DETROIT – Approaching the three-year anniversary of 5-year-old Ethan Belcher’s heartbreaking death, his aunt, standing beside Ethan’s surviving brother, told Local 4 there’s no doubt in her mind, that her 5-year-old nephew’s life “could have been saved” and that “CPS failed him.”
“I hope he knows that we love him -- we miss him every day. It’s very hard to go on without him,” Ashley Belcher said.
Family accuses Michigan child welfare officials of neglect
Belcher, the personal representative of the 5-year-old’s estate, has filed two new lawsuits accusing Michigan child welfare officials of failing to protect Ethan and his brother, Mason Belcher, after an abuse investigation in 2021.
“I love him, and I miss him a lot, and I’ve been doing good stuff for him,” said Mason Belcher, now nine years old, who his family says also suffered horrific abuse and witnessed the shocking abuse of his younger brother.
Reporter, Erika Erickson: “Yeah? What kind of good stuff do you do for him?”
Mason: “Try to be good. Listen.”
“He’s a good listener,” his aunt said.
One case, filed in Michigan’s Court of Claims, names the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services as the defendant and alleges the agency’s actions and omissions left the children in danger after Child Protective Services substantiated abuse.
The other lawsuit names CPS workers Miranda Ostrowski and Tedra White, alleging civil rights violations under federal law.
Death described as severe abuse and torture
Ethan died in January of 2023 after what is described as severe abuse and torture. Ethan’s cause of death was “multiple blunt and sharp force injuries with complications,” according to the complaints.
“He was beaten in the most heinous way, and it pisses me off so bad that these workers didn’t stop that from happening to him,” said Ashley Belcher. “You can’t ever explain how somebody could do that to a child. I can’t even sleep at night because of the nightmares that I have about the stuff that happened to Ethan.”
“When they found Ethan, when he was dead, he had a broken neck, he had a fractured skull, they found signs of sexual abuse,” said Belcher’s attorney, Zachary Runyan. “Anytime I read these reports, I have to hold back tears. We need to make sure that justice is served for both Ethan and his brother.”
Parents sentenced to life in prison for murder, abuse charges
Ethan’s mother and stepfather, Valeria Hamilton and Shane Shelton, were later charged with murder, child abuse and torture and sentenced to life in prison last October. Hamilton allegedly admitted to police that Shelton “excessively beat” the boys with his hands and “other objects” – like “a cord.”
Messages from Hamilton allegedly said, “I don’t have what it takes to not kill…” and “I’ll slam them so hard their heads with (sic) pop off. Legit pop right the f**k off…”
Shelton allegedly responded to this by saying, “that’s what happens when humans wanna act like wild animals.”
“They were being constantly and brutally abused by those two consistently, and their family members knew it back in 2021,” said Runyan. “And what’s crazy is CPS agreed that the kids were being abused, but instead of taking them out of the home and protecting these kids, they put them right back into the home and closed their case. They did a horrible, horrible investigation.”
Official report details failures by CPS and law enforcement
Both lawsuits follow a recently released report from Michigan’s Office of the Child Advocate, issued more than two years after Ethan’s unspeakable death, that detailed failures by law enforcement and child protective services during the 2021 abuse case.
The report found that neither CPS nor Lincoln Park Police consulted a medical child abuse expert to confirm injuries were non-accidental, and that no official photographs of the child’s injuries were taken, with agencies relying instead on low-quality images provided by a relative.
The report also cited inaccuracies in a police report and a lack of follow-up after the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office returned a warrant packet for further investigation.
Family’s pleas for help ignored, CPS failed to protect children
“The family was begging CPS: ‘take them out of the house,’” said Runyan. “And what’s insane to me is when you look through the reports, you find they did not make physical contact with the kids. They met with them over Zoom for one of their visits, and then the other visits, they conducted them through a screen door. That’s not how you check for abuse. That’s not how you make sure these kids are safe.”
“The CPS worker -- she told me that I’m just an aunt, that there was nothing I could do,” Ashley Belcher said. “He ultimately lost his life because of them. They are all responsible for his death.”
Lawsuits allege CPS ignored evidence, returned children to abusive home
Both filings reiterate that CPS workers “failed to take any photographs to document the injuries caused by abuse,” even after noting injuries consistent with physical abuse.
They also allege CPS returned the children to the household despite the findings, stating: “Despite this, on April 13, 2021, CPS placed Plaintiffs back into the care of Shelton and Hamilton.”
The complaints describe a 2021 investigation that began after Ashley Belcher took the children to a Trenton hospital and they were later transferred for specialized evaluation. According to the federal filing, “during the evaluation at Children’s Hospital, M.B. disclosed that Shelton physically abused Plaintiffs.”
The complaints say CPS then closed its ongoing protective services case despite alleged noncooperation.
Expert warns closing cases like this often leads to child deaths
“What’s crazy, Erika, is stats say that when you close a case that was categorized the way Ethan’s and his brothers were, 75% of the time a child dies, and that’s exactly what happened here,” Runyan told Local 4.
“We can’t fix the fact that Ethan’s mom and her boyfriend are horrible, but that’s why we have CPS. CPS is supposed to be there to protect them, because these kids can’t protect themselves.”
Recommendations aim to prevent future tragedies
The child advocate report offered recommendations aimed at preventing similar cases, including improving identification of cases needing medical exams and urging lawmakers to fund statewide regional child abuse medical centers.
“They should have never, ever been put back in that home, and the CPS should have never closed the case without Shane participating in the services that he was required to under,” Runyan said.
MDHHS responds to lawsuits and report
Local 4 reached out to MDHHS regarding the lawsuits and has not yet heard back. MDHHS previously responded to the report with a statement saying:
“The death of Ethan Belcher was a tragedy that involved multiple organizations within the child welfare system. We are committed to working with the legislature, law enforcement, judges and other partners to continue to improve Michigan’s child welfare system to meet the needs of kids and families.”
The department said it is focused on “prevention, intervention and accountability” in supporting Michigan children and families.