William Robinson and Monica Hussing Parents of the Year!

For those of you who do not have children, when the doctor places your firstborn child into your arms and you look into their eyes, you are instantly filled with awe at what you have created, intense love for the little being in your arms and a strong sense of responsibility. As you stare at the slimy mass of goo that is crying and changing colors, you are instantly transformed from being a woman into being a mom. You know that you will do whatever it takes to make sure that your child is safe, secure, happy, and healthy.

The most chilling words that a parent can hear are, “mom, it hurts.” You are instantly running for the thermometer, spray disinfectant, barf bag, and slapping your hand on their forehead while machine gunning questions at the child to identify the source and severity of the pain and whether or not they have a trig test in the morning. You don’t ignore the child’s complaints and you do everything in your power to ensure that your child is on the road to recovery, or drop kick their butt out of the house to take their test if they are faking.
William Robinson and Monica Hussing must not have gotten that memo. When their 8-year old son, Willie, first complained of a growing lump on his neck with stomach pain in April 2007, they ignored him. I guess they thought a growing mass on the neck of their child was normal, like a new accessory. Even the extended family noticed that something was wrong with Willie.

Sheila Slawinski, the boy’s aunt, first noticed that the child appeared sick at a family function. She stated that Willie did not play with the other children and complained about the lump growing on his neck and of his stomach hurting. “He cried. I called him Casper the Ghost because he was so pale” Slawinski said. She asked her sister Monica about it and this mother of the year told her it was nothing.

As the months progressed and Willie’s condition seemed to worsen, Slawinski again confronted the parents and asked them to take the child to the doctor. She was told again and again that it was on their “to do” list. Finally, Monica told her that they could not afford the medical care. Slawinski volunteered to take Willie to the hospital, but Monica told her to “stay the fuck out of my life.”

Slawinski witnessed an incident where Willie was standing at the bottom of the stairs begging to go to the bathroom. It appeared as if the boy was not physically able to climb the stairs, while Monica screamed at the boy to “get his ass up the stairs.” Slawinski became so concerned and outraged at her sister’s behavior, not only with Willie but also with his five other siblings, that she finally called the Trumble County of Child Services in Ohio to file a neglect complaint hoping that social services could force the parents to seek treatment for the child. When Slawinski complained that she felt that social services wasn’t doing enough to help Willie, “they told me their job was to keep families together,” said Slawinski.

From July 2007 until February 2008, Trumble County social workers claim to have worked with the family, yet Willie was not once seen by a doctor. Social workers who visited the home claimed that Willie appeared healthy and active. Slawinski says that either they were blind or more likely, they were shown a different child. When the agency finally decided that the family was “uncooperative” they made the final ultimatum. Marilyn Paee, a department manager at the Trumble County Department of Child Services, said that agents were working with Willie’s family until a month before the boy’s death.

“Our initial goal is always to work with the family and if they’re cooperative, then the idea is to work to resolve the issue,” said Paee. “When it became clear in January 2008 that they weren’t following through with our demands, like enrolling the kids in school and getting a doctor, we told them we’d go to court.” All the family did was pack up and move to Cleveland. Trumble County closed the investigation because the family was no longer in their jurisdiction.

On March 22, 2008 Willie collapsed and died. In the days before his death, it was reported that he had begged his parents to take him to the doctor. Willie lost the ability to walk and his bowels stopped working. In response, mommie dearest fed him laxatives. Willie knew he was extremely sick and continued to beg for a doctor. But they had refused because they claimed to have not been able to afford the medical care. However, they were able to afford to take the family dog to the vet for an $87.00 flea dip. Makes you wonder how long the little boy laid on the floor dying before they finally called someone.

Social services finally decided enough was enough. It only took the death of an innocent 8-year old boy. Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services finally took the parents to court. In April 2008, a Juvenile Court Judge found the parents guilty of medical and educational neglect. But he allowed the parents to maintain custody of the surviving five siblings and ordered social services to monitor them. I mean they did such a bang up job helping Willie, I’m sure they crossed their hearts and promised to comply with seeking medical care for their children and doing a silly thing like enrolling all of the children in school.

Both mom and dad took advantage of the offered grief counseling (their beloved son had just died, you know), underwent court ordered drug treatment for marijuana abuse (OMG, they used drugs? Shocking) and took parenting classes although neither seemed to bother getting a job. According to court records, they were finally complying with social services and the family court. A little late for Willie.

An autopsy was performed on Willie. Cuyahoga County coroner Frank Miller ruled Willie’s death a homicide. He also finally answered Willie’s question of “what’s wrong with me?” Willie had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, one of the most treatable of all childhood cancers with a 93% recovery rate when caught early and treated. Willie also had pneumonia, which was a direct result of the Hodgkin’s. Miller testified that Willie appeared gaunt, pale, extremely thin and even to a person of average intelligence, extraordinarily sick. Miller also testified that the parental neglect inflicted upon Willie was just as responsible for his death as the cancer.

Cuyahoga County prosecutor Bill Mason called the boy’s death one of the most “tragic cases of abuse” he’s ever seen. Willie would have endured excruciating pain, nausea, shortness of breath, joint pain, high fever and unexplained sweating. He would not have been able to eat or drink and the high doses of laxatives that his mother was feeding him would have caused severe upper and lower digestive cramping. He died a painful, agonizing and unnecessary death. “They never once took him to a doctor,” Mason said. “It just is not right. This kid should be alive today.”

On March 25, 2009, William Robinson and Monica Hussing were arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering children and felonious assault charges. They are being held on $150,000 bail. Willie’s siblings are staying with relatives. Both Robinson and Hussing have pleaded not guilty. Deborah Forkas of Children and Family Services says this is one of the worst cases she has ever seen. “It’s horrific, it’s horrific, to see the death of a young child like this is heartbreaking.” And it was completely preventable. “He was the most loving and sweet little boy. I don’t know how they could have done this to him,” said Willie’s aunt, Sheila Slawinski.

It’s a shame that Willie didn’t get fleas instead. His parents might have gotten him a flea dip.
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Note: I found Monica Hussing’s MySpace page - She goes by the screen name “love to you gurl lol”. It’s set to private, but it’s still worth a look just to see this woman’s pathetic attempt to act like she cares that Willie is dead. But in spite of the huge picture of her son in the background, she can’t help giving us a peak at her true character. The greeting on her page reads (including her spelling):

“love to you gurl lol keep comeing by my house i dont crae but i got ur tag numbers and i truned them in to the cops so keep on (coming by)”

You can see Monica’s MySpace for yourself by
clicking here