April 6th, 2024-CLEVELAND, Ohio-Denise Bell, a child services worker, testified in a wrongful death trial regarding the case of 5-year-old Jordan Rodriguez, whose body was found buried in his mother’s backyard in Cleveland. Bell admitted she failed to investigate properly when Larissa Rodriguez, Jordan’s mother, claimed to have only five children, not verifying this information.
Consequently, Bell did not know about Jordan’s existence and did not search for him during her visits. The trial focuses on whether Catholic Charities, responsible for social services in Rodriguez’s case, adequately supervised its worker, Nancy Caraballo, who was later found to have falsified reports. Larissa Rodriguez and her boyfriend pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Jordan’s death.
