DSHS investigating boy’s death

The state Department of Social and Health Services is looking at why it placed a 20-month-old boy with a relative who had a criminal history and is now accused of killing him.

Spokeswoman Kathy Spears said the agency is reviewing the measures it took to make sure Devon L. Miller would be safe, and a formal investigation involving outside experts could follow.

Devon died Sunday of what a doctor called a “fantastically huge” subdural hematoma of the brain – swelling from internal bleeding – that prevented any blood from reaching the child’s brain. He and his 7-month-old sister had been placed in the custody of two relatives – Avery E. Sam, 37, and his wife, Angelique P. Sam, 34 – by DSHS in conjunction with the Yakama Nation, Spears said.

Angelique Sam is the children’s great aunt, according to Spears.

She said the Sams are not “foster parents” as police have described them, but they were required to undergo the same criminal background check and home interview as foster parents. Such “family placement” did not require the Sams’ home at 2718 E. Diamond Ave. to meet numerous safety standards required for foster homes.

“Right now we’re gathering case information so we can tell what we found when we did the background check and how thorough the home study was,” Spears said.

Spokane police said in court documents that Avery Sam had convictions for drug possession, second-degree attempted theft and drunken driving when he and his wife were given custody of Devon and his sister, Jenny R. Quiltanenock. The affidavit also says Sam was arrested in Arizona on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter while driving drunk, but officers hadn’t been able to determine whether Sam was convicted on that charge.

Angelique Sam, also known as Angelique Tomeo, had two felony warrants for three counts of alleged forgery, police said.

Spears acknowledged that a Washington State Patrol background check disclosed that Avery Sam had some criminal convictions.

“What those were I’m not sure at this point,” Spears said.

Any crime against children is unacceptable, but other convictions wouldn’t necessarily disqualify a candidate, Spears said.

“It depends on what those convictions are, how far in the past they are, if there are any current drug or alcohol issues, if there has been treatment,” she said. “Obviously, we don’t want to condemn somebody who has turned his life around … so those are all dealt with on a case-by-case basis.”

Court documents say Avery Sam admitted to police that he became frustrated with Devon on Friday night while his wife was at work.

He reportedly said the boy had been sick and fussy and had a dirty diaper while his baby sister was crying.

Police stated in an affidavit used to charge Sam that he told officers he shook Devon for about a minute, hard enough that the boy’s head wobbled back and forth. Then, after changing Devon’s diaper, Avery held the boy over his crib and dropped him onto the mattress, according to the police account of Avery Sam’s statement.

Sam said his own son, 7-year-old Gibson E. Tomeo, told him about 20 minutes later that Devon needed a drink, but Sam found Devon stiff as though he were having a seizure. So Sam shook the boy some more, poured water on the boy’s hair and then called his wife, according to the police affidavit.

The two other children in the home were subsequently taken into protective custody, and Avery Sam was charged with second-degree murder.