Suffer the Little Children Blog

On Friday, January 8, 2021, a 911 call summoned Hocking County EMS to 1010 Hayden Place in Logan, Ohio, where, in apartment 15, they found two-year-old Arianna Jade Belknap, a tiny girl with fine blonde hair and big blue eyes, not breathing. Detectives said, “Evidence indicated that the child had suffered from abuse.” Even before Arianna died, on January 9, Arianna’s father, 24-year-old Austin Lee Starkey, and his girlfriend, 27-year-old Destani Dawn Neel, were arrested and charged with permitting child abuse, a first degree felony, and endangering children, a second degree felony. According to a Facebook post made by Arianna’s maternal step-grandfather about Arianna’s death, “she passed on January 10th 2021 due to injuries sustained from abuse by her biological father and his girlfriend over a 4 day period until her little body couldn’t take it any longer. Also, the same address is listed for both Austin and Destani in Hocking County Municipal Court records, indicating they lived together in the apartment, so Neonnds85’s explanation that Destani “got to his apartment after he abused his daughter” doesn’t hold water.

At long last, a trial date has been set for the accused killers of 8-year-old Raylee Browning: her father, Marty Browning Jr.; his wife, Julie Titchenell Browning; and Julie’s sister, Sherie Titchenell. In September, Janice, represented by Fayetteville attorney Anthony Salvatore, filed a federal civil lawsuit against DHHR, alleging that CPS caseworkers failed to perform a mandatory study on the Browning-Titchenell home, as well as failing to investigate reports by Raylee’s teachers, among others, alleging that Raylee was being abused. The defendants failed to take action to ensure that there was an adequate safety plan for R.B. in the home of Marty Browning and Julie Titchenell, failed to ensure that Marty Browning and Julie Titchenell were capable and competent to house children and to ensure the safety of all children, failed to ensure that the home was up to code and in compliance with WVDHHR policies and standards with respect to heating systems, electrical wiring and other potential causes of fire in the home. I hope with all my heart that Janice wins the lawsuit, and even more so, I hope Marty Browning, Julie Titchenell-Browning, and Sherie Titchenell are swiftly convicted on their charges and sentenced to the maximum possible punishment on their charges, because Janice and her family — and especially Raylee — deserve justice.

The first time Jamie brought the scrawny girl with long, stringy brown hair home to meet his mother, Tammy, one of Britney’s first actions was to rummage through Tammy’s cupboards, after which she scavenged a drink, dug in her purse for a baggy and a prescription bottle, and popped a handful of pills, right in front of her future mother-in-law. Within days, Britney was charged with child endangerment and released to await trial, during which time, a JFS worker explained, she and Jamie were allowed unlimited visits with Avery at Tammy’s house, but they had to leave when Tammy was asleep. The next day, however, Stephanie showed up at Tammy’s house and informed Tammy and Jon that she had filed on the State’s behalf for custody of Avery due to the fact, she said, that no family member wanted to take custody. After calling Tammy back into the room, Stephanie declared that she knew Tammy was coaching Avery to make these accusations against her mother and suggested that Tammy was the person injuring the baby to make Britney look bad.

Madison is one of five people, four of whom are family members, charged in connection with the February 2020 death of 12-year-old James Alexander “Alex” Hurley, who was beaten to death by his 14-year-old uncle, James Sasser III. The neighbor said James III then dragged Alex back into the house, punching the 12-year-old repeatedly in the face, while Patricia and Madison followed behind, doing nothing to intervene. On top of that, the culture of abuse Patricia cultivated in that home, particularly when she took Alex in after Tommy’s death, incontrovertibly affected the minds of her children, including Madison, James III, and little H.S., who was six years old at the time of Alex’s death and who can reportedly be seen in some of the evidence videos ignoring or taking part in the abuse. Alex.” Prosecutor Boyer said that Alex’s mother, Alicia Davis, who attended the hearing virtually, forgave Madison and asked him to request that Madison continue going to counseling and have no further contact with her parents.