Safety not delivered by system

Seven weeks ago, Richard Anthony McTear Jr. broke Jasmine Bedwell's door, hit her several times, broke items throughout her apartment, held her down, and poured household cleaner on her face and head, sheriff's deputies say.

A neighbor called deputies, and charges were filed with the state attorney's office.

Five weeks ago, McTear threatened to go to Bedwell's home and kill her infant son, according to deputies. They say he later bruised her enough for her to be taken to a hospital. More charges were filed.

Investigators say McTear followed through on his threat against her son early Tuesday by beating Bedwell, throwing the child onto a concrete floor and then kidnapping 3-month-old Emanuel Wesley Murray and throwing him out of a moving car onto Interstate 275. The infant was found dead.

McTear was arrested hours later Tuesday morning after a short chase. He is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, kidnapping, felony battery and burglary with battery.

A day later, law enforcement and child welfare officials defended their handling of the situation. They said efforts were being made to protect Bedwell and her baby; the system just didn't work quickly enough.

"She's been a victim all her life," said Jeff Rainey, chief operating officer of Hillsborough Kids Inc., the umbrella agency that oversees Hillsborough County's child services providers. "She had all the right things in place. It's just so sad that McTear took over her life."

Bedwell has been with Hillsborough Kids for about three years and has been receiving independent living service, which helps teenagers transition out of foster care and into adulthood.

Last month, Bedwell sought an injunction against McTear for domestic violence. She didn't appear for a scheduled court appearance Monday, though, and the case was dropped.

"She did initially get a restraining order, and we were there when she got it," Rainey said. "You have to go back to court to maintain the restraining order, and no one from Hillsborough Kids was aware of the court date on Monday. If we were aware, we would have been there."

Probation officials also sought to revoke McTear's probation last month, saying he failed to report as ordered and had moved without permission.

McTear had told them he was living with Bedwell. But on April 8, she told them McTear had moved out. She also told them to expect new criminal charges to be filed against him because he had hit her three different times.

Bobbi Flowers, a professor at Stetson University's College of Law, said small-time offenders with rap sheets like McTear's can present a problem to prosecutors and judges. She said that with constantly shrinking resources, such offenders more frequently end up plea bargaining for probation or other less-restrictive sentences.

"Plea bargaining will sometimes allow them to skate through the system," she said.

Nikki Daniels, of the Family Justice Center in Tampa, said that even if Jasmine Bedwell had made it to court Monday, the injunction against McTear hadn't been served yet. "The hearing would've been continued another two weeks while they tried to serve him," Daniels said.

Rainey confirmed that Jasmine had been referred to The Spring, a domestic violence center, but declined to go.

Daniels said domestic violence victims shouldn't be criticized when they fail to show up at injunction hearings or choose not to seek such protection.

"It is just a piece of paper," she said. "It is more likely to make the abuser more angry and more abusive."

McTear was no stranger to the justice system.

•The first Tampa police arrest against McTear came in November 2001, when he was 14. He was charged with misdemeanor battery-domestic violence. In that case, police said the Webb Middle School eighth-grader kicked and slapped his mother from the back seat of a vehicle.

•In March 2006, McTear's child was found wandering alone outside McTear's apartment, Temple Terrace police say. An investigator found the man asleep. Investigators charged McTear with child neglect, but the charge was later dropped because of lack of evidence.

•In November 2007, he was charged with domestic battery against a woman, but she later waived prosecution.

•In yet another domestic violence case, McTear entered the apartment of his then-girlfriend Louvena Cromartie through an unlocked back door in February 2008. McTear punched Cromartie in the face and pushed her to the ground, Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. Cromartie was knocked unconscious. McTear pleaded guilty to felony battery and was placed on probation through June 2010, records say.

The Department of Children & Families, the child protection division of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and Hillsborough Kids Inc. will review the case to see whether there were any missteps.

On Wednesday, a heavily shackled McTear stood before Hillsborough Circuit Judge Walter Heinrich. The judge pored over McTear's record, noting the 21-year-old was on probation, facing other charges for striking another woman and possibly facing the death penalty for Emanuel's death.

"Obviously, you won't be getting out of jail anytime soon," Heinrich said, denying him bail.