IN RE LILYANA L. ET AL. [*]
Argued
September 11, 2018 [**]
Procedural
History
Coterminous
petitions by the Commissioner of Children and Families to
adjudicate the respondents' minor children neglected and
to terminate the respondents' parental rights with
respect to their minor children, brought to the Superior
Court in the judicial district of Fairfield, Juvenile Matters
at Bridgeport, and tried to the court, Ginocchio, J.;
thereafter, the court amended the petition to terminate the
parental rights of the respondent mother as to the minor
child Lilyana L.; judgments adjudicating the minor children
neglected and terminating the respondents' parental
rights, from which the respondent mother appealed to this
court.
Affirmed.
Karen
Oliver Damboise, assigned counsel, for the appellant
(respondent mother).
John
E. Tucker, assistant attorney general, with whom, on the
brief, were George Jepsen, attorney general, and Benjamin
Zivyon and Mildred Bauza, assistant attorneys general, for
the appellee (petitioner).
Rebecca A. Rebollo, for the minor child.
Sheldon, Moll and Mihalakos, Js.
OPINION
MIHALAKOS, J.
The
respondent, Britney N., appeals from the judgment of the
trial court rendered in favor of the petitioner, the
Commissioner of Children and Families, terminating her
parental rights with respect to her minor child, Lilyana
L.[1]
On appeal, the respondent claims that the trial court erred
when it determined, pursuant to General Statutes §
17a-112 (j) (3) (F), that the respondent committed an
assault, through a deliberate, nonaccidental act that
resulted in serious bodily injury to another child of the
parent.[2] We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
The
facts of this case involve the termination of the
respondent's parental rights as to her daughter, Lilyana,
which was based on the respondent's abuse of another
child, Avah L. The following facts and procedural history are
relevant to this appeal. This appeal arises from coterminous
neglect and termination of parental rights petitions filed
with respect to the respondent's minor children, Lilyana
(born in May, 2015) and Avah (born in March,
2016).[3] On October 21, 2016, the petitioner filed
petitions for the termination of the respondent's
parental rights as to Avah[4] and Lilyana. The termination petition
as to Lilyana alleged, pursuant to § 17a-112 (j) (3)
(F), that the respondent committed an assault, through a
deliberate, nonaccidental act, that resulted in the serious
bodily injury of another child of the parent.
Until
October 7, 2016, the children resided with the respondent and
Avah's father, William L., in an apartment on the second
floor of a three-family house. The respondent and William
were the children's primary caretakers, although outside
health care professionals came to the apartment on a regular
basis to help with the care of Avah, who suffered from small
gestational age, acid reflux, and torticollis.
The
petitioner filed the underlying petition following Avah's
hospitalization on October 14, 2016. In its memorandum of
decision, the trial court found the following facts regarding
the events that transpired on that date: ‘‘[A]t
approximately 5:40 p.m., police and emergency personnel
responded to a 911 call . . . . The caller, who was
[Avah's] father, [William], stated that he needed help,
his baby was not breathing. Those who initially arrived at
the scene described the infant, [Avah], as being nonreactive
and nonresponsive. Her body was limp, and she was not able to
move her arms or legs. . . . The child was taken to a nearby
hospital. [Officer Mark Blackwell of the Bridgeport Police
Department] spoke to the baby's father, [William], and
asked [him] what happened. [William] responded that he was
watching the baby after her mother, [the respondent], had
left for work. He stated that he had to use the bathroom and,
while in the bathroom, he left the baby on the bed in their
bedroom. When he returned he found the baby, lying on her
back, on the floor. He proceeded to call for help.''
At Yale
New Haven Children's Hospital, doctors diagnosed Avah
with a head trauma, which resulted in a subdural hemorrhage
and retinal hemorrhages. Avah also had three leg fractures,
which included two healing fractures and one acute fracture,
and facial bruising. Three days after her admission to the
hospital, Avah experienced seizures related to her head
injury. Lisa R. Pavlovic, a pediatrician and child abuse
specialist at Yale New Haven Children's Hospital,
examined Avah after she was admitted to the hospital. The
trial court credited Pavlovic's opinion
...