Virginia Beach, Va. - NewsChannel 3 has done more investigating of the $450, 000 dollar settlement Virginia Beach is paying in the death of Baby Braxton.
The baby boy was abused to death while under the supervision of Beach Social Services.
We found out that thousands are being paid to people who barely knew Braxton.
The people who really loved him have been left out.
Braxton was born to a drug-addicted mother and a drug-dealing father.
Neither was fit to care for him. At just a few days old, Braxton went to foster care.
So it has struck many people as odd that his biological parents are the ones who got the settlement. Here's how the money was split:
Mother Kristen Wall gets $50,000. Each of her five children get $20,000 in trusts. Father ralph Taylor, Jr. gets $75,000 and each of his two kids get $37,500.
Their attorney gets $150,000.
Here's who didn't get anything: Sarah and Ben Fitzpatrick, Braxton's first foster parents.
They raised him from birth to nine months when he was moved to a second foster family and a foster mother who killed him.
Braxton's maternal grandparents, Betty and Rufus Easter, say they didn't know Braxton existed until he was dying in the hospital. They paid for his funeral and they were offered nothing.
The Fitzpatricks said it was about protecting other children.
None of the sweeping changes in the Beach child welfare would've happened without their courage to speak up.
The foster parents and grandparents didn't have custody so they couldn't join this lawsuit, and they didn't want to. But they did want to fix the system that failed Baby Braxton.
Braxton’s mother wanted to let everyone know she's been clean for two years and is trying to be a better mother to her other children.
Related:
Virginia Beach to settle Baby Braxton lawsuit for $450,000
New lawsuit filed against Virginia Beach in death of Baby Braxton
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