"Daddy Jon is going to hurt me," boy told grandmother

The grandmother of Chandler Grafner, the emaciated 7-year-old who collapsed and died Sunday night, said she tried to gain custody of the boy and blames Jefferson County social services for his death.

"He said, 'Grandma, Daddy Jon is going to hurt me,"' Sandra Younger said, adding that the conversation took place late last year.

On Sunday, authorities found an emaciated Chandler at Jon Phillips' south Denver apartment. The child died at Swedish Medical Center. Phillips, 26, and his common-law wife, Sarah Berry, 21, were denied bail Wednesday and advised that they face charges of first-degree murder with deliberation.

Younger said Jefferson County social services decided that Phillips, father of Chandler's half brother, should get both boys, even though he was not Chandler's biological father. Younger says she tried to warn social workers in Jefferson County that Chandler had complained that Phillips abused him, but she was denied custody, she says, based on her health and her lack of a driver's license.

Four months ago, Phillips convinced a judge he should raise Chandler, calling himself the boy's "psychological father." Younger agreed that Phillips was the only father Chandler knew, but she says Phillips' soft- spoken and gentle manner was a facade.

Phillips declined a request for an interview at the Denver jail. Christina Grafner, the 25-year- old biological mother of Chandler and his brother, was unable to care for the boys, her mother said.

Court records show Grafner, a bartender, had a history of child- abuse convictions for neglecting both boys. Grafner couldn't be reached for comment.

"She is angry and physically combative right now," Younger said. "She can't deal with it."

Younger says Berry told her she was looking forward to becoming a stepmother when Phillips gained custody, and assured the grandmother: "You'll

Phillips and Berry appear in Denver District Court on Wednesday, May 9, 2007. (AP | George Kochaniec)never have to worry about them."
Chandler's brother was placed in foster care Sunday. Younger said she is working with Denver's Department of Human Services to gain custody of him.

The Denver coroner's office conducted Chandler's autopsy earlier this week, but results are pending further studies and tests.

Chandler and his brother had a tough time living with their mother, according to Younger and court documents.

In September 2005, firefighters said they found Chandler walking with a 3-year-old friend along East Dry Creek Road in Centennial and helped the children find their mothers.

The boys said they "snuck out" of the house and couldn't explain who their mothers were or where they lived, according to an Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office report. Firefighters drove the boys around until they found the mother crying on the side of the road.

Authorities interviewed Graf ner, who told them she was sleeping because she worked at night and did not realize that Chandler had wandered away.

"She locked up the house and put up a board on the back door due to (Chandler) escaping in the past," the sheriff's report said.

Grafner received a year of probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor child abuse, court records show. She was also ordered to attend parenting classes.

In March 2006, Wheat Ridge police cited Grafner for neglecting Chandler and his brother, and she was sentenced to five days in jail. The court record of the case does not indicate how the children were neglected.

Grafner didn't show up for a January custody hearing before a Jefferson County judge where Phillips was granted parental responsibility of Chandler and his brother.

Grafner was allowed to have contact with the boys at Phillips' discretion, the court record says.

The custody case involving the two boys, formerly supervised by Jefferson County's Division of Children, Youth and Families, was turned over to Denver Human Services for supervision.

Younger says Phillips and Berry stopped returning her phone calls and requests to see her grandsons several months ago. She says Denver social workers have told her that a child- abuse complaint against Phillips and Berry was made in January but that they found nothing wrong.

Citing the ongoing investigation by Denver police, representatives of both agencies declined to explain Wednesday why Chandler and his brother were placed with Phillips and whether they checked on the boys afterward.

Teachers at Holm Elementary School in Denver said Chandler attended the school until early March after a teacher repeatedly reported that he was neglected.

"All of us as teachers are extremely frustrated," said Saundra Shidler, a Holm kindergarten teacher.

It is unclear why Chandler was in kindergarten even though he was 7, several teachers said.

School district officials would not confirm whether Chandler attended Holm.

Younger was told by authorities that Chandler was taken out of school several weeks ago but that his brother was still enrolled.

Chandler and his brother lived with Berry and Phillips in a third-floor unit at an apartment complex at 3300 S. Tamarac Drive in Denver.

Neighbor Chrisandra Lund gren, 25, said Wednesday that she saw the kids infrequently, but when she did see them they looked pale and small for their age. "You never heard any noise coming out of there, no children playing, no children screaming, no noise whatsoever," Lundgren said. "Those kids never got to be kids."

Younger said the only thing she has left of her grandson are the memories of his denim-blue eyes and long, curly eyelashes.

Younger said she cannot get over the horror of learning that Chandler died.

"I just remember screaming," Younger said.

Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.