Investigations launched into starved Iowa teen's death

Iowa’s ombudsman and Democratic state lawmakers have begun inquiries into the starvation death of 16-year-old Natalie Finn of West Des Moines.

Ombudsman Kristie Hirschman confirmed Wednesday that her office is reviewing child-abuse records subpoenaed from Iowa’s Department of Human Services. The state agency has independent authority to investigate complaints about state and local government and has reviewed controversial child deaths in the past.

“At this point, we don’t know what scope our investigation will take,” she said.

Hirschman said her office requested the records after a Dec. 8 Watchdog report in which a neighbor in West Des Moines told police that she suspected Natalie Finn was a victim of child abuse — five months before the teen suffered cardiac arrest Oct. 24.

The neighbor, Becca Gordon, told the Watchdog that DHS never follow up and called her about that report.

The Watchdog requested on Nov. 1 police reports concerning trips officers made to the West Des Moines home at the request of Gordon. Those reports are commonly available across Iowa, but West Des Moines police refused to release them until five weeks later, on Dec. 7.

One report showed Natalie tried to run away from home in mid-April. Another showed Gordon, whose son attended Walnut Creek campus with Natalie, called police to say she had been asking for food and money, appeared "unkept" and smelled heavily of body odor, and had blisters on her feet and no shoes.

Gordon also reported to police that Natalie said "she was locked in her bedroom by her mother because one of the pets urinated on the floor," the report showed. 

West Des Moines Officer Matthew Granzow wrote that he and Officer Barry Graham went to the mother's home at 805 15th St. on May 31 and saw someone peering from behind a curtain. No one answered the door, though Granzow said he knocked several times.

Granzow said he called veteran DHS social worker Lauren Templeman. But Becca Gordon told the Register that DHS never contacted her after her call to police.

RELATED:

• Editorial: Did DHS do all that it could to help Natalie Finn?
• Watchdog: Starved teen's death likely to trigger scrutiny of changes to Iowa's child welfare law
• Teen, siblings were tortured by parents, court documents say
• Neighbor: Teen saw herself as siblings' protector

Hirschman said her office has the option of issuing a public report after reviewing the handling of such a case, but it's too soon to say whether investigators will with this one. 

In the meantime, state Sen. Matt McCoy, who represents West Des Moines and will become the lead Democrat on the Legislature's Oversight Committee, said Wednesday he obtained authority from former Democratic Majority Leader Michael Gronstal to obtain child abuse assessments in the case after DHS denied him access earlier this month.

McCoy said he will have a conversation with DHS Director Charles Palmer about that briefing. 

Sen. Rob Hogg, who will be sworn in as the new Senate minority leader Jan. 8, said he fully supported McCoy's move. Hogg remains chairman of the oversight committee until he takes over for Gronstal, who was defeated in the November general election. 

"This is an issue I have very high concern about," Hogg said. "This is not supposed to happen in the 21st century."

State law provides for the minority or majority leader of the Iowa Legislature, or Gov. Terry Branstad, to review DHS records, be briefed on the case and make general statements as to whether they believe it was handled properly.

The incoming chairman of the oversight committee, Sen. Michael Breitbach, R-Strawberry Point, did not return a phone call and email Wednesday seeking comment. A spokesman for incoming Republican Majority Leader Bill Dix also did not return a call Wednesday seeking comment. 

Chapter 92 of Iowa Code also allows legislators or the governor to call together an ad hoc Child Death Review Committee to determine whether DHS and other agencies responded appropriately.

The committee can be assembled on an as-needed basis by the state medical examiner, and must include a medical examiner, a member of law enforcement and a pediatrician “knowledgeable in the deaths of children.” The committee also can call on others with specific expertise.

The committee is given access to all assessments in the case, as well as law enforcement, medical, school and other public records necessary. It’s then supposed to issue a report and recommendations to the governor and legislators to highlight findings that could prevent similar deaths.

Some specific information can be withheld before the report's release by the county attorney per Iowa Code section 235A.15(9). After the completion of any criminal trials, the committee can issue a supplemental report that includes that information.

However, McCoy and Hirschman said to their knowledge, no one had requested the committee be called.

Finn's parents, Nicole and Joseph, were charged with numerous felonies Dec. 9. They shared joint custody of five children when they divorced in 2011, after 12 years of marriage, according to court records.

One of the children, Alexander Kendal Finn, is an adult. Natalie was the next oldest, followed by two 15-year-old brothers and a 14-year-old sister.

Criminal complaints filed in Polk County allege Nicole Finn killed her daughter "intentionally, willfully, deliberately, with premeditation and malice aforethought."

Both parents are accused of secretly confining Natalie and two of her siblings, a 14-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy, inside their small, brick home on 15th Street near Mountain Avenue in West Des Moines. They are accused of using "unreasonable force, torture or cruelty" to cause serious injury to the three children.

West Des Moines police spokesman Anthony Giampolo said Wednesday the department made contact with DHS in May, the same day officers were called to the home.

Asked the protocol in handling such events, he said, the department is “to conduct a complete and thorough preliminary investigation. … Investigations and other steps would be dependent on circumstances surrounding the complaint. Our protocol is to gather all information that is known, make a determination on the immediate action to be taken, and then notify any outside agencies as appropriate.”

Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Contact her at lrood@dmreg.com, 515-284-8549 on Twitter @leerood or at Facebook.com/readerswatchdog.