SMYRNA, Ga. —
A state official says the agency in charge of protecting Georgia children from abuse is revamping its protocols after an investigation found that a teenage girl who died was severely malnourished.
Georgia Division of Family and Children Services Director Ron Scroggy tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Markea Berry’s death should never have happened. The 14-year-old weighed 43 pounds when she died in June in Smyrna.
CBS Atlanta has reported that a DFCS caseworker suspected the girl was not being fed, and noted that concern in a November 2010 report. The agency closed the case the following month.
Police have arrested the girl’s mother, 38-year-old Ebony Espree Berry, who faces charges of murder and child cruelty. Jail records do not indicate whether she has an attorney in the case.
For more on this story and other local news, subscribe to The Valdosta Daily Times e-Edition, or our print edition.
