Community Reaction Erin Maxwell

Town of Palermo Angry Over Neglect of Erin Maxwell

Many Wonder: Where was DSS?

by Beth Jones

8/5/09

The town of Palermo is small, and not used to big crime or high-profile trials. The Erin Maxwell case has therefore been a shocking ordeal and not anything they're well-prepared to deal with legally or emotionally. There is a sign in a store window that reads Justice for Erin Maxwell and bumper stickers calling for the same thing. People I spoke to expressed everything from outrage to sadness. One man who didn't want to be identified said Erin's parents ought to be shot for what happened to her and the suffering she endured.

Some are Afraid

Priscilla Van Gorder's husband couldn't talk to me because he is with the local fire department and was involved in the case, but she said the town is very concerned. She herself wonders if justice can really be served because even if convicted Erin's parents will serve a maximum of only two years in the county jail. Amanda Prentice, who works at a local diner says she is just afraid the parents will "get off". She feels everyone should charged in Erin's neglect and murder, since in her mind everyone played a part in how Erin lived and how she died. Mike Dunsmoor, a life-long Palermo resident said no one believed this could happen in their town, and it scares people to think this type of thing could be happening right next door. He's also worried it gives the town he loves a bad name.

The School Must Have Known

Several residents wonder why the school didn't do more to step in. Rosalee Graham, also a Palermo resident, said school personnel knew Erin didn't get enough to eat and often came in with dirty clothes. They had even given her clean clothes to wear on at least one occasion, says Graham.

"Where was DSS" They All Say

Virtually every person I spoke to expressed at least frustration, if not outrage, at the Department of Social Services for not removing Erin from the home, or at least enforcing better treatment of the child. Residents say the agency made multiple visits to the home, and witnessed how she was living. Erin's school filed numerous reports based on what they were observing. One Palermo man, Steve Burdick, said a couple weeks before Erin died a man whose truck broke down in front of the Maxwell's home used their phone to call a tow. Even he filed a report after seeing the home and Erin Maxwell.

Erin died in the Maxwell home, allegedly strangled by her stepbrother, who was later charged with her murder. He goes on trial in early September. The testimony of Erin's stepmother Lynn in the child endangerment case continued this evening.