Another former Department of Children and Families employee testified Thursday in the murder case against Geralyn Graham, who is accused of killing Rilya Wilson, her foster child.
Elizabeth Laufer was the first worker sent to investigate Graham when DCF realized Wilson was missing in 2002. Laufer testified that Graham didn't appear to be surprised when she spoke with Graham.
"It was, 'Okay, this is the fact. Let's see what we can do about it,'" said Laufer.
Laufer said she found red flags about Graham in court records, leading her to ask why Graham wasn't reporting Wilson's behavioral problems she later described.
"She had severe behavioral problems and very often the children who have these severe problems rub the feces or the urine on a wall," said Laufer. "There was an incident of gorging food, which is typical of a child who has been deprived of food."
Graham, 66, is on trial for murder in Rilya's disappearance. Prosecutors say Graham smothered Rilya with a pillow and buried her near a lake or canal. Graham insists she did not harm the child, whose body has never been found. The trial is expected to continue for several weeks. Graham faces life in prison if convicted.
"If Miss Graham is not responsible for Rilya's disappearance, then who is?" said U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson.
Later in the trial, two jailhouse snitches are expected to testify that Graham confessed to killing Rilya.
Rilya's disappearance and the state's failure to learn about if for so long became a statewide scandal that had a broad impact on DCF and its policies, including high-level resignations and launching of a new child tracking system. In addition, state lawmakers made it a crime to falsify records of visits between caseworkers and children in the agency's care.