Honey Veus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remembering Honey

Honey Veus was only one year old. She had spent part of her short life in the Philippines, where her mother lived, before her father, Rony Veus, brought her to the United States. At one year old, Honey was still a baby. She should have been learning words, taking uncertain little steps, discovering new foods and depending on the adults around her for comfort whenever the world became frightening.

Instead, much of what remains publicly available about Honey concerns the abuse inflicted upon her and the criminal case that followed. But Honey was a baby before she was ever the victim in a police report. Her name was Honey Veus. Her life had barely begun, and she deserved the opportunity to grow up.

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Honey's Story

On April 11, 2013, Rony Veus called 911 from his home in Apopka, Florida. Honey was not breathing and had no pulse. When emergency responders arrived, they found Rony performing CPR on his unconscious one-year-old daughter. Honey was rushed to the hospital, where medical personnel saw injuries that immediately raised concerns that she had been abused. Honey was critically injured.

She had suffered injuries to her brain, head, face and eye, and there was bleeding in her brain. She fell into a coma. As investigators questioned Rony, they said he admitted that the violence against Honey had not been limited to one incident.  According to police, Rony admitted pulling Honey's hair, pushing her onto the ground and throwing her onto a bed. He also admitted forcing his one year old daughter to eat a teaspoon of cinnamon. And he admitted deliberately burning the top of Honey's foot with a cigar. Perhaps one of the most disturbing details came from what investigators said Rony told them about why he hurt his daughter. Police said Rony acknowledged having thoughts about harming Honey and told investigators that causing her pain or discomfort brought him a sense of relief. Investigators said he connected some of his frustration to problems in his relationship with Honey's mother, who was living in the Philippines. Honey remained hospitalized in a coma while doctors tried to save her. They could not. At approximately 6 p.m. on April 13, 2013, two days after emergency responders found her without a pulse, Honey Veus was pronounced dead.

She was one year old.

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Warning Signs

Honey's final hospitalization was apparently not the first time medical professionals had seen injuries on her. According to Apopka police, Rony had previously taken Honey to a hospital for an infection. During that visit, doctors reportedly noticed bruising on Honey's cheeks and forehead.

Rony told medical personnel that he had recently brought Honey to the United States from the Philippines and claimed that the injuries had occurred there. Police later said authorities were never notified about those bruises.  We cannot know from that fact alone whether intervention at that point would have prevented Honey's death. But it belongs in her story. A one year old child had visible injuries significant enough for medical personnel to notice. Later, police said her father admitted deliberately hurting her in multiple ways. And eventually Honey was brought back to a hospital with catastrophic injuries from which she would never recover.

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Justice for Honey

Rony Veus was initially arrested and charged with aggravated battery on a child while Honey remained alive in the hospital. At his first court appearance, bond was set at $20,000.

Then Honey died. After her death, authorities upgraded the case and charged Rony with felony murder. His bond was revoked, and he remained in the Orange County Jail without bond.

There is one place where I want us to be particularly careful with Honey's updated page.

I have not yet found a sufficiently reliable court or contemporary news source confirming the final disposition and sentence in Rony's criminal case.

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Person charged: Rony Veus
Relationship to Honey: Father

Initial charge: Aggravated battery on a child
Charge after Honey's death: Felony murder
Final conviction/sentence: Still being verified

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Forever Remembered

Honey was one year old. She was at an age when she could not understand why an adult was hurting her, much less protect herself from him. According to police, her hair was pulled.

She was pushed to the ground. She was thrown onto a bed. She was forced to swallow cinnamon.

Her foot was deliberately burned with a cigar.  And ultimately, she suffered devastating injuries to her head and brain that left her in a coma. Those details are difficult to read. They should be.

Honey's suffering should not become less serious simply because years have passed. But what was done to Honey is not who Honey was. Her name was Honey Veus. She was a one year old little girl whose life had barely started. There should have been a second birthday. There should have been first days of school, friends, favorite things, childhood photographs and years for Honey to become a person whose personality could be remembered instead of leaving behind a public record dominated by the violence inflicted upon her. Abuse Angels remembers Honey Veus, tells the truth about what she endured, and preserves the name of the baby girl behind the criminal case.