{"id":13442,"date":"2022-05-09T06:25:57","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T13:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=13442"},"modified":"2022-05-10T06:30:04","modified_gmt":"2022-05-10T13:30:04","slug":"an-adoptive-mom-was-charged-with-abusing-her-ethiopian-son-then-the-case-was-dropped-kuow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=13442","title":{"rendered":"“An adoptive mom was charged with abusing her Ethiopian son. Then the case was dropped”, KUOW"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Liz Brazile,\u00a0<\/span>

At 9 months old, baby Getahun was described as happy, active, and laidback. He had been adopted<\/a> the month before from Ethiopia, by Kyle Wohlers and Matthew Willis, a couple living in western Washington state.<\/p>\n

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Getahun balances on a garden bed on Sunday, March 13, 2022, in Seattle, Washington. Getahun, now 13, was adopted as an infant from Ethiopia by a Washington state couple. His former adoptive mother, Kyle Wohlers, was criminally charged for abusing him in 2021. The case was dropped a year later, after a prosecutor determined that Getahun was not mentally well enough to testify during a trial.<\/div>\n
CREDIT: JOVELLE TAMAYO FOR KUOW<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\u201cHe enjoys looking at brightly colored objects and just watching what is going on around him,\u201d wrote a caseworker with Bethany Christian Services in an adoption follow-up report in 2010.<\/p>\n

Now 13 years old, Getahun, identified here by his middle name to protect his identity, was small. At 16 pounds, he was in the 1st percentile for weight when he arrived in the U.S. His weight fluctuated over the years, but remained low by American standards.<\/p>\n

Getahun\u2019s adoptive parents initially attributed his low weight to malnourishment as an infant in Ethiopia. Later, they cited an unspecified eating disorder borne from neglect he\u2019d experienced prior to being adopted.<\/p>\n

That explanation didn\u2019t sit right with people in their small community on Lopez Island, who reported noticing that Getahun and his adoptive parents did not connect with each other. Was Getahun’s state the result of long-term trauma from being an orphan, they wondered, or was something else going on?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It was a question that detectives, doctors, and prosecutors grappled with, too. Child abuse is difficult to discern<\/a>, and investigators often rely on subtle hints rather than concrete evidence to determine whether a child has been maltreated. And like many personal crimes \u2013 in which the victim\u2019s body is the scene of an alleged offense \u2013 child abuse cases are tough to prosecute.<\/p>\n

The detective on the case ultimately determined there was enough evidence to forward it to the San Juan County Prosecutor\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

Kyle Wohlers, Getahun\u2019s adoptive mother, was charged with second-degree criminal mistreatment in 2021. Willis, her husband, was not charged. Both have vehemently denied abusing Getahun.<\/p>\n

But this year, the prosecuting attorney decided against going to trial \u2014 not because she didn\u2019t believe there was enough evidence of abuse, she said, but because Getahun had \u201csuffered mental health challenges which will prevent him from testifying,\u201d which would be key to securing a conviction, she wrote in a court motion to dismiss the case.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Getahun looks out the window on Sunday, March 13, 2022, in Seattle, Washington.<\/div>\n
CREDIT: JOVELLE TAMAYO FOR KUOW<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Trouble bonding<\/h3>\n

When Getahun was 19 months old, Wohlers and Willis described Getahun as \u201chard to please,\u201d and prone to temper tantrums, according to adoption agency records. The couple told the adoption caseworker that the toddler avoided eye contact and wasn\u2019t bonding with them. They expressed concerns about his weight.<\/p>\n

They took Getahun to specialists: An endocrinologist wrote that Getahun had a voracious appetite and would gorge himself to the point of vomiting, according to a criminal investigation report. A psychiatrist noted that Getahun targeted his anger at Wohlers.<\/p>\n

When Getahun was 5, he was diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder \u2013 a diagnosis that resonated with his adoptive parents.<\/p>\n

Signs of a reactive attachment disorder<\/a> in children include trouble bonding with caregivers, a history of neglect, and trouble being comforted. Some, like Getahun, struggle to grow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Within a year of this diagnosis, Wohlers and Willis considered finding Getahun a new home.<\/p>\n

Four years later, in 2018, he moved in with an elementary school teacher named Marie, referred to here by her middle name to protect her son\u2019s identity. Marie and her husband legally adopted Getahun three months later.<\/p>\n

Over time, Getahun began telling them stories indicating he had been abused by his previous family. He also disclosed the alleged abuse to a therapist, who diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n

Marie and her husband reached out to Child Protective Services, who, after doing their own investigation in 2020, contacted law enforcement.<\/p>\n

The criminal investigation took five months.<\/p>\n

Getahun told investigators that he was frequently hungry while in the care of Wohlers and Willis, and wasn\u2019t given enough food.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cSometimes I would try to block that I was still hungry \u2013 like I would try to force it away,\u201d Getahun told Detective Lukas Peter of San Juan County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I ever said I was still hungry, I would get in trouble or sent to my room,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In his interview with Peter, Getahun referred to taking food without Wohlers\u2019 permission as \u201cstealing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t take big things because it was noticeable,\u201d Getahun said. \u201cI usually would take \u2026 like Ritz Crackers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getahun said that Wohlers forced him to gorge himself with food to the point of vomiting, and on one occasion, forced him to drink a mixture of oil and hot sauce.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But Wohlers told Peter that it was Getahun who gorged himself to the point of sickness and chose to consume unusual substances, like Play-Doh and dog food.<\/p>\n

Getahun said that Wohlers threw a dog bone at him when he was about 7 years old, knocking out one of his teeth, as punishment for taking food without permission. That allegation was \u201cpotentially corroborated\u201d by his dental records, \u201cwhere [Getahun] is described as having a tooth that had been missing for over a year, since his re-adoption,\u201d Peter wrote in his investigation report.<\/p>\n

Getahun told investigators that Wohlers beat him on multiple occasions and forced him to sleep outside as punishment. But allegations of that nature were \u201cdifficult to corroborate,\u201d Peter wrote, considering the lack of physical evidence from that time or witness accounts.<\/p>\n

Getahun also said the family had hurled racist insults at him, including the n-word.<\/p>\n

A school administrator told Peter that she had heard Willis call Getahun an anti-Black slur at the grocery store.<\/p>\n

During the investigation, two pediatricians described what Getahun had endured with the family as \u201cchild torture\u201d and said Getahun\u2019s small stature and behavioral issues appeared to be caused by \u201csevere abuse and neglect.\u201d<\/p>\n

But a pediatrician commissioned by Wohlers and Willis following the investigation disagreed. She told KUOW that she saw signs of a common and unconcerning growth delay \u2014 not starvation \u2014 when she reviewed Getahun\u2019s medical records.<\/p>\n

The first two pediatricians, who work with Seattle Children\u2019s Safe Child and Adolescent Network, said they didn\u2019t think Wohlers and Willis had been truthful with Getahun\u2019s doctors.<\/p>\n

They wrote: \u201cThe dishonest reporting of the parents to medical providers about feeding him a normal diet, and not disclosing the physical and psychological abuse he was suffering at home, appear to have been what prompted extensive medical evaluations into his poor weight gain and disruptive\/impulsive behaviors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Niran Al-Agba disagreed with that finding. Al-Agba, a pediatrician based in Silverdale, Washington, told KUOW she found another potential explanation for Getahun\u2019s low weight while in Wohlers\u2019 and Willis\u2019 care: constitutional delay, a phenomenon in which otherwise healthy children grow at a slower than average rate.<\/p>\n

Al-Agba was prepared to provide expert testimony on behalf of Wohlers, had this case gone to trial. Al-Agba reviewed Getahun\u2019s medical records, from the time he was adopted from Ethiopia to two years after moving in with Marie. She said his growth patterns didn\u2019t show clear evidence of starvation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter he was adopted [by Marie], his weight and his height started to kind of increase in the percentile,\u201d she said. But then his rate of growth suddenly stalled. \u201cIf this was nutrition related, that shouldn’t happen \u2013 the child should be doing catch up growth or makeup growth. And that wasn’t present.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Al-Agba said that without having examined Getahun herself or knowing health information for his biological parents, she could not say definitively whether constitutional delay was behind his lack of growth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Getahun reads with his mother, Marie, on Sunday, March 13, 2022, in Seattle, Washington.<\/div>\n
CREDIT: JOVELLE TAMAYO FOR KUOW<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Food problems<\/h3>\n

In 2015, Wohlers and Willis moved their family to Lopez Island, the third largest of Washington\u2019s San Juan Islands with a population of less than 2,600 year-round residents.<\/p>\n

The couple told staff at Lopez Island Elementary about Getahun’s reactive attachment disorder diagnosis and food problems. He would steal other kids\u2019 lunches and eat from the trash, so his lunch periods needed to be closely monitored, they said.<\/p>\n

His parents said his behavior stemmed from food anxiety, which is common among kids with reactive attachment disorder<\/a>. But during the criminal investigation, two school staff said they questioned whether Getahun\u2019s parents were providing him with enough food.<\/p>\n

Wohlers disenrolled Getahun from the school as a third grader in 2017; he was homeschooled while her biological sons remained in school. Getahun later told Peter that it was mostly during this time that he didn\u2019t get enough food.<\/p>\n

Getahun\u2019s disconnect with his family became more apparent when he was left out of their trip to Disneyland, staying behind with a family friend. By Getahun\u2019s account, they excluded him, \u201c\u2018cause they didn\u2019t want me to ruin the trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willis told Peter, \u201cIt was kind of eye-opening to see what our family would be like without him.\u201d<\/p>\n

A foreign exchange student from Georgia had come to live with the family in 2015, after their landlord offered reduced rent as an incentive to take him in.<\/p>\n

The student, Ako Kiparoidze, told Peter in a written statement that he\u2019d never witnessed Wohlers or Willis physically harm Getahun, but had thought Wohlers was \u201cquite rude\u201d to Getahun. He said she didn\u2019t seem to treat him equally to her biological sons.<\/p>\n

Kiparoidze also wrote that he didn\u2019t get enough to eat during his roughly six-month stay with the family. He said he lost about 16 pounds in that time.<\/p>\n

Kiparoidze went to live with a high school football coach midway through the year. They both told Peter that Kiparoidze gained between 20 and 30 pounds after leaving Willis and Wohlers. The coach attributed Kipariodze\u2019s gains to him eating more and lifting weights.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo sum up, food issues and how they treated [Getahun] was the reason why I moved,\u201d Kiparoidze wrote.<\/p>\n

Through her attorney, Wohlers denied not providing enough food for Kiparoidze. She said she and her husband always saved food for Kiparoidze, but that \u201che didn\u2019t like to eat a number of foods that the family ate often.\u201d Additionally, Wohlers said she would buy Kiparoidze foods he\u2019d requested from the grocery store.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Wohlers and Willis began to discuss putting Getahun back up for adoption. But three years went by before the couple found someone willing to take Getahun in \u2013 a schoolteacher named Marie who had noticed changes to Getahun\u2019s personality and appearance, which concerned her.<\/p>\n

Despite being painted as difficult by his former parents, Getahun was well-liked in the community, according to Peter\u2019s report, \u201cconsistently described\u2026as being \u2018wonderful,\u2019 \u2018delightful,\u2019 \u2018engaged,\u2019 and \u2018cooperative.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But he had become subdued, \u201chis head down, and looked terrified,\u201d Marie wrote in a statement provided to Peter. \u201cHis eyes were sunken in, his cheek bones sticking out.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2018, Marie and her husband discussed taking Getahun in. When she saw Wohlers at Lopez Elementary, she said she started dropping hints about adopting Getahun.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband and I would really love to adopt someday,\u201d she told Wohlers. \u201cIf you guys ever need somewhere for him to stay, we have an extra room in our house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marie later met up with Wohlers and Willis to discuss adoption, generally. At some point in the conversation, she said, the couple asked explicitly if she would like to adopt Getahun.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the weirdest conversation of my life,\u201d Marie said.<\/p>\n

Getahun visited with Marie and her husband for about a week before moving in with them for good, around his ninth birthday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the first time he visited, his tummy hurt so bad because he ate a full meal,\u201d Marie said. \u201cI had to rub his tummy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Getahun bikes through an alley on Sunday, March 13, 2022, in Seattle, Washington.<\/div>\n
CREDIT: JOVELLE TAMAYO FOR KUOW<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Conflicting accounts<\/h3>\n

Over the years, Wohlers and Willis insisted that Getahun had a habit of lying. Wohlers told Peter that Getahun \u201clied a lot and manipulated to get what he wanted, which was food.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anecdotally, children with reactive attachment disorder are prone to distorting the truth, although this isn\u2019t officially considered a symptom of the disorder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During the criminal investigation, the question seemed to be: Were Wohlers and Willis lying to cover up their abuse of Getahun, or was Getahun telling tall tales?<\/p>\n

More than 25 witnesses participated in the criminal investigation. Roughly a dozen said they\u2019d had concerns while Getahun was in the care of Wohlers and Willis.<\/p>\n

For instance, a family friend who\u2019d kept Getahun on several occasions noted that Wohlers had told her not to give Getahun snacks, and said Wohlers seemed \u201ccold\u201d toward the child. The family friend also said Getahun had \u201cappeared very excited about being given his own cup of water and the ability to drink whenever he wanted,\u201d while at her home, Peter wrote in his report.<\/p>\n

The same woman remarked that Getahun \u201cappeared very \u2018conditioned\u2019 like a little soldier,\u201d and said he\u2019d \u201cbecome anxious and would wring his hands\u201d when it was time for Wohlers to pick him up.<\/p>\n

At one point, school staff met to discuss whether they should contact Child Protective Services on Getahun\u2019s behalf, according to a former school administrator. But in the end, they decided not to.<\/p>\n

Six family members of Wohlers and Willis were interviewed during the criminal investigation. They described them as engaged parents to Getahun and their two biological sons, according to Peter\u2019s notes. They denied seeing the couple withhold food from Getahun or mistreat him.<\/p>\n

One of Wohlers\u2019 relatives called them \u201cgood parents, and very loving.\u201d Another relative said she and Willis \u201cwould do homework with the kids and do chores with them and cook with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Relatives also described Getahun as being well-behaved during their interactions, one stating that \u201che got along \u2018great\u2019 with [Getahun] and really liked him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Family members also shared secondhand accounts of Getahun\u2019s bad behavior. One of Wohlers\u2019 relatives said he\u2019d heard of Getahun “hearing voices that made him do bad things.\u201d Another recalled hearing that Getahun \u201cstole food and lied about it,\u201d Peter noted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Getahun plays frisbee with his dog on Sunday, March 13, 2022, in Seattle, Washington.<\/div>\n
CREDIT: JOVELLE TAMAYO FOR KUOW<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Prosecutorial dilemmas<\/h3>\n

In 2020, Getahun was one of more than 47,000 Washington state children at the center of a child welfare investigation, according to the nonprofit research center Child Trends<\/a>. Roughly 8% of those investigations resulted in a finding of maltreatment.<\/p>\n

But most child abuse cases don\u2019t make it to trial \u2013 in part because of the complexities of calling a traumatized child to the witness stand. Victim credibility issues and a lack of sufficient evidence are also common factors.<\/p>\n

Children who are physically abused or neglected, as Getahun alleges he was, are even less likely to have their day in court than kids who have been sexually abused<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Under Washington state law, a child doesn\u2019t always have to appear in court to testify against their alleged abuser. Hearsay in these cases \u2013 such as statements Getahun gave to law enforcement \u2013 could be submitted to a court, if the child is \u201cunavailable as a witness.\u201d This exemption covers kids who are unable to testify due to mental illness.<\/p>\n

The San Juan County Prosecutor\u2019s Office declined to comment on whether this exemption could be applied to this particular case.<\/p>\n

Even with room for such an exemption, there are other considerations a prosecutor must make, said Kara Hodges, a North Carolina-based prosecuting attorney who handles cases against children.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerally speaking, and this is a constitutional issue, we need the person who is accusing the offender of the offense to testify,\u201d Hodges said.<\/p>\n

Hodges said that even if pediatricians retroactively find that abuse has occurred \u2013 like in Getahun\u2019s case \u2013 it could be hard to get around why other doctors, who are mandated reporters, didn\u2019t report signs of abuse at the time they initially saw a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo prove serious injury may not be the same as a doctor getting on the stand and saying, \u2018Serious injury,\u2019\u201d Hodges said. \u201cIt would generally be the jury’s decision about if we have met the burden to prove the level of assault, the level of injury.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hodges said that in a case like this, a defense team would likely commission their own medical review \u2013 as Wohlers and Willis did \u2013 that could contradict findings made by doctors on behalf of the prosecution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Getahun samples food made by his mother, Marie, on Sunday, March 13, 2022, in Seattle, Washington.<\/div>\n
CREDIT: JOVELLE TAMAYO FOR KUOW<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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A civil case<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Marie maintains that Getahun has not had food issues since moving in with her and has maintained a healthy weight.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe eats the normal amount a boy his age should, he has never stolen or snuck food, he makes his own food and puts it away when he makes too much, and gets more when he needs more,\u201d she wrote in a statement to Peter.<\/p>\n

Wohlers said during the criminal investigation that her family \u201cdid the best we could do for him for 8.5 years and then we made the decision we thought was the best for him and our other kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two years after adopting Getahun, Marie and her husband moved with him and their baby daughter off Lopez Island and back to the Seattle area.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter all this, we’re like, \u2018Why would we want to stay here?\u2019\u201d Marie said. \u201cEvery time we see them on the road or at school, it just sets [Getahun] back. It\u2019s like seeing your nightmare every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the criminal case against Wohlers was dropped, Marie said she isn’t done fighting for justice for Getahun.<\/p>\n

Getahun\u2019s family is suing Lopez Island Schools for damages related to the district\u2019s failure to report the alleged abuse. Marie said she hopes the lawsuit can be resolved through mediation.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would think you wouldn’t have to chase people around to protect kids,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Liz Brazile,\u00a0May 03, 2022 At 9 months old, baby Getahun was described as happy, active, and laidback. He had been adopted the month before from Ethiopia, by Kyle Wohlers and Matthew Willis, a couple living in western Washington state. Getahun balances on a garden bed on Sunday, March 13, 2022, in Seattle, Washington. Getahun, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13442"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13442"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13443,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13442\/revisions\/13443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}