Aurora – Aurora police say they will challenge any move by Arapahoe County human services to return the children taken from Aaroné Thompson’s father and his live-in girlfriend after Aaroné’s disappearance.
Police representatives plan to tell an Arapahoe County judge today that the eight children should be kept from Aaron Thompson and Shelley Lowe.
“We just have a fundamental belief … that these people should never be parents again,” said Aurora police legal adviser Rob Werking. “We don’t want to see any other children hurt.”
Werking said Aurora detectives learned recently that the county is considering asking a judge to grant the children’s return.
County human services officials wouldn’t comment on the custody case, saying it is against the law to discuss the matter outside of court.
The children were removed from the couple’s care Nov. 17 after police announced they believed the missing girl had been killed in the home.
Aaroné, who would be 7 years old now, hasn’t been found. No arrests have been made, but police say Lowe and Thompson are “persons of interest” in the girl’s possible slaying.
Court records obtained by The Denver Post show that Lowe’s former boyfriend told police Aaroné was bleeding in a bathtub before she died and was buried in a field by Thompson and Lowe.
Katrina Seymour, spokeswoman for the county Department of Human Services, speaking in general terms, said, “The county’s primary goal is always to reunite a family whenever possible. If a court determines that it’s absolutely not in the best interest for the child, (a judge) can terminate the parents’ parental rights.”
On Nov. 14, Aaron Thompson reported to police that his daughter had run away from the home that he rented with Lowe. Police spent 48 hours looking for the girl before halting the search and announcing they had information that Aaroné had been killed in the home, on East Kepner Place in central Aurora.
A court order removed the seven remaining children from the home and placed them in the county’s custody. When Lowe gave birth to a girl Nov. 25, that baby also was placed into foster care.
Lowe and Thompson have been working through the courts for the return of their other children: Lowe’s 15- year-old brother, Aaroné’s 11-year-old brother and Lowe’s five children.
A contempt-of-court hearing scheduled for this afternoon is expected to be about a violation of a gag order imposed by the judge in the custody case. It’s unclear what violations occurred.
Police feared the county would ask for the children’s return today, Werking said. However, late Tuesday, a county attorney assured Werking that wouldn’t occur.
Nevertheless, Werking is concerned that it could happen later.
“We are prepared to enter as a special intervener on behalf of the children,” he said, adding that the attorneys representing the children, called guardians ad litem, as well as Arapahoe County caseworkers, also don’t want the children returned to Lowe and Thompson.
Neither does Aaroné’s mother, Lynette Thompson, who lives in Detroit and is seeking custody of her 11-year-old son.
“I want my son to be safe. I do not want him going to Aaron,” she said this week. “I’m frustrated to tears.”
Werking said the allegations against Aaron Thompson and Lowe are extreme, and he hopes to meet with county officials to give them more information about the police investigation.
County caseworkers said in a report obtained by The Post that the children “may be at imminent risk of abuse or neglect.” They feared Thompson and Lowe could flee the state and there would be no way to monitor the safety of the children.
They also said the children were concerned their parents would be upset about what they told authorities regarding Aaroné’s disappearance.
Police Chief Dan Oates said he understands that the county’s goal in most custody cases is to reunite families.
“My opinion is that wouldn’t be a good thing for those kids,” he said. “The facts in the Thompson case that have been released to the public clearly support my position.”
Sam Riddle, who speaks on behalf of Lowe and Thompson, said the Department of Human Services knows more about keeping families together than do the police.
“When you have people who every day make determinations of the best interest of children, that’s an expertise that the police don’t have,” he said. “I believe these parents have every … reason in the world to cuddle and hug their kids.”
Staff writer Elizabeth Aguilera contributed to this report.
Staff writer Jeremy Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
