From the cradle to the grave

The signs of abuse of Raffy Gomez were there, but social workers ignored them in an effort to reunite him with his family

Seven months before Raffy Gomez' death, a certified family therapist wrote to a social worker that the 17-month-old boy should move back with his parents in Ephrata despite their history of drug abuse.

Two months later, that social worker, Murray Twelves, recommended to a state Department of Social and Health Service Child Protection Team that Raffy lives with a "very cohesive and functional family," despite a rash of recent injuries to the toddler.

But a week before that meeting, Raffy's foster mother had pleaded to Children and Family Services officials not to return him to his birth parents again, fearing a fifth trip would be his last.

According to documents recently released by Grant County Prosecutor John Knodell, officials with the state Department of Social and Health Services recorded broken bones, burns and bruises Raffy Gomez suffered while in the care of his mother, Maribel Gomez.

But each time, after stints with foster parents Bruce and Denise Griffith in Royal City, Raffy went back to Maribel Gomez and his father, Jose Arechiga, until he died of blunt force trauma head injuries.

Maribel Gomez says Raffy died from an accidental fall, though Ephrata police have ruled his death a homicide.

Knodell said he has not reviewed the documents of the case — which add up to more than 1,000 pages — entirely, and he expects to decide whether to charge Maribel Gomez with Raffy's death within the next two weeks.

The cards were stacked against Raffy while he was still in the womb. On July 24, 2001, two weeks before Raffy was born, Maribel Gomez, then 26, was admitted to Samaritan Hospital for lower pelvic pain. According to hospital staff, she said she fell but couldn't remember how or where.

The medical provider suspected she was high, and a cocaine test turned up positive. Maribel told the doctor she "uses cocaine, but doesn't use it all the time," according to a DSHS document.

On Aug. 7, 2001, Raffy Gomez was born in the back seat of a car. Hospital tests confirmed that he, like his mother, had cocaine and methamphetamines running through his body. Three days after his birth, he was placed into foster care with Denise and Bruce Griffith.

Maribel and her family — boyfriend Jose Arechiga, Raffy's father, daughters Maria and JuliAnna and son Julio — were only allowed to see him when a social worker brought him over for scheduled, supervised visits.

By most accounts from Children and Family Services, Maribel was working to become a more fit mother. Esperanza Pando, who took Raffy to Maribel for her supervised visits, wrote how the mother was usually waiting to see Raffy, always kissing him and taking care to change his diaper if necessary.

In fact, Pando even records one account where Jose Arechiga left a mark on Raffy's cheek from kissing him too hard.

In June 2002, Children and Family Services officials allowed Raffy to return back home in Ephrata with Maribel.

On Sept. 14, 2002, Maribel gave birth to her fifth child, Edgar Ram Arechiga. All six lived in her Ephrata apartment. Later that month, Children and Family Services received a report that Raffy suffered a broken femur while his parents were gone and he was under the care of a paternal uncle.

All five of Maribel's children were removed from her home in the middle of the night. The uncle claimed Raffy had fallen from a toy scooter, which had caused the break.

Children and Family Services determined that, based on a medical assessment, the incident "could indeed be an accidental injury," according to a report, and allowed all of the children to return home to Maribel five days later.

In December 2002, Raffy broke his other leg. Though the incident appeared to be accidental, Children and Family Services officials determined Raffy was at a "high risk." He was returned to Griffith's foster care.

But social workers still leaned toward returning Raffy to his birth parents. A Child Protection Team was formed to work with Maribel and Jose Arechiga and monitor their improvements as parents.

On Jan. 31, 2003, Jose F. Vasquez, a family therapist with the Northwest Family Therapy Institute in Yakima, wrote a letter to Twelves telling him that a return home to Raffy's parents would be "extremely beneficial" for the child.

"Both parents are sincere in their interest to care for the child and I feel that they will," Vasquez wrote, adding that keeping him in foster care could encourage a possible Reactive Attachment Disorder.

Griffith, however, disagreed.

Raffy had spent 15 of his 19 months alive with her and never suffered an injury, she wrote in a letter regarding a dependency review hearing for Raffy on March 18.

But within two-and-a-half months of returning Raffy to Maribel Gomez for the second time, he suffered a left tibial fracture, a right femur fracture, a skull fracture, hand burns, ear bruises and cuts, burn marks on the tip of his tongue and a large abrasion of his posterior scalp, Griffith wrote.

"We love Raffy very much and would gladly except (sic) him into our home as we have so many times before, but we will also gladly allow him to go to any other adoptive home that is safe so he can go on with a normal healthy life. Please do not let this child fall through the cracks again," Griffith wrote.

Raffy was returned to Maribel Gomez' care on March 25.

On Sept. 10, 2003, about 4 p.m., Maribel was feeding Raffy and he threw a tantrum when the bowl of food became empty, she said in a statement to police.

While he was sitting on the floor, Raffy threw himself backward three times and struck his head against the floor, Maribel said, as a means to get her to give him more food.

The third strike "sounded horrible," Maribel said, according to a Child Protective Services document, and she saw Raffy's eyes roll back into his head.

Maribel called social worker Murray Twelves at 4:45 p.m., upset and difficult to understand on the phone, saying she was feeding Raffy and he fell and passed out, according to Twelves' notes.

Twelves told her to get the child to the hospital right away. Maribel cried, "Don't take my child!," according to the notes.

Maribel and Jose Arechiga drove Raffy to Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata. He was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, where he was pronounced brain dead the next morning.

Ephrata police ruled his death a homicide, and Maribel is the only suspect. Jose Arechiga was at work when Raffy fell and is not under investigation.

Maribel's other four children were removed from her home after Raffy's death. This February, Maribel came before Grant County Superior Court Judge Evan Sperline, who ordered those children remain in foster care but allowing Maribel unsupervised visits.

Tragically, Griffith had been proved right in the final sentence of her letter begging the Child Protection Team to remove Raffy from the care of his birth parents:

"In my opinion, a 5th time could be his final fatal time in this system."