‘Senseless’ child deaths in Md. prompts family violence task force

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — It’s an increasingly growing problem that the state’s attorney’s office says it wants to end — when a domestic violence case comes through court and there are indicators there could be other victims.

“It is senseless and it does have to stop,” said State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County Angela Alsobrooks speaking about the recent case of 2-year-old Jamir Shipe who was killed by his mother’s boyfriend.

“When we talk about domestic violence, we generally think about intimacy, but what we’re seeing is this violence is affecting children and elders in the home,” she said.

Alsobrooks said the recently formed Family Violence Task Force will work on cases her office suspects could overlap into other cases of elder abuse, child sexual assault, and/or domestic violence.

“We want to make sure there isn’t a chance for any case to fall through the cracks because we’ll be discussing them seamlessly,” she says.

Megan Cloherty

WTOP Investigative Reporter Megan Cloherty primarily covers breaking news, crime and courts.

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