Records give long history of Minneapolis family troubles

 

By Jean Hopfensperger/David Chanen

Star Tribune

 

Just months before Sidney Mahkuk was found dead of a cocaine overdose on a Minneapolis street, Hennepin County officials received a fresh report about troubles in her family.

Over the past two years, Sidney and her 14-year-old sister had frequently skipped classes at Heart of the Earth Charter School, according to court documents and a school official. Sidney's sister, who also had become increasingly belligerent, had been suspended last year.

Calls to the girls' mother, Glenda Askenette, often weren't returned. The truancy report notes: "Many kids in family. All have issues."

The report also said that Sidney's sister "is young and requires intervention NOW. Mother needs to realize her daughter and possibly entire family requires multi systemic interventions."

The truancy report is among many reports on file with Hennepin County courts about the family of 11-year-old Sidney Mahkuk, who was found dead Oct. 23 six blocks away from her Minneapolis home.

The family has been on the radar screen of the child protection department since at least 1998, court records show.

The family's history includes domestic violence, alcohol abuse, juvenile delinquency, medical neglect, truancy and other problems, records show.

Sidney's brother Edison, 20, was sentenced to 62 years in prison in May for killing two people.

Glenda Askenette had been ordered to participate in parenting classes and to get a psychological assessment. But the family problems apparently never were considered serious enough to warrant more protection for all the children.

The county will not comment on the case or say whether the family is now the focus of a child protection investigation.

"A tragedy like this hits close to home for us ... because we're involved in cases like this every day," said Deborah Huskins, who oversees child protection in Hennepin County.

"It's particularly frustrating when, because of confidentiality laws, we cannot even disclose whether we are involved in a case."

Askenette declined to discuss these issues with the Star Tribune. She referred inquiries to Linda Haugen, who taught Sidney at the preschool at Oliver Presbyterian Church in south Minneapolis.

Haugen said Askenette loved her children and valued education. She said she, and the community, were shocked at what happened to Sidney.

When Haugen last saw Askenette this fall, she was planning to enroll her grandson in the preschool. When she asked about Sidney and her sister, Askenette responded that both were doing really well, Haugen said.

Family history

Sidney's family consisted of her mother and seven siblings. Two of the children were removed from the home as teens: older brother Edison was removed initially in 2001 after Askenette was unable to ensure that he was getting critical medical treatment. Another sister was sent to a juvenile detention center that year, when she was 13.

Meanwhile, restraining orders were placed on two of the three fathers of the children, ordering them to keep away from the mother and/or the children.

The family's troubles seemed to accelerate in 1999. That's when child protection investigated a report that the children were not being supervised, that the family home was dirty and insect-ridden, and that Sidney's mom was the victim of domestic violence.

The case was closed six days later. The perpetrator of the violence, the father of Sidney's brother, was found guilty of maltreatment. There was "no evidence of neglect regarding Ms. Askenette," child protection concluded.

In April 2000, child protection was investigating several reports about the family. Askenette had gotten drunk and kicked her children out of the house, which was filthy, a report said. And it wasn't the first time.

Sidney, then 7, was suffering from painful rotting teeth but wasn't taken to a doctor.

By June, that case also was closed. Askenette was found guilty of medical neglect, but the other problems did not rise to the level of abuse or neglect. The family was referred for community services.

In 2001, Sidney's father, Edison Mahkuk, was arrested by police after becoming violent and angry while having breakfast -- including opening a bottle of vodka and dumping it into a glass of orange juice -- with Sidney and her sister. Court records show that at one point, he reportedly squeezed Sidney's arm, shook her and said "Don't call me daddy no more."

As a result, Mahkuk was ordered to have no further contact with his daughters or their mother. Court records do not show whether any counselling or help was given to the children. Mahkuk has since died.

Meanwhile, child protection had also begun checking out reports that brother Edison, who has life-threatening lupus, was not getting critical medical treatment at this time. Askenette was less than fully cooperative.

"Home visits are held on the porch as Ms. Askenette has not allowed the child protection investigator inside the home," documents say. "Because of the garbage and debris outside of the home, a referral was made to the City Housing Inspector."

In August 2001, a court ruled that all the children in the family required child protection services. A representative of the Menominee Indian tribe recommended that Sidney's brother Edison, with his medical problems, be removed from the home. Under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, the recommendations of tribes are considered in the child protection cases involving Indian families.

The rest of the children were allowed to stay with Askenette, provided she follow a court-ordered plan. Askenette had to make sure Edison got his medical treatment, to participate in a parenting program and a psychological evaluation. And she had to follow any recommendations that arose from those programs.

Edison did not keep his medical appointments, records show, and there is no indication of a sanction. Askenette did participate in the community programs, but it's unclear whether anyone was tracking the family after they were completed.

Latest troubles

Authorities received another truancy report about Sidney in February of this year, but that was the last official notice involving her.

She was enrolled in Sanford Middle School this fall, but school district records show she never attended and was dropped from the rolls Sept. 21. That is consistent with the district policy of dropping a student who doesn't show up for 15 days.

Josh Collins, Minneapolis public school district spokesman, confirmed that Sidney wasn't enrolled in school at the time of her death.

The district is required to file an "education neglect" report to child protection if children aren't show up for classes, say county officials. Collins said he couldn't comment on whether the school filed it.