DECATUR - Illinois lawmakers plan a hearing about the death of a 2-year-old Decatur girl who died from starvation and deprivation.
Democratic state Rep. Sue Scherer of Decatur says she requested the Tuesday hearing. She says legislators want to find out what happened and how to improve the system. The girl's mother, Twanka L. Davis of Decatur has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges in Ta'Naja Barnes' Feb. 11 death.
The (Decatur) Herald and Review reports that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services had been directly involved with the family. The agency's interim director, Debra Dyer-Webster, said the department would review the case.
Police have said the girl's body was found in a urine-soaked blanket in a home officers described as stinking of garbage and full of rodent droppings.
