Thursday, February 12, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Friend says girl died after complaints mishandled

Neighbor says Child Protective Services dismissed concerns after cursory visits

Ariel Botzet, 11, is seen in a Dearing Elementary School yearbook photo taken last year. Botzet died Monday. REVIEW-JOURNAL

A family friend of an 11-year-old diabetic who died Monday said the girl might be alive if authorities had further investigated complaints of neglect lodged against her mother.

Lori Harrett, who for 10 years lived across the street from Ariel Botzet's family near Boulder Highway and Lamb Boulevard, said she filed complaints with Clark County Child Protective Services that alleged abuse and neglect. Investigators dismissed the concerns after cursory visits, Harrett said.

"They would come out and say, `They have a roof over their heads and there is food in the kitchen,' and then they would do nothing," said Harrett, 40. "I loved Ariel. She was the sweetest little thing. She didn't deserve to die like this."

Harrett, who said she knew Ariel Botzet her entire life, said Ariel's hair and clothes were unkempt much of the time.

Cheryl Botzet, Ariel's mother, couldn't be reached for comment through phone numbers listed in the directory and in court files.

Department of Family Services Director Susan Klein-Rothschild, who oversees Protective Services, confirmed her agency investigated complaints, but said late Wednesday that she needed to review the cases before commenting on the agency's actions.

"We have received some reports. We investigated them and they were unsubstantiated. We need to look at the history. What did we do? What did we learn?" she said. "We want to protect kids."

Ariel Botzet, a fifth-grader at Dearing Elementary School, died Monday at University Medical Center, two days after she was taken to the county hospital in a semi-comatose state.

Ariel Botzet on Friday had been sick in bed for two days and was found lying in the hallway of her mother's apartment after trying to make it to the bathroom to vomit. Later that evening, she was rushed to the hospital, Harrett said.

That a child would die of what has become an easily treatable disease is tragic, medical experts said.

Dr. Sterling Tanner of UMC's Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic did not treat Ariel Botzet, but said it's "very strange" and "unbelievable" that an 11-year-old diabetic would go unsupervised to the point that she would die.

Ariel appeared to be suffering from hyperglycemia, a complication of diabetes that can be remedied easily when the condition is caught early and monitored.

Las Vegas police, who on Tuesday were considering filing felony neglect charges against Cheryl Botzet, on Wednesday referred the case to homicide detectives, police Lt. Jeff Carlson said. Homicide investigators handle fatalities involving victims 6 and older, Carlson said.

Besides trying to determine whether the girl could give herself shots, authorities are investigating whether Ariel's mother should have been supervising her condition more closely.

In addition to Child Protective Services, Harrett also faulted the Clark County School District for not doing more in response to Ariel Botzet's recent rash of absences from school.

A recent notice from her year-round school showed Ariel Botzet had 36 absences during a three-month period. Twenty of them were excused absences, and 16 were unexcused, Harrett said.

School district officials couldn't be reached for comment late Wednesday.

"I knew Ariel her entire life," Harrett said. "I drove her home from the hospital (after her birth). I filled out her birth certificate. I can't believe her mother would do this."