In re T.F. CA2/8

facts from above and stated all three children faced a serious risk of harm due to all three parents’ absence and their failure or inability to provide care. D.F. and his wife—the stepmother of D.F.’s two children— told the Department from the outset that they wanted the children placed with the stepmother. During its investigation, the Department learned of an earlier dependency case involving the mother, D.F., and the oldest child. The court sustained allegations regarding D.F.’s domestic violence and a history of violent altercations between the parents. D.F. assaulted and hospitalized the mother while she was pregnant. He did not make substantial progress in his court-ordered programs and failed to reunify with his child, so the court ended the case by awarding sole custody to the mother. This was in 2021.

3 Amid the current dependency proceedings, D.F. was sentenced to a prison term of 15 years to life on murder charges from 2021. His criminal history before this was extensive. From the time D.F. was incarcerated in October 2021 until these proceedings, the stepmother had no contact with D.F.’s two children. After this case began, she monitored calls between D.F. and the…