is due in Worcester Superior Court today.

Jeremiah Oliver, 5, who had been missing since September, was found by the side of Interstate 190 on April 18 after authorities received a jailhouse tip.

No new charges have been filed since the body was found.

Ms. Oliver was already facing a string of charges, including kidnapping of a child and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Today's court appearance is related to those charges.

Her boyfriend is also charged.

Read more:

http://www.telegram.com/article/20140428/NEWS/304289809/1116/mobile?TEMPLATE=MOBILE

Freckles wrote:Authorities say the child's body found Friday on the side of a highway in central Massachusetts is Jeremiah Oliver.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2608594/Body-Massachusetts-highway-said-authorities-5-year-old-Jeremiah-Oliver-disappearance-took-three-months-reported.html#ixzz2zQfdIXW9




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2608594/Body-Massachusetts-highway-said-authorities-5-year-old-Jeremiah-Oliver-disappearance-took-three-months-reported.html

So sad, although I'm sorry to say not unexpected.  Thank you, Freckles and Alessandra, for keeping this thread up-to-date.

The short, unhappy life of Jeremiah Oliver, failed by all
He was a little boy lost, long before the state lost track of him, and then simply stopped looking.
By Patricia Wen  | Globe Staff   May 25, 2014

This is a very good, detailed article.

Snipped:
-----
The public furor over his death, however, threatens to obscure a deeper truth about Jeremiah’s life. Yes, he was a child the system literally lost, exposing the hazard at the heart of an overtaxed, undersupervised, and error-prone bureaucracy, where complaints are sometimes never fully investigated, where critical files go unread, and where one employee’s negligence can spell the difference between life and death.

But Jeremiah was also the Everychild in the state system. Like so many, his safety was compromised in some form every day, but it was long unclear whether wresting him into foster care would improve the odds for his well-being.
-----

Read more:  http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/05/24/the-short-nomadic-life-jeremiah-oliver-failed-all/WTQcjXthTi3ruSwb7BuInO/story.html

Jeremiah Oliver's mother ordered not to have contact with her other children
By Jack Minch, jminch@sentinelandenterprise.com
Updated:   08/29/2014 04:17:24 PM EDT


FITCHBURG -- Worcester Superior Court Judge Richard Tucker on Friday issued an order to the mother of slain Fitchburg 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver that forbids her from reaching out to her two remaining children.

Assistant District Attorney Courtney Sans asked for the order after learning Elsa Oliver, 28, was trying to contact the children from jail.

"Miss Sans, in her argument to the court, said Ms. Oliver was attempting through (the Department of Children and Families) to contact her children," said District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.'s spokesman Timothy Connolly. "Children would be witnesses in a case against her, and I believe victims."

Read more: http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/breakingnews/ci_26433412/jeremiah-olivers-mother-ordered-not-have-contact-her#ixzz3BpYA7k8G

Three suspects released on bail in Jeremiah Oliver case
By Jack Minch, jminch@sentinelandenterprise.com  Updated:   09/16/2014 07:15:01 PM EDT



WORCESTER -- Three Fitchburg residents charged with hindering the investigation into the death of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver last year were released on bail Tuesday after their arraignments in Worcester Superior Court.

Christian Sierra, Ashley Cormier and Caily Thibault each pleaded not guilty to charges of perjury and intimidating a witness, police or jury. Thibault also had a second charge of witness intimidation.

Assistant District Attorney Courtney Sans asked for $25,000 bail for each suspect, but Judge James Lemire released them on the same conditions previously set in Fitchburg District Court. Bail included $2,500 cash, or $25,000 surety, each for Cormier and Thibault, and $2,000 cash, or $20,000 surety, for Sierra.

Read more:  http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_26546497/three-suspects-released-bail-jeremiah-oliver-case

Pension play? Ousted DCF chief delayed retirement until after turning 60
Thursday, October 23, 2014


Olga Roche, the disgraced former child welfare chief ousted in April amid a firestorm of criticism, quietly retired as a state employee last Friday — right after she turned 60 — scoring a potentially hefty pension bump in the process, the Herald has learned.

Roche managed to stay on the state payroll at her $137,700 commissioner’s salary for nearly six months after her ouster, first as an “adviser” and then on family medical leave.

Her long goodbye raised the eyebrows and ire of state watchdogs.


Read more:  http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_politics/2014/10/pension_play_ousted_dcf_chief_delayed_retirement_until_after

Balloons released in memory of Jeremiah Oliver
Posted: Apr 18, 2015 2:58 PM PST  Updated: Apr 18, 2015 2:58 PM PST

WORCESTER, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Balloons were released in Fitchburg Saturday evening in remembrance of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver.

Read more:  http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/28838474/balloons-released-in-memory-of-jeremiah-oliver

Screw the balloons.... bring back the child!
A million balloons will never replace a child...
Sorry for being such a grunch.

Jeremiah Oliver's mother faces mental competency evaluation


In this 2013 photo, Elsa Oliver is escorted into Fitchburg District Court. T&G File Photo

By Gary V. Murray
Telegram & Gazette Staff

Posted May. 29, 2015 at 1:21 PM
Updated at 3:49 PM

WORCESTER - The mother of a 5-year-old boy whose remains were found last year in Sterling will undergo an evaluation to determine whether she is mentally competent to stand trial on assault, kidnapping and child endangerment charges.

Judge James R. Lemire ordered Elsa Oliver to undergo the competency evaluation by a court clinician after a hearing Friday in Worcester Superior Court.

The remains of Ms. Oliver's 5-year-old son, Jeremiah Oliver, were discovered in April of last year in a suitcase off Interstate 190 in Sterling. The child had been missing for months.

Investigators have been treating the death as a homicide. No charges have been filed in the death.

Read more:

http://www.telegram.com/article/20150529/NEWS/150529073

Judge: Mother of Jeremiah Oliver competent to stand trial

By Chris Camire, ccamire@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:   07/15/2015 06:21:05 PM EDT

FITCHBURG - A judge has found Elsa Oliver, the mother of a 5-year-old Fitchburg boy found dead last year in Sterling, to be competent to stand trial on charges related to the disappearance and death of her son, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.

The ruling was handed down by Judge Janet Kenton-Walker after a brief Tuesday morning hearing in Worcester Superior Court. Kenton-Walker's decision was based off testimony from Hanya Bluestone, a court-appointed psychologist who testified on the state of Oliver's mental health.

Bluestone's findings were based off interviews with Oliver that were conducted with the assistance of an American sign language interpreter. Although Oliver is fluent in English, she prefers to use sign language because that is how she communicated with her deaf mother growing up.

Read more:

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/breakingnews/ci_28487160/judge-mother-jeremiah-oliver-competent-stand-trial#ixzz3g0DI6uTV

Moving from Missing to Awaiting Trial.

DCF: A history of problems

Monday, August 17, 2015

By:Owen Boss

The crisis in the embattled Department of Children and Families first came to light under former Gov. Deval Patrick with the disappearance and death of Jeremiah Oliver, and continues under Gov. Charlie Baker with the hospitalization of Jack Loiselle and Saturday’s death of an unnamed foster child:

Dec. 13, 2013: 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver’s sister tells a school official her brother is missing.

Dec. 15, 2013: Jeremiah’s mother, Elsa Oliver, is charged with reckless endangerment of a child. Her live-in boyfriend, Alberto Sierra, is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a child causing bodily injury.

Dec. 17, 2013: DCF admits it had been involved with the family since September 2011, but a social worker failed to perform mandated checks. Three DCF workers were eventually fired and a fourth was suspended.

Dec. 18, 2013: DCF orders a review of 40,000 cases.

Jan. 8, 2014: Gov. Deval Patrick calls for a “full independent review” of DCF.

Read more:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/08/dcf_a_history_of_problems

Police execute new search warrant at Auburn foster home (Video)

UPDATED 8:31 AM EDT Aug 19, 2015

AUBURN, Mass. —Investigators returned to a home west of Boston where two toddlers in foster care were found unresponsive over the weekend and one died.
   
Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early told reporters outside the Auburn duplex investigators were executing a new search warrant.

He said the surviving 22-month-old girl remains in "dire" condition at a hospital, and toxicology tests on the 2-year-old girl who died were incomplete. He said investigators don't yet know what happened.
   
The girls' foster mother called 911 Saturday to report that the children were unresponsive.
   
Early said that so far the investigation isn't considered criminal and no charges have been filed.

Read more:

http://www.wcvb.com/news/auburn-home-searched-as-second-foster-child-in-dire-condition/34797900

DCF struggles with reforms in wake of Oliver, Auburn tragedies

By Paula J. Owen
Telegram & Gazette Staff

Posted Aug. 22, 2015 at 7:40 PM
Updated at 10:00 PM

Child advocacy groups are pushing for reforms of the Department of Children and Families as it struggles to repair what many say is a broken system.

One of the biggest challenges facing the agency is the sheer number of children needing care. There are about 8,000 foster children and 47,000 open cases, but only around 5,300 foster homes and just 2,800 social workers, child welfare advocates say.

Since the 2013 disappearance of Jeremiah Oliver in Fitchburg, there have been several tragedies involving children receiving services from or in the custody of the state, most recently two toddlers living in an Auburn foster home. One child died and the other remains in critical condition. Recently, a 7-year-old Hardwick boy was found comatose and remains unresponsive.

Read more:

http://www.telegram.com/article/20150822/NEWS/150829716

Lawsuit claims DCF lied to investigators in Jeremiah Oliver case

Oliver's body found stuffed in suitcase on Interstate 190S

Published  9:51 AM EDT Aug 30, 2015



WORCESTER, Mass. —A lawsuit filed in Worcester Superior Court claims that supervisors and managers of the Department of Children and Families office in Leominster lied to investigators in the Jeremiah Oliver case.

The Telegram & Gazette report Sara A. Vasquez, a social worker who used to work in the DCF during the time service was provided to Oliver’s family, filed the lawsuit on Aug. 18.

Oliver disappeared suddenly on Sept. 14, 2013. His lifeless body was found stuffed inside a suitcase on the side of Interstate 190 South on April 18, 2014. A social worker in the DCF skipped eight mandatory monthly visits with the 5-year-old boy.

Vazquez claims she was fired as a result of complaints she made in the handling of the Oliver case and is seeking $725,000 in damages.

Read more:

http://www.wcvb.com/news/lawsuit-claims-dcf-lied-to-investigators-in-jeremiah-oliver-case/35002526

Cross posting from Bella Bond thread:

Short vid, text:

10 DCF workers who failed to get licenses fired
Terminated employees can apply for lower-level positions

UPDATED 5:54 PM EST Dec 17, 2015

"....Workers are required to be licensed under a new state law that went into effect last year that gave DCF workers nine months from their hire date to pass a social work exam...."

"....The body of Jeremiah Oliver, 5, was found on the side of a road in 2013 after a DCF social worker skipped eight mandatory visits to his Fitchburg home....."

http://www.wcvb.com/news/10-dcf-workers-who-failed-to-get-licenses-fired/37008768

Officials: Death of boy found near highway ruled a homicide
4 hours ago

"...FITCHBURG, Mass. (AP) — Authorities say the death of a 5-year-old boy whose remains were found wrapped in a blanket and packed in a suitcase by the side of a Massachusetts highway has been ruled a homicide...."

http://mtstandard.com/news/national/officials-death-of-boy-found-near-highway-ruled-a-homicide/article_7ab7cd43-d0db-5dbf-ba7e-738c4765ef00.html

Sept. 12 trial for Jeremiah Oliver's mother, her boyfriend
By Gary V. Murray  Telegram & Gazette Staff
Posted Feb. 25, 2016 at 1:39 PM  Updated Feb 26, 2016 at 9:38 AM

WORCESTER - While the police investigation into the death of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver of Fitchburg continues, a judge has set a Sept. 12 trial date for the boy's mother and her boyfriend on child assault, kidnapping and endangerment charges.

...Mr. Black told Judge Frison there was still forensic testing to be done in the case at the request of prosecutors and that he had not yet been provided with the full autopsy report, which Ms. Sans said she expected would be available soon. Mr. Black also said there was a possibility that a grand jury could hand up a murder indictment or indictments before the Sept. 12 trial date.

(BBM)

Read more:  http://www.telegram.com/article/20160225/NEWS/160229456

Jeremiah Oliver’s mother pleads guilty to abusing and endangering surviving children

Boston Herald · 1 hour ago

Read more:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2017/08/jeremiah_oliver_s_mother_pleads_guilty_to_abusing_and_endangering

Mother of 5-Year-Old Boy Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse, Endangerment

Wednesday, August 09, 2017
GoLocalWorcester News Team

The mother of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver pleaded guilty to child abuse and endangerment at Worcester Superior Court on Tuesday.

Elsa Oliver was sentenced to a total of 7 1/2 years of incarceration, 2 1/2 years each for three charges, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early, Jr.

The charges involved incidents with two of her three children.

The District Attorney also today filed a nolle prosequi on other counts Oliver had been facing regarding her third child, Jeremiah Oliver, including the kidnapping of a child, assault, and battery, permitting bodily injury to a child, and reckless endangerment of a child.

A nolle prosequi was also filed on two counts of assault and battery involving her other children for which her boyfriend, Alberto Sierra, entered a plea and was sentenced to prison last week

Read more:

http://www.golocalworcester.com/news/mother-of-5-year_old-boy-pleads-guilty-to-child-abuse-endangerment

__________________


Alberto Sierra admits to abusing siblings and mother of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver, whose body was found in bag near highway

Posted on August 1, 2017 at 11:26 AM

By Scott J. Croteau,
scroteau@masslive.com

Alberto Sierra, the man accused of helping his girlfriend dump the body of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver along the side of a highway in 2013, has plead guilty to assaulting Jeremiah's mother and two of Jeremiah's siblings. He has been sentenced to serve 6 to 7 years in prison for those assaults.

Jeremiah was discovered missing in Fitchburg in late 2013. His body was discovered on April 18, 2014 inside a suitcase off Interstate 190 in Sterling. The boy's death has been ruled a homicide.

Read more:

http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2017/08/alberto_sierra_sentenced_for_a.html

What's the difference between nolle prosequi and dismissal of charges?

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/whats-the-difference-between-nolle-prosequi-dismissal-charges.html