Raechel Austin

 

 

 

 

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Remembering Raechel

Raechel Austin was only ten weeks old. She had barely begun her life. At ten weeks, Raechel was completely dependent on the adults around her for everything for food, warmth, comfort, safety, and protection. She could cry when something was wrong, but she could not tell anyone what had happened to her or ask someone to take her somewhere safe. Most of what remains publicly documented about Raechel comes from the criminal case that followed her death. But Raechel was a baby before she became evidence in a murder trial. She was a daughter. She was a tiny little girl who should have had an entire lifetime ahead of her. Her name was Raechel Austin, and ten weeks of life were still a life worth remembering.

 

Raechel's Story

The violence that ultimately killed Raechel was not the first incident that raised concerns about her safety. On December 7, 1989, when Raechel was approximately seven weeks old, her father, Rayfield Austin, brought her to the hospital after she stopped breathing. Raechel began breathing again before arriving at the hospital, but doctors kept her there for four days so that she could be evaluated. 

Nurses noticed marks on Raechel's face. They were concerned enough about what they saw that they contacted the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to report suspected abuse. An investigation followed. Despite the concerns raised by hospital staff, DCFS approved Raechel's discharge back into her parents' care. Fifteen days later, on December 22, 1989, Raechel's mother, Melissa Austin, left the baby in Rayfield's care. Once again, Raechel stopped breathing. Rayfield brought her to the hospital. This time, Raechel did not begin breathing again on her own.

She was critically injured. Raechel died on December 23, 1989. She was only ten weeks old. The pathologist determined that Raechel's death resulted from what was then described as shaken baby syndrome, caused by violent shaking that severely damaged her brain. During the investigation, Rayfield admitted that he had shaken Raechel on both December 7 and December 22. The first time Raechel was shaken, she stopped breathing but survived. The second time, she did not.

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Warning Signs & System Failures

Raechel's story has a warning that cannot be separated from what ultimately happened to her.

Someone noticed. When Raechel was hospitalized on December 7, nurses saw marks on the seven-week-old baby's face and did exactly what medical professionals are supposed to do when they suspect that a child may be in danger: They reported it. DCFS became involved and investigated the possibility that Raechel had been abused. Yet Raechel was approved to return home. Fifteen days later, she was back in a hospital after once again stopping breathing while in her father's care.

This time she died. And after her death, Rayfield admitted that he had shaken Raechel during both incidents. That timeline matters. Raechel did not die before anyone had reason to question whether she was safe. Hospital staff had already identified suspicious marks. A child protection agency had already been contacted. An investigation had already occurred. And a seven week old baby who had mysteriously stopped breathing had already spent four days in a hospital being evaluated.

Raechel was returned to the same environment where, just over two weeks later, she suffered the injuries that ended her life.

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Justice for Raechel

Rayfield Austin was charged with first-degree murder in his daughter's death.

At trial, prosecutors argued that after the earlier December 7 incident, Rayfield knew the danger associated with violently shaking Raechel. The defense argued that his conduct should instead amount to involuntary manslaughter. After approximately nine hours of deliberation, the jury found Rayfield guilty of first degree murder. The case also revealed something disturbing about Rayfield's history. He had previously been convicted of second-degree murder in Michigan in 1977. Because of that prior conviction, the Illinois trial court initially sentenced him to natural life in prison. Rayfield appealed. The Illinois Appellate Court upheld his first-degree murder conviction, but found that his Michigan second-degree murder conviction was not sufficiently equivalent to an Illinois first-degree murder conviction to automatically qualify him for the natural-life sentence under the statute being applied. The appellate court therefore reversed the sentence and sent the case back for resentencing.

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Person convicted: Rayfield Austin
Relationship to Raechel: Father
Conviction: First-degree murder
Original sentence: Natural life imprisonment
Appeal: Murder conviction affirmed; original sentence reversed and case remanded for resentencing.

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Forever Remembered

Raechel lived for only ten weeks. There was no first birthday. No first steps. No first words. No first day of kindergarten. There wasn't enough time for anyone to discover what Raechel's favorite things would be or what kind of personality would emerge as this tiny baby grew into a little girl. Instead, much of the record left behind about Raechel consists of hospital records, a child abuse investigation, medical testimony, a murder trial and an appeal. But there is another part of Raechel's story that deserves to survive. People noticed her.  Nurses looked at a seven week old baby, saw marks on her face and recognized that something might be wrong. They tried to get help for her. The system that received that warning returned Raechel home. Fifteen days later, she suffered the fatal injuries that ended her life. That part of Raechel's story matters because protecting children depends not only on recognizing warning signs, but on what happens after someone reports them. Still, Raechel should never be remembered only as an example of a system failure. Her name was Raechel Austin. She was ten weeks old. She was a baby whose entire world consisted of the people responsible for caring for her. She deserved gentleness. She deserved protection. And she deserved far more than ten weeks. Abuse Angels remembers Raechel Austin, tells the truth about what happened to her, and preserves the name of the baby girl whose life should have only been beginning.