The Misery Machine - The Story of Ethan Belcher

Starting point is 00:00:00 Ethan Nathaniel Ray Belcher was born on July 20th, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Jonathan Belcher, and Valerie Lynn Hamilton ultimately separated. Now, Valerie then met and began a relationship with Shane Robert Shelton. It's unclear whether or not the two were married, but he has been referred to in reports as Ethan's stepfather. Ethan had three brothers named Jacob, Mason, and Shane. Not much is known about Ethan, but I feel it's necessary to share a few words. about the children that we cover, especially because their lives are so short and often tragically taken. Looking over his pictures, it appeared that he was a happy little boy that enjoyed playing in the

Starting point is 00:00:40 playground and he liked the show PJ Masks. According to his Aunt Ashley, who will be talking about quite a bit in this episode, quote, he loved to be loved, go to the park to be with his brothers, end quote. On Sunday, January 22nd, 2023, officers with the Detroit Police Department responded to a 911 call at a residence at 14660 Spring Garden Street regarding an unknown problem. Once there, police saw paramedics putting 5-year-old Ethan into an ambulance. But sadly, Ethan later died at the hospital. After the hospital staff looked over Ethan's body, a picture of what was going on in his hospital. mother's dilapidated home all came together. Ethan had loop-shaped abrasions covering his body, indicating that he had been beaten with a cord-like object. He'd also been suffering from

Starting point is 00:01:34 Gann Green on one of his toes. Investigators soon spoke with the other children living in the home, who told them that Valerie and Shane regularly beat Ethan and his brother. They would also lock the two in the basement, which was rank with feces and sewage. Additionally, text between the couple painted a vulgar picture of the mistreatment that children were subjected to. In one text that's been redacted by the courts, Shane states, and this is literally how the report displays this verbatim, quote, beat the dog, expletive out of that expletive, end quote. Yes, it really has expletive on the report. In another, Valerie states that she was going to slam their kids so hard that their heads would pop off.

Starting point is 00:02:19 As such, Shane Shelton and Valerie Hamilton were arrested and are currently being held without bond. They were charged with felony homicide, torture, and conspiracy to commit torture. They were also charged with first-degree CA, stemming from the horrors the couple inflicted upon Ethan's younger brother, who was taken into custody by CPS, and subsequently placed in foster care.

Starting point is 00:02:42 In the wake of Ethan's death, the Michigan Department of Health and Human, services released this following statement, quote, the MDHHS extends its deepest sympathies to the Belcher family during this extraordinarily difficult time and appreciates their advocacy for protecting children. MDHS will continue to work daily with law enforcement, community partners, and others on CA prevention services. The department endeavors to be as transparent as the law allows, Both state and federal law prohibit MDHHS from sharing specifics about CPS cases, including the Michigan Child Protection Law and federal law.

Starting point is 00:03:28 Confidentiality of CPS records has been part of state law for decades. The confidentiality requirement in state and federal law protects children who have been abused or neglected and their siblings from the additional trauma of having the intimate details of their alleged abuse and neglect made public. The department is always willing to work with our legislative partners to protect the well-being of children and families, end quote. However, according to Aunt's Candace Rush and Ashley Belcher, Ethan's family called CPS more than a dozen times during his short life. They shared that the little boy went through pure torture during the past few years before he died. According to Candice, they first called CPS sometime before Ethan turned two.

Starting point is 00:04:12 He was so skinny that when relatives saw him, they could count every rib. But allegedly, CPS told them that he was not malnourished. In 2021, Ashley said she took Ethan to the hospital after Valerie's mother brought him to her beaten from head to toe. He had a welts all over his head, his eye was swollen and almost split open, his hand was swollen, and he was bruised across his ribs, legs, and his butt. It was so bad that he could hardly sit. According to Ashley, quote, Ethan was a precious baby boy and he did not deserve to go through what he went through,

Starting point is 00:04:46 which was pure torture, end quote. According to assistant prosecuting attorney Maria Miller, Lincoln Park Police investigated and sent a warrant request for CA charges to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office in October of 2021. Now, prosecutors returned this warrant to police in February of 2022 and asked them to conduct further investigation. The request never went any further. According to Lincoln Park Police Chief Raymond Waters, Ethan suffered minor injuries in 2021,

Starting point is 00:05:18 and prosecutors denied the warrant request. However, Attorney Miller claimed that prosecutors never denied this request at all. Ashley felt the police were just as responsible for Ethan's death. She said, quote, they failed him too. They just ignored it and swept it under the rug, end quote. Ashley also claimed that Ethan had been burned with cigarettes. In fact, he allegedly had over 100 cigarette burns all over his body. But the complaints of CA weren't the only ones lodged against the couple. Neighbor Deborah Jackson had been living in the same home on Spring Garden Street in Detroit for almost 40 years. She said the block was relatively quiet until last spring when Shane and Valerie moved next door with several of their children.

Starting point is 00:06:01 Deborah said the home they moved into was severely damaged by water and fire. It set vacant for more than a dozen years until the couple and their children moved. moved in. Shane bought the derelict house and moved in before they even fixed it up. According to Deborah, who lived just a few feet away, Shane began using loud power tools at all hours. Then he began harassing her and her autistic son Jesse. She said that at one point, Shane pulled a gun on her. She said that she called the police more than 30 times, but the issues were never taken seriously. She said, quote, I was on the phone calling 911 every chance that I got because I couldn't take it.

Starting point is 00:06:41 Jesse couldn't take it. I told them about the harassment. I told them about the continuous noise, end quote. The neighbor said she didn't witness any CA, but she did hear things that disturbed her. According to her, quote, I think that baby started crying from, I think, about five that evening and it went all night into the morning. And the baby stopped at some point. What I could not understand about the whole thing was that the gun being pulled on me,

Starting point is 00:07:08 that was not investigated. none of the complaints that I made were investigated. When asked for comment, the Detroit Police Department had this to say. Quote, The Detroit Police Department has never received a single call from Ms. Jackson regarding alleged CA involving this family. The department has closely examined all calls from Ms. Jackson regarding her neighbor. They range from a whimpering cat outside on the neighbor's porch,

Starting point is 00:07:33 a verbal altercation regarding damaged wires by a neighbor, the neighbor's parked car touching her fence, The neighbors banging on the side of the house yelling threats. Neighbors pumping water from the basement running into her front yard. Neighbor parked on her driveway. Noise complaints due to renovations. Neighbor burning wood causing the smell to enter her home, etc. In no way could the Detroit Police Department have known about possible CA taking place inside this home based on the nature of these calls, end quote.

Starting point is 00:08:07 On February 4th, family and friends. gathered outside of the run-down Detroit home where Ethan lost his life. According to his aunt Ashley, quote, he hasn't even been laid to rest yet. We haven't had our closure yet either, end quote. During the vigil, Ethan's great-aunt, Jennifer Skeen, shared an emotional message. She said, quote, Ethan, you will always live in all of our hearts forever,

Starting point is 00:08:31 and we will all fight for you to have change for all kids so that no other child has to be abused and go through what you went through. No child deserves that. We will fight for change so all children will be safe in their own homes. God bless you, Ethan, end quote. Saturday evening in Detroit, family and loved ones of Ethan Belcher shed tears, hung on to one another, and lit candles just as bright as their lost loved one. That beautiful big smile.

Starting point is 00:09:02 He used always give me when I'd say, smile, taking a picture of you, you know. He loves pictures. He just loved. being with his brother and just showing how happy they always were together. With t-shirts showing off that big smile and reading, justice for Ethan Belcher, the five-year-old's aunts led the vigil held on Spring Garden Street, the same street that Ethan was found dead inside of a home on. Over here to remember the little things that made a special place in our heart

Starting point is 00:09:33 to remember those happy times when we laughed. Since Ethan's heart-wrenching passing, these women have been powerhouses. More than mourning him deeply and fighting for his memory passionately. He's just a five-year-old little boy who wanted to live life, and it was taken way too short by his parents. That's what hurts so bad. Ethan's aunts say they called child protective services more than a dozen times to report Ethan

Starting point is 00:09:58 and his three-year-old little brother being abused. But the caseworkers failed to keep the little boy safe. We get choked up every time I think about his poor little face. As these ants continue to mourn, They're also working with state senator Jim Roonstand to introduce a bill for media and state leaders to have more access to information to stop tragedies like this and bring greater oversight of CPS. We just wanted to do something to help raise awareness for this poor baby. And that they did. These aunts say that they know Ethan is now safe in heaven in the arms of his granny and papa. While they're still here, they'll continue to fight to protect other bright little boys just like Ethan.

Starting point is 00:10:41 that Senator Runstadt introduced is extremely important when it comes to protecting children like Ethan. According to the senator, CPS is exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests, so nobody can get information about any investigations. The bill he's introducing will change that while still protecting the privacy of the child involved. He said, quote, you can't get information, he can't get information, and the legislature can't get information. This bill would say that somebody like me can go in and look at the entire case. Right now, I wouldn't be able to say anything about the case, but I'd be in front of the caseworkers and supervisors and say, what the hell is going on here? End quote. The senator is hoping to push this change through

Starting point is 00:11:26 quickly and make a difference in another child's life soon. Ethan's cousin, Christina Skeen, started to go fund me page to cover his funeral expenses, which his aunt Ashley was responsible for planning. The fundraiser was closed after raising $9,657. What's troubling, though, is how much this whole ordeal has affected poor Ashley. In September of 2022, her mother Patricia passed away. In December of the same year, she lost her father, Timothy. After having to step up to the plate for her parents' deaths, she was now called to do it again for her five-year-old nephew. It makes you wonder, though, where was Jonathan for all this? We weren't able to pull up a of information, but Jonathan is one of those folks that tend to have several profiles in the same

Starting point is 00:12:12 social media platform. It appears that as of the date of this recording, he's currently engaged to a woman named Tina who has girls of her own. Based on a post made to Tina's page shortly after Ethan's death, it appears that he hasn't played a large part in his son's lives. A woman named Michelle wrote, quote, everybody on here go watch the news for yesterday and see what kind of friends you got. This is just sick that he won't. step up to be a dad to his own kids. Now one is dead from abuse and still won't stand up for the other one. So sad." End quote. She continued on in the comments, quote, how can you sit there and let this happen? You have girls. What if that would have been your kids? Just so unreal, end quote.

Starting point is 00:12:58 Even worse, Ethan's body remained at the Wayne County morgue for over 16 days due to the fact that Jonathan decided to step away from communicating with his family. Due to this, Ethan's body could not be released to the funeral home to prepare him for burial. Ashley ended up needing to get Valerie to sign the paperwork so that he could be transferred from the morgue. Ashley had proof that her brother was notified of her son's passing, but apparently he decided not to step up. It feels like the only person that truly cared for Ethan in life and in death was Ashley.

Starting point is 00:13:31 We're trying to grieve, but in the same sense. since we're angry at why it's taking this long. Ashley tells local fora took her quite some time to get Ethan's mother, Valerie Hamilton, to sign paperwork to get his release from the morgue, but she still can't get any help from her brother. She held a candlelight vigil for Ethan's Saturday night at the home where he died, so out-of-town family members who had spent a week waiting for a funeral could pay last respects. You would think it would just be easy for them to want this baby to be laid to rest. What's more, Ethan's case garnered national headlines and led to a New Jersey woman putting up this bogus GoFundMe page today, allegedly to benefit Ethan's older surviving brother, whom Ashley will raise.

Starting point is 00:14:15 Ashley contacted GoFundMe, and they pulled the page down. You know, we're already grieving. We're already in the hard times right now. And then you got people like that, you've got to worry about collecting under your name. And then I might get backlash for that. You know, I don't know that person. Ethan was finally laid to rest in a tiny white casket. His funeral service was held on February 15th, 2023, almost a month after he was killed at the Mulnour funeral home in Southgate, Michigan. His family held a private service, which was live streamed for those who cared about Ethan to watch.

Starting point is 00:14:51 As this case stands now, neither Shane nor Valerie have gone to trial to face their charges. And as we've seen over the past few years, it might be a while until they finally. finally faced justice. Ashley Belcher now is custody of Ethan's brother Mason. And it appears, based on the information we have, that Jonathan still doesn't want to be a dad to his remaining son. I know we always say that if you see something, say something. Well, Ashley did.

Starting point is 00:15:21 And Candice did. Hopefully, Senator Runstadt's proposed legislation will make some bit of a difference for children like Ethan. As preoccupied as she's been, she hadn't seen our story from last night, showing the state admitted 135 children died in the last two years while involved with the state's child welfare system. Oh my God, it angers me. It makes me so sad. How the system can fail all those babies and nothing be done.

The Misery Machine - The Story of Ethan Belcher

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