Carol Marbin Miller
The Miami Herald
Miami, FL, United States
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Past articles by Carol:
Reports of child neglect piled up. BSO declared the kids safe. Now the boys are dead
A leak of child abuse and neglect records indicates all the times that 5-year-old Branario Minto and 6-year-old Ja’kye Joseph were deemed safe by investigators — until the brothers were found drowned while unsupervised. → Read More
A month after unsupervised brothers drowned, DCF is silent on whether it was neglect
Two unsupervised brothers, ages 5 and 6, drowned in a pool last month. Their family had been the subject of six prior reports of abuse or neglect. But the Department of Children & Families has yet to weigh in on this case. → Read More
No one believed her explanations for how her daughter died. A decade later she is facing charges
Even though Dominique Brewer’s explanations for her 4-year-old daughter’s death in Bradenton on Aug. 14, 2009 never added up, the case remained unsolved for about a decade. Brewer is now facing murder charges in her daughter Kelis Rucker’s death. → Read More
Child abuse investigators competed to cut their caseloads. The winner got a pizza party
The Broward Sheriff’s Office wanted to reduce caseloads in its child abuse unit. But how to incentivize? The department brass offered a pizza party for whoever could close the most cases. → Read More
27 possible graves found near notorious Florida reform school
Working on a cleanup of spilled fuel, a crew found what could be a disturbing discovery: a field of graves on the site of Florida’s shuttered Dozier reform school for boys. → Read More
Four people knew what happened in a room at a Florida psychiatric hospital. One is dead
The family of Reginald Schroat wants to know what happened to the developmentally disabled man when three staffers at a psychiatric hospital went into his room for several minutes on Oct. 12. All they know is that he died after suffering a broken neck. They aren’t getting answers. → Read More
BSO could have intervened to protect this abused baby. It didn’t. She died violently
After Makenzie Nevarez, sixmonths old, showed up at the hospital with disturbing signs of abuse, investigators could have taken decisive action. They didn’t. Within a month, Makenzie would be dead. Her mother’s live-in boyfriend is charged with murder. → Read More
Nikolas Cruz’s birth mom had a violent, criminal past. Could it help keep him off Death Row?
Nikolas Cruz’s birth mother Brenda Woodard had a history of violence, addiction and arrests. His biological mom’s history could be used to help keep the Parkland, Florida, shooter, who was adopted, off Death Row. → Read More
George Sheldon, a former DCF secretary and a champion for foster children, dies
George Sheldon, an advocate for children who at various times ran Florida’s child welfare agency, headed the St. Thomas University law school and was a Florida lawmaker, has died. → Read More
He savagely pummeled a little girl to death in Miami Beach, cops say. He’ll stay in jail
Dennys Llopiz, the Miami Beach man accused of viciously beating 3-year-old Skyler Hartley to death, will remain in jail before trial, a judge ruled on Tuesday. → Read More
Head of Florida’s long-troubled child welfare agency steps down
Mike Carroll, secretary of Florida’s Department of Children & Families, is stepping down after a four-year-tenure marked by the same problem that plagued his predecessors: a string of high-profile child deaths. → Read More
Grand jury, citing Herald series, laments lack of progress in juvenile justice reform
The Herald’s Fight Club series revealed misconduct by guards who, among other things, goaded juveniles into bouts with bribes of ‘honeybuns.’ The lack of oversight and other problems were echoes of findings by a 2003 Miami-Dade grand jury into the state’s juvenile justice system. → Read More
Florida juvenile justice chief stepping down after tenure marked by tragedy, questions
Christina Daly oversaw the Department of Juvenile Justice, an agency troubled by questionable deaths and lax oversight of facilities where workers were accused of turning detainees into goons rewarded by honey buns. Those problems were documented in the Herald’s Fight Club series. → Read More
After sexually assaulting boy, 15, youth ‘high fived’ juvenile justice staffer, records say
The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice releases new details on a sexual attack on a 15-year-old in a state facility — an attack that was apparently encouraged by a member of the staff. → Read More
Asphyxia death an ‘absolute tragedy’ — but not a crime
Despite authorities’ skepticism about a former employee’s evolving story, prosecutors will not file charges in the death of an institutionalized man with severe disabilities, who died of asphyxia in a room beyond the range of surveillance cameras. → Read More
A victim of vile abuse at Florida reform school, he spent his life fighting for justice
Robert Straley was a victim of cruel mistreatment at a reform school run by the state of Florida. He spent much of the rest of his life fighting his demons — and for justice. → Read More
They knew she was a suicide risk. Girl, 15, was still able to hang herself in the lockup.
Alleny Carbone, 15, had a long history with the Department of Juvenile Justice and a long track record of contemplating self-harm. She was still able to kill herself in the Manatee County juvenile lockup. → Read More
'It's all crap.' Parents lash out in anger after Parkland cop Scot Peterson ends silence
Silent since the massacre at Parkland on Valentine's Day, former Broward Deputy Scot Peterson told his side of the story on Monday. Parents of the slain students were not satisfied with his words. → Read More
Four years later, alleged assault by Sheriff Israel's son becomes a news story
In the aftermath of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, critics of Sheriff Scott Israel — including parents of victims — are demanding accountability over a four-year-old assault by the sheriff's son when he attended the high school → Read More
Report faults many, from judge to investigators, in tot's cruel scalding death
'Deeply saddened' by the death of Ethan Coley, a 1-year-old scalded while in the care of his long-troubled mom, DCF is seeking a change in the law in hopes of preventing similar tragedies. A report released Thursday cited a variety of failures to protect the boy. → Read More