Witness: 'Deplorable' conditions in Danieal's death house

A Philadelphia social worker told a jury this morning that the West Philadelphia house in which Danieal Kelly starved to death was "one of the worst I'd ever seen."

"The house was deplorable, full of clothing and debris. The smell was atrocious; it hit you when you first walked in," said John Dougherty, a social worker with the city's Department of Human Services.

Dougherty, who worked in a special DHS unit for at-risk children, said he fielded the Aug. 4, 2006, telephone call reporting the discovery of a child's body in the 1700 block of Memorial Avenue.

Dougherty was the prosecution's first witness of the day in the trial of the disabled 14-year-old girl's father, Daniel Kelly Sr., 40. He is charged with child endangerment for leaving his children in the West Philadelphia home with his ex-wife, Andrea, whom he knew neglected them before.

Two others are charged with failing to provide at-home social services deemed vital for the safety and health of Danieal and her siblings and then lying about it.

Dougherty's testimony was important because it supports the prosecution's claim that the two social workers on trial never provided services - including twice-weekly visits to the home - approved for the Kelly family.

Dougherty, in fact, testified that the DHS caseworker responsible for the Kelly household, Laura Sommerer, joined him on that emergency call to the Kelly household.

Dougherty said Sommerer was supposed to have been inspecting the Kelly house at least once a month. The household also was supposed to be receiving twice-weekly visits from Julius Juma Murray, an employee of MultiEthnic Behavioral Health Inc., a now-defunct DHS contractor hired to provide intensive in-house aid to the family.

Sommerer, now 36, pleaded guilty to child endangerment in 2009 and was sentenced to four years probation.

Murray, 53, pleaded guilty in February to involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy and child endangerment and was sentenced to 4 to 8 years in prison.

On Tuesday, Danieal's now-20-year-old brother Daniel Jr., testified that he remembered three social worker visits to the home during the three years he and his sister lived in West Philadelphia with their mother and eight siblings.

Dougherty, who told the Common Pleas Court jury that he had visited hundreds of homes during his 11 years with DHS, said the debris and filth in the fetid house where Danieal died had obviously accumulated over months.

Prosecutors say Danieal, who had cerebral palsy and could not move about or care for herself, weighed just 42 pounds when she was found dead. Her body was riddled with maggot-infested bedsores, one of which went to the bone.

The two social workers charged include Dana Poindexter, 54, a former DHS intake social worker who was supposed to investigate child-abuse complaints, verify them and, if true, start the process of getting services.

Also charged is Mickal Kamuvaka, 62, cofounder and chief administrator of MultiEthnic Behavioral Health Inc.

Andrea Kelly, 42, has pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and is serving 20 to 40 years in prison.