Kiana Barker

Case record: Kiana Barker

Background

Kiana Barker was a foster mother who tried to adopt Viola Vanclief in 2010. Barker was licensed as a foster parent for United Care and had two biological children of her own, including a 6-month-old daughter and a 9-year-old daughter. She also had two foster children, including Viola. Claudia Barker, Barker’s grandmother, lived next door and described that on the day Viola died she had been at a doctor’s appointment and returned to find Barker screaming, saying: “Grandma, she’s not breathing.” Claudia Barker also said that Kiana Barker did not say anything about a hammer, but said the baby was diabetic and had low blood sugar, and that Julian tried to revive the infant while Kiana called 911.

Family friend Phillip Brown said he had known Kiana Barker for eight years and stated: “She was more of a spiritual lady, not a violent lady,” adding, “I don’t know what happened.”

Viola Vanclief was born in 2007 to a schizophrenic mother who was not taking her medication. Viola was briefly removed from her biological mother’s care and was later reunified with her as the county tried to help the woman care for her infant. Seven months later, investigators determined the mother was still not taking her medication, was using cocaine, and had violently attacked another person. The county initiated court proceedings to terminate the mother’s parental rights, and the infant was later placed with Barker.

The offence

Viola Vanclief died in her care after sustaining blunt-force trauma. Prosecutors alleged that Barker severely beat Viola, later called 911, and reported that the girl had stopped breathing. A jury later found Barker guilty of second-degree murder, assault on a child causing death, and child abuse.

Prosecutors alleged that Barker burst into Viola’s room after hours of heavy drinking and beat the toddler with a belt. When Barker was pulled away, the little girl was on the floor, struggling to breathe. Authorities said that doctors attempted to revive Viola, but prosecutors said she was “dead on arrival.”

At the time of the death, Barker told investigators that Viola had become jammed in a bed frame and that she might have accidentally hit the girl with a hammer as she tried to free her. Coroner’s records also described that Barker told authorities Viola had been trapped in a bed frame and that she accidentally struck the child with a hammer while trying to free her. Authorities said Viola had multiple bruises on her body. The death was deemed a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma.

Motion filed at sentencing stated that the trauma was caused by “multiple repeated blows by an adult, exerting maximum force.”

Prosecutors stated that Viola had died from massive bleeding in her chest cavity.

Investigation

Investigators said they worked to re-create the hours before the toddler’s death and pinpoint Viola’s injuries using interviews and other techniques to determine Barker’s whereabouts at the time the injuries occurred. Lt. Vincent Neglia of the LAPD’s Juvenile Division described that it was “very difficult to put together a timeline.”

Trish Ploehn, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, said investigators were still gathering information and stated: “I’m still in the information-gathering phase,” and “I’m still pulling the state regs to determine who was responsible to assess the history and who was responsible to follow up following the subsequent hotline calls. It’s a complicated and complex analysis.”

The child’s death focused attention on the Department of Children and Family Services, whose officials could not initially explain how the child came into the care of Barker, and her then-boyfriend, James Dewitt Julian.

Five previous child-abuse complaints were reported about Barker, including one substantiated allegation that she had severely neglected her own biological child in 2002. Confidential records reviewed in connection with the investigation showed additional complaints that investigators either deemed unfounded or inconclusive, including allegations involving emotional abuse, neglect of two foster children deemed inconclusive, general neglect and sexual abuse of foster children with neglect inconclusive and sexual-abuse charge unfounded, and another complaint of sexual abuse deemed unfounded.

Violations of state rules were described in relation to the adults in the home. Under state rules, both adults should have been disqualified from caring for or living with foster children. Julian had a prior conviction that should have barred him from living in a foster-care home.

Arrest

Kiana Barker was rearrested in connection with Viola Vanclief’s death and faced charges of murder, child abuse and dissuading a witness, according to a felony complaint. Her bail was set at $1.1 million. Two days later, her boyfriend, James Julian, surrendered to police and faced charges of accessory to murder after the fact and dissuading a witness. He was held in lieu of $1.6-million bail.

Barker and Julian were initially arrested on suspicion of murder but were released two days later with no charges filed.

Barker was decertified as a foster parent, and state regulators posted a notice near one of the no trespassing signs outside her house saying that a child-care center license there had been suspended.

Trial

In the closing statement, Deputy District Attorney Pak Kouch showed graphic images of the toddler battered and prostrate on a hospital bed and said: “It’s hard to imagine a mother beating her child to death,” adding: “the evidence in this case is not only simple, it’s overwhelming.”

Kouch described Barker as a violent woman who beat her biological daughter with a belt and stated that she “whooped and whooped and whooped on Viola,” killing her. Kouch alleged that Barker was the only person home to deliver a final blow to Viola’s upper side, which led to severe internal bleeding in her chest area. Kouch said the girl died of blunt force trauma.

Barker was convicted of second-degree murder. She was also convicted of assault on a child causing death and child abuse.

Deputy District Attorney Pak Kouch stated after proceedings in Los Angeles County Superior Court: “Justice was served.”

Barker’s attorney, Robert Haberer, argued that it was Barker’s then-boyfriend, James Julian, who beat the girl. Haberer said Barker lied to investigators about Julian being present at the South Los Angeles house when she found Viola unconscious. Haberer also said Barker sought more, not less, responsibility over Viola’s care, and that she tried to adopt the girl, which would have negated the prosecution’s contention that Barker fostered her to earn a stipend.

Sentencing

Barker was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in state prison on February 20, 2014.

Appeals

No appeal information was included in the provided material.

Outcome

Barker’s conviction for second-degree murder and the associated convictions for assault on a child causing death and child abuse were part of the case leading to the 25-years-to-life sentence.

Aftermath

After the child’s death, Los Angeles County terminated its contract with United Care. Los Angeles County launched a review of the criminal clearance process for foster parents selected by private agencies after attention was focused on how Barker could have been approved despite previous complaints.

Viola’s remains were buried in an unmarked grave in Carson.

Los Angeles County supervisors voted to develop an investigations unit and terminated their relationship with United Care.

United Care oversaw 88 homes with 216 foster children, and was repeatedly cited in recent years after caregivers choked, hit or whipped charges with a belt. United Care was also connected to an issue in 2007 in which a foster child drowned while swimming unsupervised in a pool. County auditors found financial irregularities: United Care was paid $3,954,796 for the care of 232 children, but $274,608 in expenditures were determined to be “questionable,” and was ordered to be repaid to taxpayers, with much of the money remaining uncollected.

Authorities said Julian had been convicted in 1992 of armed robbery and that this fact should have disqualified him from living in a home certified for foster care.

James Julian pleaded no contest to an accessory charge in 2011 and was sentenced to three years in jail for his role. Barker and Julian married less than a month after Viola’s death.