News

Actions

Grandma says hello for first time, and goodbye, at granddaughter's funeral

Posted at 12:30 AM, Jun 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-29 01:30:25-04

It was both an introduction and a goodbye for Patricia Cope.

She saw her granddaughter Brooklyn Kimberly Roberson for the first time at Brooklyn’s funeral, held her 16-month-old hand, then said goodbye.

“The only time I really got to see Brooklyn, [was] when she was in her little coffin,” Cope said.

Brooklyn died from blunt force injuries to the head and body that led to a perforated bowel, sepsis, shock, and organ failure, according to court documents.  She died in May 2017, according to court documents.  Green Bay Police at the time called it possibly one of the worst cases of child abuse they had seen.

Juan Javier Maravilla is identified in court paperwork as Brooklyn’s mother’s boyfriend.  Maravilla’s charges in connection with Brooklyn’s death include reckless homicide.

Brooklyn’s mother Sarah Kairys’ charges include child neglect resulting in death.

Each was charged last month, after autopsy results in April.

An attorney for Maravilla declined to comment for this story; messages left for Kairys’ attorney were not returned.

Cope’s son, Brooklyn’s father Paul Roberson, spent Brooklyn’s entire life behind bars in connection with drug cases.

“Definitely, definitely,” Cope said when asked if things would have been different had Roberson been out of prison.

Cope has a stuffed animal, a lamb, in an upstairs bedroom at her Gary, Ind., home.  She calls the room Brooklyn’s room.

“When I hold the lamb, I feel like I’m holding Brooklyn, too.”

To report suspected child abuse, contact the local CPS office.  If the abuse is happening now, or is violent, call 911.