Three years ago, Alicia Nixon lost her cousin and foster son Khalil Wimes.
A judge ordered him returned to his biological parents, Tina and Floyd Wimes, who are now charged with starving and beating him to death.
"He never wanted to go with them; he didn't really know them," Nixon said.
The judge made the ruling despite DHS objections.
In an email to Nixon shortly after the ruling a social worker wrote:
"I want you to know that we were very disappointed with the judge's ruling... I told him in no uncertain terms that we don't believe it is in Khalil's best interest to be reunified with his birth parents."
"She constantly wanted to make sure Khalil's circumstances were in his best interest, not his parents," Nixon said.
DHS wouldn't comment, citing privacy laws.
But a source in the department tells Action News, DHS continued to do in home checkups for three months after the boy was reunited with his parents.
Then in February 2009, he was taken out of the system.
"Everyone was in support of Khalil staying where he was. The judge, following the letter of the law because mom and dad did these simple things that they had to do, gave him back. That was it," Nixon said.
But Temple University professor and expert on child abuse, Dr. Sue Cornbluth, says DHS and the child welfare system didn't do enough.
She says there should have been more follow-ups, especially considering the Wimes lost six other children to the foster care system.
"For the life of me I cannot understand why six of the children were removed from an abusive environment and two were put back in. That just doesn't make logical sense," Combluth said.
Action News contacted the judges involved and they had no comment.
