Mother in jail reacts to child dying in foster care

Mother in jail reacts to child dying in foster care

Lakisha Toles sits in Lerdo jail while she talks about the death of her baby. The child was placed in foster care when Toles was sent to jail for stealing.


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Baby dies in foster system
Story Created: Mar 24, 2010 at 6:05 PM PDT
Story Updated: Mar 25, 2010 at 11:50 AM PDT
By Anthony Bailey, Eyewitness News
Video
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Lakisha Toles spoke from Lerdo jail on Wednesday afternoon about the anguish she felt after hearing her 5-month-old son Micheal Patterson Jr. had died while in foster care.

"I couldn't believe it. I just ran out when they told me," Toles said.

Toles is serving a two-year sentence for theft. She said she stole sheets from a local Wal-Mart store.

Toles has 10 children she said were fathered by eight different men. Seven of those children, including the baby who died, were taken out of her home when she was incarcerated.

"They took my kids, because I took my baby with me stealing," Toles said.

Toles said she blames herself for being locked up and not with her kids, but she also feels the foster mother should be held responsible for Micheal's death.

"They knew the baby was sick. My family saw Michael on Friday and he was sick," she said.

The Kern County Coroner's office said it completed the autopsy, but the cause of death won't be released until toxicology reports are completed.

http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/89075277.html