Win For Kyra: Bill Created After LI Kid's Murder Sent To Hochul's Desk

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — Today marks a momentous victory for Jacqueline Franchetti, whose estranged husband killed their 2-year-old daughter in 2016.

Legislation that would mandate training for forensic evaluators in custody cases, titled Senate Bill S6385, unanimously passed the New York State Senate on Thursday. It now heads to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk for signature.

"This bill has HUGE significance to me as it was the very first bill in New York State that I drafted after Kyra's murder," the Manhasset mother said in an email. "It will mandate training for forensic child custody evaluators on family violence, trauma, and child abuse."

One of the problems with forensic evaluators is that there are no statewide training requirements, according to Franchetti. And if they make a mistake, it could cost a child their life.

"Forensic child custody evaluators make life or death decisions in cases," Franchetti said. "And, when a forensic child custody evaluator gets it wrong, the consequences are devastating. Today, this changes."

Kyra was granted a court-sanctioned, unsupervised visit with her father in Virginia while her parents were engaged in a custody battle. And on July 27, 2016, her father — 58-year-old Roy Eugene Rumsey — shot her while she slept and then set his house on fire in what authorities said was a murder-suicide.

For months, Franchetti had been trying to warn a Long Island court that Rumsey was unstable and shouldn't be left alone with their daughter. She believes Kyra would still be alive if the judicial system had listened to her.

"Her death was entirely preventable," she said.

Working through her grief after her daughter's death, she founded Kyra's Champions to raise awareness about children involved in custody battles who she believes could be better protected by the family court system.

Senate Bill S6385 is one of eight bills in Albany that were inspired by Kyra's story. Perhaps the most well-known to the public: "Kyra's Law." It aims to make child safety the top priority in divorce and custody cases. It would also mandate training for judges in child abuse and family violence before overseeing cases, and address other critical shortcomings in child custody cases "that result in children being abused at epidemic rates," Franchetti said.

The number of children who died as a result of abuse or neglect has fluctuated in the past five years, according to the Administration for Children & Families, a division under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The 31st Child Maltreatment Report, which was released in January of 2022, presents fiscal year 2020 data, which is the latest data available. Many cases of maltreatment are seemingly connected to or exacerbated by poverty.

About 1,750 children died from abuse and neglect during fiscal year 2020 compared to an estimated 1,830 kids whose deaths were due to maltreatment during the previous fiscal year. The 2019 national estimate is nearly an 11 percent increase from the 2015 national estimate of 1,660.8, ACF data revealed.

Of course, not all child maltreatment deaths come to the attention of Child Protective Services.

Besides 911, there are a number of resources offered to family members experiencing domestic abuse. A few of them are listed below:

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
• The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD
• New York Center for Children: 212-517-3012
• Prevent Child Abuse New York: 1-800-CHILDREN (244-5373)