‘Chronic Abuse’ Led To A 10-Year-Old’s Death. How Did It Go Undetected So Long?
Geanna Bradley’s legal guardians and a grandmother were arrested nearly a month after police found her body with severe injuries in their home.
The legal guardians and non-biological grandmother of a 10-year-old girl found dead with severe injuries were arrested Friday and accused of a horrific cycle of abuse and starvation that included binding Geanna Bradley with duct tape and confining her to a small porch area.
Child welfare advocates questioned whether state officials should have discovered the abuse sooner, especially considering the legal guardians, Brandy and Thomas Blas, had a 4-year-old adopted son who police said also showed signs of abuse.
The 4-year-old as well as the Blas’ four biological children ages 14, 10, 5 and 3, who all lived at 33 Karsten Drive, were placed in the custody of Child Welfare Services, according to police. The Blases and Brandy’s mother, Debra Garon, were charged with second-degree murder, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.
Department of Human Services spokeswoman Amanda Stevens said in a statement that the department had received no reports of abuse since the child was placed with the family under legal guardianship until Honolulu police found the body on Jan. 18 while responding to a call at the house. Stevens did not name Geanna or give more details in her statement.
The legal status of the two children allegedly abused is still hazy. It matters because, depending on the answer, the state may have been responsible for screening the household for safety or checking up on the children periodically to make sure they were OK.
Officials said Friday that the Blases were the “legal guardians” of Geanna. But the couple also were getting state payment for her care. That could happen if they were foster parents or, under certain circumstances, had adopted the girl.
Authorities said the 4-year-old boy had been adopted by the Blases. But they did not specify if he was adopted out of the foster system.
If so, Family Court judges would have needed to approve both the foster placement and the adoption. Often the court follows the recommendations of CWS, which would have been heavily involved in removing the child, finding a placement and recommending a permanent solution in the best interests of the child.
Prolonged Abuse And Starvation
“We mourn the loss of this child with the community,” CWS spokeswoman Amanda Stevens wrote. “As always, CWS asks everyone to take part in reporting what you hear, what you see, even what you sense, if you suspect abuse or neglect.”
Thomas and Brandy Blas were appointed legal guardians on Oct. 8, 2018, and their paperwork was signed by Family Court Judge Bode Uale on Oct. 10, 2018, according to documents filed by prosecutors Friday in First Circuit Court in Honolulu. Geanna had been living with the Blases for eight years.
The Blases appeared to have been receiving about $1,961 from the state every month for Geanna, according to an affidavit accompanying a complaint and arrest warrant. Although it’s uncertain why they were receiving the money, the state pays foster parents and in some cases those who have adopted children out of foster care.
Though CWS said it had received no reports of abuse, if Geanna had been in foster care, the state would have been required to make regular visits to check on her well-being and to screen the caregivers to make sure they were a suitable placement. CWS did not respond to questions about whether Geanna was in foster care.
Officers found Geanna “cold stiff” with significant injuries and bruising on her body when they were called to the home on the morning of Jan. 18, according to the affidavit. Half of her nose was gone, and she was so thin that her ribcage and clavicle bones were pronounced, it said.
Geron told officers that the girl had been hurt after falling off her bicycle, but Honolulu police Lt. Deena Thoemmes told reporters Friday that Geanna’s injuries were not consistent with those typically sustained in accidents. A pediatrician who examined her body said Geanna showed signs of medical and physical neglect and chronic abuse.
Cellphones belonging to Geron and Brandy and Thomas Blas contained images of a child, who appeared to be Geanna, enclosed in a small porch area with duct tape binding her arms to her torso and wrapped around her head and eyes. The phones also contained videos of “violent interactions” between the Blases and Geanna as recently as Jan. 16. In the images and videos, she had clear injuries to her lower face and shoulders, Thoemmes said.
The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office determined her death was caused by starvation, blunt force injuries from multiple assaults, prolonged physical restraining and immobilization, pneumonia and medical neglect.
Thoemmes said five other children lived in the house. Geron’s husband also lived in the house, but he was not arrested.
Geanna had been in the Blas’ custody for the last eight years, though Thoemmes said it is unclear how long the abuse had been going on. Their adopted son, who had been living with them for around two-and-a-half years, had injuries to both of his arms and appeared malnourished, she said. It’s unclear whether the son was adopted through the foster system, in which case the placement would need to have been approved by a Family Court judge, usually on the recommendation of child welfare officials.
The four biological children did not show signs of abuse, she said.
‘It’s Beyond Me’
Thoemmes and Honolulu Police Chief Joe Logan said they did not know how the abuse could have gone undetected.
Child Welfare Services is supposed to conduct regular home checks on children who are placed in homes through the foster care system, though it is unclear if the agency was required to do so in this case because Geanna was under legal guardianship.
Stevens did not respond to a request for clarification. She also did not respond to a question asking if Child Welfare Services had conducted any checks at the house before the Blases adopted the 4-year-old boy.
“Pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes §350-1.4, CWS is statutorily prohibited from confirming or denying any reports of a case or child in the child welfare system, subject to some limited exceptions,” she said in the statement.
Thoemmes said Geanna had been pulled from school in October 2022, when she was in the third grade. Brandy Blas told investigators she decided to remove the girl from school because of Covid-19 and behavioral issues, according to the police affidavit.
Department of Education communications director Nanea Kalani confirmed that Bradley had been withdrawn from public school in October 2022 to be home schooled.
Logan encouraged members of the public to call 911 or contact Crimestoppers if they ever suspect a child is suffering from abuse.
“I would like to understand what goes on in people’s minds that would commit this kind of thing to children that can’t defend themselves,” he said at the press conference. “It’s beyond me.”
Nonohe Botelho, a victim’s advocate for families who suffer violent crimes, said advocates began pushing for reforms to the child welfare system after the death of Isabella Kalua, who disappeared in 2021.
The 6-year-old Waimanalo girl’s body hasn’t been found, but she was pronounced dead and her adoptive parents were charged with murder after she disappeared in 2021.
‘Please, Not One More Child’
The girl’s biological family accused the Department of Human Services and Catholic Charities Hawaii — a nonprofit that reviews foster home and adoption placements — of failing to investigate allegations that Isabella was being abused.
“This is just like Ariel Sellers,” Nonohe Botelho, who is also a member of the Hawaii Coalition for Child Protective Reform, said, using Isabella’s birth name. “We sit here every day going, ‘Please, not one more child,’ and here we are.”
Prosecutors say her adoptive parents, Isaac and Lehua Kalua, confined her to a dog cage, put duct tape over her mouth and failed to feed her. After her parents reported her missing, people from across the island pitched in to help search for her. The Kaluas were arrested and charged with murder in November 2021.
After multiple delays, the Kaluas trial is scheduled for Oct. 28, according to court records.
A Family Court hearing on a motion to unseal foster and adoption records in the Kalua case is scheduled for Feb. 21. Gaining access to the records, which would shed light on why the state placed Isabella with the Kaluas, would be a win for advocates who say they want more transparency from the Department of Human Services, which has been historically secretive.
“Where did they fail these children?” Botelho said. “We may never know.”
More transparency could help reveal where the system has failed in the past and how it can improve to prevent future cases like Isabella’s and Geanna’s.
“It’s just horrible to see this happen over and over again,” said Steve Lane, a former Family Court special master who worked on the Isabella Kalua case.
In addition to second-degree murder, Geron and Brandy Blas each face an additional count of hindering prosecution. Thomas and Brandy Blas each face one count of endangering the welfare of a minor. They are in police custody, Honolulu police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said.
Civil Beat reporters John Hill and Megan Tagami contributed to this report.
Read the court documents here:
