Sons returned to killer after abuse claims

A Florida man who killed himself after a deadly attack against a stranger and his family had a history of abuse and domestic violence, records reveal. William DeJesus' sons were allowed to return to live with him after being in foster care despite allegations he had beaten, stabbed and raped the boys' mother and that she had once told authorities the couple had molested the boys repeatedly, The Miami Herald reported. Two weeks ago, the newspaper said, DeJesus, 41, drove his family to a Deerfield beach trailer home, killed its occupant, and stabbed his wife and two sons while holding police at bay for 7 hours, then took his own life. DeJesus' older son, Jeshiah, 9, who was disabled, was dead at the scene. His brother, 7, and DeJesus' wife, Deanna Beauchamp, 37, are recovering from their knife wounds. The Florida Department of Children & Families had filed a petition to permanently sever the rights of DeJesus and Beauchamp to their sons after Beauchamp left DeJesus and went to a domestic violence shelter in February 2008, where she told authorities that both parents had been molesting the children. She said DeJesus had told her "his family had shown their love by touching the children's privates," a report said, and that she was afraid he would kill her if she refused. The previous year, the Herald said, DeJesus had choked his wife and she told police at the time he had abused her for eight years. But the DCF reversed its recommendation the couple lose parental rights in May 2009 even though a foster mother had warned she was "afraid for the children if they are returned." Records the Herald reviewed did not say why the children were returned to the couple. But a July 2009 note in a file says the agency required "clear and convincing evidence that the parents were unfit." Joe Follick, a DCF spokesman, said: "The mother recanted her accusations. … Within the bounds of the law, there were no grounds to remove the children at that point."