'Why Are We Not Talking About Kenny?'

The California parole board has approved the release of a woman in her 70s who has been in prison since 1995 for murdering her 8-year-old niece. As Madie Moore gets ready for freedom, others in her family—including her own daughter—remain opposed, reports the Los Angeles Times. The reason revolves around the still-unsolved death of Moore's toddler nephew, the younger brother of the girl she was convicted of killing. Both of the dead children—LaToya and Kenny—had been in Moore's care. Both appeared to have suffered horrific abuse before their deaths. Both were found encased in concrete. But the death of Kenny Gridiron Jr. remains an open investigation by the LAPD.

"Why are we not talking about Kenny?" Moore's now-adult daughter, Candice, posed that question to the California parole board who approved her mother's pending release earlier this year. The story by Brittny Mejia unpacks the family history: The two children were put into Moore's care when their own mother became addicted to crack, even though Moore had a long and violent criminal history. "My mother yanks and slams up against walls and punches," Candice tells the newspaper. "That's who she is, that's who she's always been, that's how she lives." Kenny was last seen in 1987, about a year after being placed in Moore's care, and his disappearance appears to have gone unnoticed by authorities. The toddler's remains were not discovered until 1994, and they were not identified as Kenny's until 2014. (Read the full story.)