#BringEvelynHome

In this episode of the Family Freedom Project Podcast, Tim Lambert shares the heartbreaking story of Jackie and Juan Boatright, a Texas family battling Child Protective Services after their newborn daughter, Evelyn, was taken away. Hear how this family’s fight to reunite with their baby girl reveals the flaws in a broken system and how the Family Freedom Project is stepping in to seek justice.

Join us as we discuss their ongoing legal battle and how you can help bring Evelyn home.

Support Our Work to Bring Evelyn Home

Transcript

Podcast Script: #BringEvelynHome

[Intro Music]

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Family Freedom Project Podcast, where we talk about real stories, real cases, and real parents fighting for their parental rights. I’m Tim Lambert, and today’s episode is a heavy one, but it’s also an important one. We’re talking about the heartbreaking story of a Texas family and their baby girl, Evelyn.

I want you to picture this: You’re a new parent, absolutely over the moon with your newborn daughter. But, after a traumatic birth, things start looking up. You’re finally settling into a routine. Then one day, your whole world is turned upside down—your infant daughter is taken from you by Child Protective Services (CPS) because of a misdiagnosis. This isn’t fiction; this is exactly what happened to Jackie and Juan Boatright, whose 6-week-old daughter, Evelyn, was taken away after a hospital claimed her injuries were signs of abuse. Let’s start from the beginning.

[Segment 1: The Traumatic Birth]

Jackie and Juan Boatright were so excited to welcome baby Evelyn into the world, but her birth on Christmas Eve 2023 was anything but easy. Jackie had been in labor for hours. Evelyn got stuck in the birth canal, and after 12 long hours, the doctors had to do an emergency C-section. It was rough. Because of this, Evelyn was born with swelling and bruising on her scalp from all the pressure during labor, conditions that are common after traumatic births.

But after the birth, Evelyn seemed fine. The doctors weren’t worried, and she went home with Jackie and Juan. She was growing, and life was starting to feel routine. That is, until February 10, 2024.

At just six weeks old, Evelyn started twitching on one side of her body and vomiting. Understandably, Jackie and Juan were concerned and rushed her to Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth to figure out what was going on.

[Segment 2: Misdiagnosis at the Hospital]

This is when things took a dark turn. At the hospital, they did an MRI and found a small brain bleed. This type of injury can have a lot of explanations, but instead of looking into the possibilities, the hospital jumped straight to the worst conclusion: child abuse.

And it didn’t stop there. After finding a partially healed rib fracture on an X-ray, they doubled down on their assumption that Evelyn had been abused. None of the hospital staff stopped to consider that these injuries might have been caused by the difficult birth or something else. Instead, they called CPS.

Now, imagine that—one minute you’re seeking medical help for your precious baby girl, and the next minute CPS and the police are at the hospital, accusing you of abusing her.

[Segment 3: CPS Takes Evelyn Away]**

Within hours, CPS removed Evelyn from her parents. Jackie and Juan weren’t allowed to take her home and they were forced to leave the hospital. She was placed in foster care, and just like that, their little girl was gone.

The caseworker assigned to the family made things worse. Instead of actually investigating what happened, she tried to turn Jackie and Juan against each other, telling them lies and making up stories about domestic violence. On top of that, she ignored the family’s requests to place Evelyn with a relative. It wasn’t until months later that this case worker was fired for her flagrant misconduct, but by then, so much damage had been done.

Jackie and Juan were devastated. 

[Segment 4: Legal Battles and Court Delays]

From there, it only got worse. Jackie and Juan were deemed indigent, meaning they were unable to pay for their own defense. The court refused to provide them with a court-appointed medical expert. That’s when their extended family came to help, fundraising and selling used cars to scrape together enough money to pay for the expert’s retainer.

When they finally got their day in court in July, a medical expert testified on their behalf, pointing out that Evelyn’s injuries could have easily been caused by her traumatic birth. But despite this, the judge ruled in favor of CPS. Even more shocking, the judge refused to keep an official record of what was said in court, making it nearly impossible for the Boatrights to appeal.

[Segment 5: A Glimmer of Hope]

This is where the Family Freedom Project stepped in to help. We hired appellate counsel, secured medical experts, and helped Jackie and Juan file motions for a new hearing. The case was then moved to a second judge, but that judge also refused to keep a record of the hearing, and then angrily threw the attorneys out of her court chambers when they asked her to put that in writing. She later recused herself from the case, leading to the appointment of a third judge.

A new judge, Randy Catterton, is scheduled to hear the case. The hearing is set for November 11-13—nearly nine months after CPS first took Evelyn. Think about that: nine months. Here we are, almost a year later, and this family is still fighting to bring their baby girl home.

[Closing Remarks]

As we look ahead to November, there’s hope that Judge Randy Catterton will finally bring justice to this family. The system may have failed them over and over again, but the fight isn’t over.

At the Family Freedom Project, we believe no child should be separated from their parents based on unfounded and unproven allegations. That’s why we will always advocate for parental rights. We are calling on our supporters and listeners to pray for this family and our team and to contribute financially so that we can bring Evelyn home!

Your gift will go directly toward the Family Freedom Project’s efforts to provide legal counsel for the Boatright family and reunite Evelyn with her parents. If you would like to give a tax-deductible gift to help us help this family, you can do so at BringEvelynHome.com. BringEvelynHome.com.

Thank you for standing up for parental rights. Nobody thinks that what happened to the Boatrights can happen to them - until it does. If you are able, please take a moment to share this story with your friends and family so that we can get Jackie and Juan the support they need in the coming weeks!

Thanks for tuning in today. I’ll keep you updated on this case, so make sure to subscribe and follow the Family Freedom Project podcast for more stories like this one. I’m Tim Lambert, and I’ll see you next time.

[Outro Music]

[End]