The Misery Machine - The Tragic Case of Dylan Groves

Starting point is 00:00:00 Imagine being just born and craving the touch of your mother or father, but they want nothing to do with you. Then all of a sudden you're placed in the loving home of a new mother who cares for you and treats you like her own. You have some momentary peace, but soon that piece is stripped away and you're placed back into the home of your real parents who resent and mistreat you. And finally, they leave you cold and alone in a watery grave, throwing you away as if you were a piece of god. garbage. This is the story of Dylan Groves. Dylan James Groves was born on January 10th, 2019 at the Southern Ohio Medical Center to parents Daniel and Jessica Groves. When Daniel and Jessica arrived at the hospital in the early morning hours, the nurses in the maternity ward noticed something just wasn't quite right. It was obvious that Jessica was pregnant and in active labor,

Starting point is 00:00:58 but other than saying it's coming, she refused to answer any questions that the medical staff posed. Eventually she provided her name, but that was it. She wouldn't divulge how far along she was if she had received prenatal care or anything that would allow the nurses to better help her. Initially, staff thought that Jessica was high on drugs and sought to see what substances were in her system. To offer reassurance, they told her that they were only asking these questions so they could better care for the baby and to prepare her for labor. But the expectant mother remained flat, disconnected and uncooperative. Jessica refused to answer questions and declined to give a urine sample. So where was Daniel during all of this? He was in the room also and much like his wife refused to

Starting point is 00:01:44 provide the medical staff with any of the information they requested. However, when it finally came time for Jessica to deliver, Daniel divulged to the nurses that the expectant mother had used heroin two days earlier and that she kept missing her prenatal appointments due to her substance use. You know when you have a couple in a room and it's clear that one of them wants to say something, but holds back due to fearing what their partner might say or do, that was Daniel. The nurses noted that it seemed like Daniel wanted to talk to them, but Jessica was holding him back. It was also observed that Jessica didn't seem to be in any pain, even though the baby was almost there. Keep in mind, she was not given any pain medication because they didn't know for sure what drugs she had taken or when.

Starting point is 00:02:31 Roughly 20 minutes later, baby Dylan was born. He was born one month premature and weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces. Because of this, he was immediately put on oxygen to help him to breathe. While in the hospital nursery, medical staff administered a Finnegan test on him, which helps them see how bad the baby's withdrawal symptoms are. This is a test that measures different criteria such as tremor, sweating, irritability, fever, among other signs. A urinalysis was conducted on Dylan, which came back,

Starting point is 00:03:01 unconfirmed positive for amphetamine. In response, his umbilical cord was sent out for additional testing, which would show every substance that Jessica used while pregnant with him from 20 weeks onward. The umbilical cord was confirmed positive for not only amphetamines, but for morphine, fentanyl, and feteen. Nurses stated that Jessica didn't have any interest in baby Dylan, noting that on one occasion when he was brought to her room for a visit, she did not want to hold him at all. She gestured to a wall and stated to put him over there. Medical staff found it surprising that Jessica wanted absolutely nothing to do with poor Dylan. Daniel later told a nurse that after Jessica found out that she was pregnant, she continued to use heroin. So basically what

Starting point is 00:03:48 she did is she used just enough throughout her pregnancy to keep her withdrawal symptoms at bay. Like in many natural births without complication, Jessica was discharged from the hospital after two days. However, Dylan was kept in the hospital for several days so that he could be monitored for his withdrawals. Now, you'd think that new parents would want to come visit their new baby boy or at least check on his condition, right? Well, you'd be wrong. While he was kept there those days, neither mom nor dad came to see him or check on him. Not even once, not even a phone call. They just didn't care.

Starting point is 00:04:21 When Dylan was ready to be discharged, social workers at the hospital notified Scioto County DCF in an effort to make a plan for his care. Now because mother and baby both tested positive for illicit substances at birth, the normal course of action is automatic removal from the home. However, their plan wasn't very well thought out and involved sending Dylan home with Daniel if he could pass a drug test. And if he passed a drug test, Jessica could not live in the same home as him. Daniel and Jessica had been married 20 years, and the hospital felt it would be very unlikely that the couple would adhere to this plan.

Starting point is 00:04:56 As such, DCF placed Dylan with a foster mother, Andrea Bowling, who had already raised children of her own and was experienced with the foster care system. Andrea, who was a schoolteacher, was contacted on a Friday and asked if she could take Dylan into her home the very same day. Now, her school was very accommodating, and they allowed her to take the needed time off to adjust and care for the little boy, and her friends and colleagues came through with baby supplies, such as a crib, diapers, blankets, and clothes, literally anything that you would need to be. need to care for a newborn. Andrea also had to take a class offered by the hospital to teach her how to take care of a newborn suffering with withdrawal symptoms. The foster mother described Dylan as a sweet baby that she instantly fell in love with. While going through withdrawals, he would randomly break out in sweats, shake uncontrollably,

Starting point is 00:05:44 and wanted to be held all of the time. But Andrea didn't mind. She was a good mother and she held him all day long. During a visit with Dylan's parents in DCF, Andrea noticed that Jessica seemed to be high on some sort of substance. At the conclusion of the visit in which she allowed the parents to have time with her baby, she let DCF know of her suspicions. At the same time, DCF with the state of Ohio went to court to obtain custody of Dylan and the supervisory custody of the couple's 14-year-old son Daniel Jr. However, they decided to go with the option of family reunification. In order to do so,

Starting point is 00:06:19 Daniel needed to sign a form stating that Jessica would not be staying in the house. Because, you know, and as you'll remember from our Adrian Jones episode, terrible parents making promises in writing works out so well. Additionally, Jessica needed to complete a drug and alcohol assessment, submit to weekly contact and drug treatment, remain outside the home unless supervised, and submit to supervised visits. Sadly, Andrea got the call that she didn't want to get.

Starting point is 00:06:48 Dylan was being placed in the custody of his father. She advised DCF that this wasn't a good idea. that Daniel and Jessica needed more time to get their lives together in order to be stable parents. No one listened to her. On January 25th, a meeting was held at the Scioto County DCF offices, which included Andrea, Daniel, Jessica, and DCF caseworker Patricia Kraft. At the meeting, Daniel advised that he'd been given a six-month leave at his job at Rural King, which for those unaware, as a retail farm and home store similar to tractor supply company.

Starting point is 00:07:19 DCF again advised both parents that they had to complete drug and alcohol assessments. assessments, participate in therapy, and comply with court orders. At the end of the meeting, Andrew advised DCF caseworker Patricia Kraft that she thought Daniel was loopy and on substances. Patricia explained that because Daniel had no prior violent criminal history nor any prior DCF involvement and provided that he could pass another drug screen, they'd be returning Dylan to them. And oddly, Daniel did pass, but no one actually observed him being screened, so I'll let you

Starting point is 00:07:52 draw your own conclusions there. Keep this piece of information in mind, as it will be relevant later in the story. And so on January 28th, just 13 days after being placed in foster care, and at only 18 days old, Dylan was reunited with his unfit parents. Defeated, Andrea gave them Dylan's diapers, supplies, and a letter with her contact information, urging them to call her for help at any time. She also made one last call to DCF about her suspicions that Daniel was a again high. One of the programs offered to new parents is called Help Me Grow. This was offered to the Groves, but they conveniently made themselves unavailable anytime a caseworker would call them regarding enrollment. Caseworker Patricia Craft saw Dylan for her first in-home visit on

Starting point is 00:08:37 February 4th, noting that he was quiet and had no injuries. Jessica was holding him, and Patricia reminded the mother to continue with her outpatient rehab. Now Patricia had trouble getting in touch with the Groves, a problem that would become typical. During an in-home visit on February 24, 25th, once again, Patricia stated that the baby seemed clean, quiet, displayed no visible injuries, and according to the parents, weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces. However, Patricia didn't actually weigh Dylan, nor did she hold him, nor did she remove his clothing to check for injuries. This is actually a requirement because Siodo County DCF had legal guardianship of Dylan. Daniel alleged that Jessica was there during the day in order to bond with Dylan. Now,

Starting point is 00:09:19 hold on a minute. If you recall, a part of a signed written agreement that allowed Dylan back in the home required that Jessica remain outside the home unless she was supervised by DCF. So within a month, the Groves were already in violation. In reality, Jessica wasn't just visiting during the day. She was living there full time. At this point in our story, we've reached the part where the parents start dodging social services. The Groves' March visit was canceled after Daniel called Patricia Craft

Starting point is 00:09:52 and stated that he was in Canton, Ohio, visiting his ill father, and then he needed to reschedule. At the time of the next visit, no one was home. When Patricia got back to her offices, she found a voicemail on her phone that alleged that Daniel was still in Canton. On March 27, juvenile courts ruled that the kids had been harmed and were neglected. As such, custody of Dillon should stay with the Sayoto County DCF. However, he was physically allowed to stay in the custody of his father.

Starting point is 00:10:22 On March 28th, their caseworker Patricia visited the home, and once again, Jessica held Dylan the whole time. Patricia wrote that the baby was healthy and injury-free. However, she did not complete any of her due diligence, such as weighing baby Dylan or checking his body for bruises or other injuries. On April 3rd, the Groves contacted Patricia by text stating that they were yet again in Canton and that their car had broken down. As such, they were absent from juvenile court and missed their monthly in-home visit. Jessica and Daniel continued their pattern of dodging social services. On April 17th, Patricia was unable to make contact with the family to let them know that the guardian ad litem for Dylan wanted to come to the home.

Starting point is 00:11:03 Now, a guardian ad litem is a person, usually a lawyer or mental health professional, appointed by the court to gather information and prepare recommendations concerning minors involved in CPS-related cases. The Guardian ad litem's job is to help the court determine what is in the best interest of the minor. Daniel had texted Patricia from no less than four different numbers, and Patricia and the Guardian ad litem tried all of them and received no response. In addition, Patricia Craft learned that Jessica wasn't attending her individual or group therapy, which also put her in violation of the written agreement involving Dylan's custody.

Starting point is 00:11:41 Between April 19th and the 24th, Patricia tried to reach Daniel in order. to see Dylan multiple times. She even went as far to make contact with Daniel Jr., their teenage son, at his school. He stated that Dylan was okay, but when questioned about his ailing grandfather in Canton, he said, who's that? On April 24th, DCF removed Daniel Jr. from his school and took custody of him. Their plan had worked because they were finally able to make contact with his father, Daniel Sr., who sent Patricia an angry text message.

Starting point is 00:12:12 He was very upset when his son didn't get off. the bus and even more upset when the school informed him that he was placed in the custody of social services. Enraged, Daniel said social services was going to put his elder son through hell, and that he had nothing to do with the situation involving baby Dylan. Patricia informed Daniel that he needed to bring the baby and all of his personal items to social services. Daniel agreed to that, and he said he would the following day. However, he did not. The caseworker kept getting excuses from Daniel as to why he couldn't meet her. And the question still remained on everybody's minds that nobody could answer.

Starting point is 00:12:49 Where was Baby Dylan? On April 30th, Patricia Kraft filed a missing person's report with regards to Dylan Groves. She made six more visits to the home between April 30th and June 7th. Patricia stated that sometimes all the vehicles were there and she could tell that someone was home and they refused to answer the door. In addition to Patricia's attempts at in-home visits, the Siodo County Sheriff's Office also attempted to make contact with a family to no event. including an incident on May 20th when the couple bolted on a four-wheeler.

Starting point is 00:13:19 Daniel and Jessica Groves were arrested on June 10th, but they didn't go quietly. With her trailer home surrounded by police and SWAT units, sheriff deputies armed with two arrest warrants tried to make contact them via a loudspeaker. Now, try to visualize this scene. Jessica had eventually come to the door, but she was only wearing a T-shirt and underwear. She started yelling that Siodo County DCF had already taken custody of baby Dylan months ago and that they needed to leave them alone. Of course, this was an outright lie, as Siodo County DCF were the ones that filed the missing person's report on Dylan.

Starting point is 00:13:57 Jessica was arrested without further incident and placed in the back of a cruiser. Daniel, however, caused a six-hour standoff that involved a robot because police were afraid he was holed up in the trailer with weapons and was going to shoot up the place. Eventually, he too was taken into custody after he surrendered. Initially, Daniel and Jessica stuck to their story that Dylan was taken into custody by DCF months prior, which was ludicrous. But when interviewed by Detective Jody Conkold, their stories started to change. Detective Conkold described Jessica's standoffish, cold, and annoyed like this whole thing

Starting point is 00:14:31 was inconveniencing her. Daniel was described as dopesick and was writhing around on the floor. Daniel advised the detective that he had found baby Dylan dead in his pack and play on March 28th and that they had buried him. The following day, police took Daniel out to a large wooded area behind the Grove's trailer and ordered recover Dylan's remains. But he claimed he couldn't remember where they had buried him. Daniel was clearly wasting their time, and Detective Conkle knew that.

Starting point is 00:15:00 As such, she had a few tricks up her sleeve. First, she allowed Jessica to visit Daniel alone in an interrogation room. Now, all of you that follow true crime or have at least seen an episode of Law and Order know that these rooms are heavily bugged with highly sensitive microphones. Well, apparently Dylan and Jessica don't follow true crime or just stupid because they let everything out. After the couple let the cat out of the bag, all on tape, Jessica was taken back to her cell and Detective Conkel met one-on-one with Daniel.

Starting point is 00:16:02 She told him that she was done with his lies and wasting their time, that he needed to come clean, that baby Dylan needed to be put to rest properly. Finally, Daniel decided to do the right thing for one. and he told Detective Conkel where authorities could recover his newborn son. Dylan Grove's makeshift grave was located at the bottom of a 30-foot deep well. Detective Conkill enlisted the help of local firefighters in the recovery efforts, but oddly enough, the firefighters were not informed what exactly that they would be recovering. It was an arduous task.

Starting point is 00:16:36 This well was a hole in the ground in an even grassy terrain. The firefighters couldn't drive their vehicles out there, so they had to carry all of their equipment with them. They first tried to drain the well, but due to it being spring-fed, their attempt failed. With the aid of a hook line, firefighters were able to recover the item and complete their mission. From the well was retrieved two milk crates held together with chains and a padlock. At first they were excited, but as soon as the water drained and the smell of decomposition hit them,

Starting point is 00:17:04 they knew exactly what it was they were recovering, and the mood changed dramatically. The milk crates were taken to the medical examiner's office. to be disassembled. Once the eight metal wires, ropes, chain, three padlocks, and 12 zip ties were removed, the two milk crates came apart, revealing baby Dylan's remains. He had been wrapped in multiple layers of plastic and had been weighed down with a makeshift anchor made of iron and 18 large rocks. Dylan's remains were examined by medical examiner Dr. Brown, who noted the following inflicted injuries. Two skull fractures that did not occur at the same time. Two bruises on the right side of his chest and left leg, a laceration on his left arm, fractures of the left humorous,

Starting point is 00:17:48 radius, and ulna, and old healing fractures on ribs six and seven. These also did not occur at the same time. Dr. Brown testified that Dylan's cause of death was homicidal violence of undetermined ideology, but the specific cause of death could not be determined due to the state of his body. Dylan was four pounds, eight ounces when he was discovered. The doctor believed that the fracture showed at least three different traumas. Toxicology reports detected anthotamine and amphetamines in Dylan's liver. During their trial, a lot of failings came to light,

Starting point is 00:18:21 to say the least. Patricia Kraft admitted that she did not issue an Amber Alert because a supervisor believed that if an Amber Alert were to go out, it, quote, would give a bad reputation for the agency because we lost a child, end quote. Daniel and Jessica's 15-year-old son, Daniel Jr., testified that he found out about his mother's pregnancy somewhere around November 2018.

Starting point is 00:18:44 Shortly after he was allowed to come home, the teenager observed bruises and swelling on baby Dylan's head. When he asked his parents what had happened, they claimed a dream catcher fell on Dylan and it got stuck on his arm, allegedly. And a tiny stone decoration from the dream catcher hit him on the head, therefore bruising him. The prosecution didn't buy this story, considering the injuries and bruising to Dylan's body,

Starting point is 00:19:08 were much more than what a dream catcher could cause. Daniel Jr. also testified that every couple of months, he provided his urine to his father both before and after Dylan's birth. Daniel Sr. was already on probation for a misdemeanor theft charge at a Kroger grocery store and was subjected to random drug screenings even before DCF got involved. Remember the tests he passed previously in order to bring Dylan back home? This was only possible because he forced his son, to help him pass those tests.

Starting point is 00:19:41 Pediatrician Dr. Muhammad Ali testified that he first observed Dylan at the hospital soon after his birth, and then a few times in his office. Dr. Ali testified that Dylan stayed at the hospital longer than normal due to drug withdrawal symptoms. On January 16th, Dr. Ali observed Dylan in his office for a newborn wellness check, and Dylan's foster mother stated that he sneezed, perspired excessively, and had tremors, but otherwise, he appeared to be well. Dr. Ollie learned about an abnormal newborn 17 hydroxy progesterone screening that indicated elevated risk for congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a serious condition affecting the

Starting point is 00:20:19 adrenal glands which can be fatal without treatment. But Dylan's care was transferred to a different pediatric practice and miscommunication occurred about whether the screening had been repeated. Dr. Ali also testified that although he did not know whether the screening had been repeated, this abnormality would not cause bone fractures, bruising, or swelling of the head. Christcare Pediatrics pediatrician, Dr. Gregory Hudson, testified that he first observed Dylan on February 7th. Dr. Hudson discussed the abnormal 17-hydroxy progesterone screening and ordered additional lab work to recheck the abnormal panel. As instructed, the Groves returned to Dr. Hudson's office on February 21st when Dr. Hudson learned that the Groves had completed all but this one lab test, so he ordered another one. Although Dylan exhibited no injuries at his February 21st office visit, he did weigh on the low end of normal.

Starting point is 00:21:12 Consequently, Dr. Hudson scheduled a March 7th return visit. The Groves, however, did not return with Dylan. Dr. Hudson further explained that due to the testing mix-up, his office sent two letters to the Groves to indicate the importance of another test and threaten that if they did not repeat the screening, they would involve social services. In addition to the letters, his office called the home, but like a, everything else, they receive no response. Dr. Hudson further testified that in his 30 years of experience, he had never observed a two to three-month-old baby fracture his own skull, ribs, arms, or legs.

Starting point is 00:21:49 Mahajan Therapeutics therapist Jessica Bird testified that the Siodo County DCF referred Jessica to their facility for assessment and treatment. Jessica completed her drug and mental health assessments on January 18th, attended an individual therapy session on February 8th, and submitted to several supervised drug screens. However, after February 8th, Jessica became very inconsistent, and eventually just totally stopped coming. Bird also contacted DCF regarding Jessica's noncompliance on February 14th, 15th, 22nd, 27th, March 1st, and April 2nd. Apparently, Jessica attended a one group counseling session on March 26,

Starting point is 00:22:29 but was described as defensive, edgy, and angry. Byrd also suspected that Jessica was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at her March 26th session. At this juncture in the trial, the state arrested their case. And in an odd turn of events, both Jessica and Daniel Groves decided to take the stand in their own defense. And they were both woefully unprepared by their lawyers. First up was Jessica, who tried to save her husband. You and you alone were the one that caused the death of the baby Dylan. Yes, I was.

Starting point is 00:23:02 There was nothing that Daniel did that caused his death, correct? Correct. There was nothing that he did that hid your actions other than helping you to assist him or assist you and hiding the baby after he had passed away, correct? Correct. Cross-examination was led by attorney Julie Cook Hutchinson, and Jessica was completely steamrolled. Attorney Hutchinson started by asking her to explain to the jury how she killed her baby. Jessica said it was an accident and kept claiming that she didn't remember what happens,

Starting point is 00:23:41 which led to an all-out screaming match between the two. Why didn't you tell your sister Stacey Hall what the truth was? You told her this had nothing to do with drugs, I swear. Nothing, Stacey, I would tell you. Me and Stacey did not grow up together. man, Stacey has not had a lot of communication over my 40 years. Ma'am, why didn't you tell Stacey the truth? That's the question. Why would I? Why wouldn't you? I've never had any family support over my 40 years.

Starting point is 00:24:16 Why didn't you tell Stacey the truth? Why would I? Don't ask me questions. Me and her is not that close. She is a half-sister that we have never had that close relationship. So you lied to her? Yes, I did. And you lied to your son? Yes, I did. And you lied to Detective Conkel. Yes, I did. But you want this jury to believe you just don't remember and you're not lying to them.

Starting point is 00:24:42 Daniel Groves took the stand and claimed ignorance. He tried to say that he found out on the car ride to the hospital that Jessica had been doing drugs during her pregnancy and hadn't been using drugs after the baby came home. He also claimed that he had no idea that she was injuring the baby. He said he only helped cover up baby. Dylan's death, he also claimed that he only started doing drugs after Dylan died and that he was often intimidated by his wife, allegedly. So what happened after you discovered Dylan had passed away?

Starting point is 00:25:17 Well, I had came into the living room and found him in his pack and play where he laid out during the daytime. I'd found him there deceased. And I went into total shock, grief, of course. Was Jessica in the room with you when you discovered that Dylan had passed away? When I first walked in there, she was not, but she had followed me in

Starting point is 00:25:42 within just probably a minute. So what was Jessica's reaction? She was very upset. Of course, greet, you know, in shock too. She was seemed somewhat nervous and scared and started telling

Starting point is 00:26:00 me that, you know, they would be blaming it on me and us because of being involved in CPS. What was her demeanor and her behavior like towards you? She was very radical, very forthcoming, very just kind of pressuring me. What were your conversations? Just that about CPS. Thinking that it would be both are false. She kept telling me, you know, they're going to blame you, you know they're going to blame you. You have custody of the baby.

Starting point is 00:26:40 They're going to blame you and not me. How did that make you feel? It made me feel very scared. Did you hurt him in any way? Absolutely not. Did you help Jessica hurt him? No. Did you know she would hurt him or cause his death?

Starting point is 00:26:56 No. Isn't it true? You represented that she wasn't going to prenatal care because she was. was too high. I did to CPS workers after the fact that I found out. So you never told that to anyone else? No. So you're denying saying her hit him probably four times? My exact words I don't recall exactly no. Is it true? You told Detective Comple she said because he wouldn't stop crying because she was so aggrat, agitated, and aggravated. And if I bought her coke, she wouldn't be that way. You don't recalls hearing that? I recall saying that that we did fight because,

Starting point is 00:27:34 because she was wanting me to buy her drugs, yes. You took this baby back in your home, correct? Yes. You promised to protect this baby that you would be the . Yes. And when this baby was hit four times in the head, and when this baby was shaken by your wife, did you call children's services?

Starting point is 00:27:59 No, I did not. Did you call 911? No, I did not. Did you call Andrew Bull? No, I did not. Did you go to a neighbor's house? and say, hey, get my wife out of there. No, I did not.

Starting point is 00:28:09 Did you stop the hand that was hurting that baby? No, I did not. You failed to act, correct? Correct. And because you failed to act, Dill was dead today. Your wife's on drugs, correct? At the time, I did not think she was, no.

Starting point is 00:28:30 She was going to treatment. I thought she was moving better. I was going to treatment since February 8th. Are you telling this before you didn't know that? I did not. Did you bury your head in the scene? I did not know that she had missed all those appointments. No, I did not.

Starting point is 00:28:44 So you didn't know she was back on drugs? No, I did not. You didn't know she had some violent tendencies, right? I knew she had some, yes. Yeah, she's right. You during the course of your marriage, didn't she? Not violently. Do you honestly want this jury to believe that there was a drop of the baby that caused all these injuries?

Starting point is 00:29:02 Do I believe that a drop of the injury caused these babies? I'm not aware of what caused these injuries. Not aware. But you would acknowledge something horribly violent happened to your son to break all those bones. Obviously. Where were you when this happened? I had to be around the home. Daniel and Jessica Groves were charged with aggravated homicide, homicide, kidnapping due to Dylan being in the custody of DCF,

Starting point is 00:29:29 endangerment of a minor, tampering with evidence, interference of custody, gross abyss of a corpse, and four counts of felonious assault. The jury deliberated for a little over two hours. Jessica was found guilty on all counts. Daniel was found guilty on all but aggravated homicide. Jessica was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Daniel was sentenced to 15 to life for the homicide charge, as well as consecutive sentences that amounted to 47 years to life on all of the other charges.

Starting point is 00:30:02 They were convicted on what would have been baby Dylan's first. birthday. Dylan's case brought national attention to Ohio's opioid epidemic and the state's family reunification process. Laura Fuller stepped down as the director of the Siodo County DCF after an investigation determined the agency mishandled Dylan's case. This is the first time we've ever covered a case where the director of child services has stepped down in response to their failings. If you can think of any other instances that this has happened in regards to death of a minor, please let us know in the comments down below. State Senator Terry Johnson recently introduced Senate Bill 216,

Starting point is 00:30:42 also known as Dillon's Law, which would establish requirements parents must meet before being reunited with their babies who have been exposed to substances. Under the bill, parents of substance-exposed babies must complete a course on caring for a newborn experiencing drug or alcohol withdrawal, complete an inpatient rehabilitation program,

Starting point is 00:31:03 and undergo and be a pre-a-presenterobacco, through a home study before being reunified with their baby. Upon reunification, parents would also have to complete several requirements, including a visit from a caseworker once a month for three months, regular monthly examinations by a health care professional, and regular alcohol and drug testing. The bill, unfortunately, has considerable pushback with detractors saying that the bill would be too expensive to enact.

Starting point is 00:31:28 This legislation was assigned to the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee and received its third hearing on February 8, 20th. 22. Now, if passed, this legislation has a real chance at helping kids in need like baby Dylan. We'll be keeping an eye out for updates as they come along. Dylan didn't have to die like this. He could still be alive today in the loving care of Andrea Bowling. Andrea provided all of her contact information to the groves and gave them every opportunity to ask for help. They had an out. If they couldn't take care of baby Dylan, Andrea would have taken him back in a heartbeat or at the very least provided respite care.

Starting point is 00:32:04 Why they never took that out, we'll probably never know. And it's not just the choices of Dylan's parents that need to be called out. There were people actively advocating for Dylan to get him out of Jessica and Daniel's clutches, but social services did nothing. And their caseworker Patricia Kraft failed to take the necessary steps to ensure that Dylan was safe. If these reports were taken seriously, if a DCF caseworker actually performed her duties as she was instructed, baby Dylan would still be alive today. You know,

The Misery Machine - The Tragic Case of Dylan Groves

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