Governor Peter Shumlin is calling for an independent investigation into the death of a two-year-old child in Poultney last week.
Police have arrested Dezirae Sheldon’s stepfather, Dennis Duby and charged him with second degree murder. Duby has pleaded not guilty and claims the child fell several times in their apartment.
Her mother, Sandra Eastman, was convicted last year of abusing the child but state officials allowed Eastman to retain custody of her young daughter while being placed on probation.
Shumlin has asked for an independent investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the death.
“As governor, and I know the legislative leadership agrees with me on this, we’re going to do everything we can to have an objective assessment of what happened what transpired and how we can at least use this tragic and heartbreaking death to ensure that we do better next time,” he said.
Shumlin said it’s too soon to know if the state made any mistakes in the case, but he wants the investigation to look into the matter.
“An independent assessment of what happened what could we have done differently are there things we could have done differently? And I can assure you that process is going to be effective, independent, and rigorous.”
The Governor said he wants the investigation to be thorough, but he also wants it to be done as quickly as possible.
