Ashanti Affalo

 

 

 

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Remembering Ashanti

Ashanti Affalo was only 13 months old when her life was taken. She was a baby girl, a daughter and a sister who should have had an entire childhood ahead of her. At 13 months, Ashanti should have been exploring the world around her, learning new words, taking little steps, developing her personality, and discovering the people and things she loved. Instead, her life ended before she ever reached 14 months old. There is painfully little information preserved publicly today about Ashanti's short life. We may not know what made her laugh, what toys she reached for, what foods she liked, or all of the little things that made Ashanti uniquely Ashanti. But the absence of those details does not make her life any less important. She was here. She was a little girl who depended entirely upon the adults around her for love, comfort, protection and safety. Ashanti deserved all of those things.

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Ashanti's Story

Ashanti's death came after years of documented concerns involving her mother, Lynette Bailey. In 1999, Bailey had been investigated for neglect. Additional investigations involving abuse and neglect followed in 2000 and 2001. In February 2001, Bailey pleaded guilty to aggravated battery after seriously abusing her one year old son. According to contemporary reporting, a witness said Bailey pulled the little boy's legs apart with such force that they broke while he cried. Bailey was sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Two of her children were removed from her care, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services maintained an active case involving her. Bailey was paroled on June 29, 2001. On December 2, 2002, Bailey gave birth to Ashanti. Despite Bailey's previous child abuse conviction, the removal of two of her children and continued involvement with DCFS, state child welfare officials did not know Ashanti had been born.

DCFS reportedly maintained an active case file involving Bailey until January 30, 2003 nearly two months after Ashanti's birth without knowing another baby was living with her. Approximately one year later, Bailey called police to her Chicago home and reported that Ashanti was not breathing. Ashanti was rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Bailey initially told investigators that Ashanti had fallen out of bed. But according to the investigation reported at the time, a witness told police that Bailey had slammed Ashanti's head against the floor and then struck her at least five times because the 13 month old was crying. Ashanti died after suffering multiple injuries. Her mother was charged with first degree murder. 

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Warning Signs

Ashanti's death was not a case in which there had been no reason for concern. There had been previous allegations of neglect. There had been previous allegations of abuse. Another child had already suffered serious physical injuries. There had been a criminal conviction. Two children had already been removed from Bailey's care. And DCFS had maintained an active case involving the family. Yet the agency did not know Ashanti existed Children's advocates speaking after Ashanti's death described her case as exposing a serious gap in the child-protection system: when a parent with a history of abusing or neglecting children has another baby, that child can remain unknown to the agencies responsible for protecting vulnerable children.  By the time the system learned about Ashanti, she was dead. Her story is a painful reminder that warning signs matter. Previous abuse matters. Previous neglect matters. And information that could protect a child must not be allowed to disappear between agencies, records, or cases.

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Justice for Ashanti

Following Ashanti's death, Lynette Bailey was charged with first degree murder.

Person charged: Lynette Bailey

Relationship to Ashanti: Mother

Charge: First-degree murder

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Forever Remembered

There is painfully little publicly preserved about who Ashanti was during her 13 months of life. We may never know what made her laugh, what toys she reached for, what foods she liked, or all of the little things that made Ashanti uniquely Ashanti. We may not have a photograph of her today. We may not have pages of stories describing her personality or the moments that filled her short life. But the absence of those things does not make Ashanti's life any less important. She was here. She was a daughter. She was a sister. She was a 13 month old baby girl who depended entirely upon the adults around her for love, comfort, protection, and safety. Ashanti should have had the opportunity to grow up and become someone whose life filled far more than a few paragraphs in old newspaper articles. The system responsible for protecting vulnerable children may not have known Ashanti existed when she needed protection most. But we know her name now. Ashanti Affalo. Abuse Angels remembers her life, tells her story and makes certain that this little girl is not forgotten.