CAMDEN, N.J., Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Welfare workers saw no sign that a South Jersey woman was likely to harm her son in the weeks before she decapitated the toddler, state officials say.
The Department of Children and Families released a statement Friday on Chevonne Thomas saying the case was expected to be closed soon, the (Cherry Hill) Courier-Post reported. Thomas regained custody of Zahree, 2, in April and had been monitored because of her history of mental illness and drug abuse.
"Our ongoing review does not reveal that any support systems involved with Ms. Thomas had any indications of relapse or noted any behaviors that could foreshadow harm to Zahree," the department said.
Thomas, a resident of Camden, one of the state's poorest cities, killed Zahree, 2, Wednesday, put his head in the freezer, called 911 and then took her own life. A medical examiner reported the Zahree, who was also stabbed in the chest, appears to have been still alive when his head was cut off.
Zahree had been taken from Thomas's custody twice since 2010. On one occasion, she left him alone in a car while she smoked marijuana laced with PCP.
