Sarvia Elizabeth Velasquez
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Remembering Elizabeth

Sarvia Elizabeth Velasquez was known by her family as Elizabeth. She was only 14 months old when she died. Elizabeth's paternal grandparents, Bruce and Francisca Anderson, were actively involved in her life. They remembered a loving little girl who enjoyed dressing up. Her grandmother called her “my princess.” At 14 months old, Elizabeth was just beginning to explore the world around her. She was learning to stand and beginning to talk. She should have had years ahead of her to grow, learn and become her own person. Instead, the final months of Elizabeth's life became marked by injuries, concerns about her safety, contacts with authorities and, ultimately, her unexplained death.

Elizabeth was more than the circumstances surrounding her death. She was a daughter. She was a granddaughter.  She was a little girl deeply loved by family members who tried to get help for her.

Her name was Sarvia Elizabeth Velasquez, and her life mattered.

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Elizabeth's Story

In the months leading up to Elizabeth's death, members of her paternal family became increasingly concerned about her welfare. Her grandparents said that during their weekly visits they began noticing changes. Elizabeth developed severe diaper rashes that made them concerned she was not being changed often enough. She became fearful of strangers and sometimes cried as though she was in pain. Even more concerning were the physical injuries Elizabeth suffered. During approximately the final two months of her life, the toddler suffered two broken legs. Her grandfather later publicly questioned how a child could suffer those injuries while concerns were being reported to both police and child welfare authorities. Then, during the early morning hours of May 2, 2010, police and paramedics were called to a home in southeast Calgary. Fourteen month old Elizabeth was in medical distress. She had been in the care of her mother and her mother's boyfriend. Elizabeth was rushed by ambulance to Alberta Children's Hospital. She could not be saved. Sarvia Elizabeth Velasquez died on May 2, 2010. An autopsy was performed the following day, but the initial findings did not establish how Elizabeth had died. Additional testing was required. Months passed. Then, in December 2010, investigators received the final autopsy findings. Elizabeth had died from asphyxiation. Her death was determined to be non-accidental. Calgary police ultimately classified the death of the 14-month-old little girl as a homicide.

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Warning Signs & System Failures

Elizabeth's death became the subject of serious questions about Alberta's child-protection system because concerns had been raised before she died. Her paternal grandparents said they repeatedly contacted authorities because they believed something was wrong. Elizabeth's father also later said he had contacted both child welfare and police multiple times with concerns about abuse.

The grandparents specifically reported their concerns after noticing Elizabeth's physical condition and behavior. By the time of her death, police, social services and medical professionals had all come into contact with Elizabeth or information concerning her welfare. Alberta Children and Youth Services confirmed that an investigation had begun after the grandparents contacted the department.

The file was reportedly still open when Elizabeth died. After her death, the province reviewed how her case had been handled. That review identified problems involving communication and professional judgment within the child-intervention system. Elizabeth's death ultimately became significant enough that recommendations stemming from the review contributed to broader scrutiny of Alberta's child-intervention system. Elizabeth's grandfather later summarized the family's frustration painfully: His granddaughter had suffered broken legs. People had called.

Authorities knew there were concerns. Yet Elizabeth remained in the home. She died before anyone succeeded in getting her somewhere safe.

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Justice for Elizabeth

Elizabeth's homicide investigation continued long after her death. In August 2011, Calgary police publicly identified two suspects: Sarvia Velasquez, Elizabeth's mother, and Arnaldo Rodriguez, her mother's boyfriend. Investigators said the two adults had the exclusive opportunity to cause Elizabeth's death. Neither was charged at that time.  Elizabeth's family continued publicly calling for answers and justice. In February 2012, as what would have been Elizabeth's third birthday approached, police again appealed for attention to the unsolved case. Investigators said they were continuing to pursue different investigative strategies. Her grandmother explained that the passage of time had brought no closure because no one had been held accountable for Elizabeth's death.

 

Victim: Sarvia Elizabeth “Elizabeth” Velasquez

Cause of death: Asphyxiation. Manner of death: Homicide.
Named suspects: Sarvia Velasquez, mother & Arnaldo Rodriguez, mother's boyfriend
Charges: None documented in the sources currently available

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Elizabeth's death therefore remains different from many of the cases remembered here. There is no conviction to record. There is no prison sentence that can be placed beside her name. There is only a homicideand a little girl whose family continued waiting for someone to be held responsible.

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Forever Remembered

Elizabeth was 14 months old. Before she died, people who loved her believed something was wrong.

They noticed the rashes. Elizabeth's story is therefore not only about the person who caused her death. It is also about what can happen when warning signs surround a vulnerable child but intervention does not come soon enough. Her grandparents spent years afterward asking how their granddaughter could have come into contact with so many people and systems designed to protect children and still die at only 14 months old. But Elizabeth should never exist only as an example of what went wrong. She was their princess. She was a little girl who loved dressing up. She was learning to stand. She was beginning to talk. She had people in her life who loved her and who continued speaking her name after she could no longer speak for herself. There should have been a second birthday. There should have been school. There should have been friends, interests, photographs, celebrations and an adulthood. Instead, Elizabeth's life ended on May 2, 2010.

Her homicide remains without a documented conviction. Abuse Angels remembers Sarvia Elizabeth Velasquez, preserves the truth about the warnings that preceded her death, and remembers the little girl her grandparents lovingly called their princess.