This sounds like a case of horrific action by an individual (the mother) combined with a societal failure of inaction and unthinking trust in traditional processes (giving the children entirely to their mother and ignoring all the warnings from the father and neighbors). The first, while more shocking than the second, is something we can do little about, at least in a preventative sense. The second may need some rethinking on our part.

Hopefully we can find ways to make such tragedies less likely to happen, hopefully the girls are able to achieve some sort of rewarding life from this point forward, and thank God they are back with a parent who, as far as we can know, loves and cares deeply for them.

Ajax