HAMILTON, Ohio – Marcus Fiesel's case worker was one of many people who attended a ceremony for the slain foster child Friday.
Joseph Beumer said the tragic case affected him both professionally and personally, but he made a decision to turn that horrific event into something positive.
“I challenge myself to become a better person," said Beumer, "to hopefully share my experiences that I have gone through, the trauma that I experienced as a result of his death, to share that with other workers to help them become better workers.”
A crowd gathered at the Butler County Government Services Center to mark 10 years since 3-year-old Marcus was murdered by his foster parents, Liz and David Carroll.
RELATED: What happened to Marcus.
"There are many in this room who have scars and wounds from working on his case," said Butler County Commissioner Cindy Carpenter.
"Marcus lived, I believe, so others could live," said Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones. "He represents all the kids that have passed away and have been killed in that process."
Foster-care professionals were there to talk about improvements to the system since Marcus's death.
RELATED: Foster-child deaths lead to crisis in system.
The director of Butler County Children Services, William Morrison, said computers linked throughout the state share information on foster parents.
"We have more knowledge today than we did 10 years ago," Morrison said.
They also look deeper into the backgrounds of potential foster parents.
Others just came to honor the blue-eyed boy they remembered from those awful news reports in August, 2006.
First, Liz Carroll called police and reported him missing after she took several kids to a park in Anderson Township. Hundreds of volunteers joined police in searching for Marcus. He was never found.
By the end of the month, prosecutors charged Liz and David Carroll with murder. Liz Carroll admitted they had bound Marcus and left him in a hot closet – without food or water – while they went on a weekend trip. When they came back, he was dead. David and their lover, Amy Baker, burned his body and dumped what wouldn't burn into the Ohio River.
Their crime shocked the Tri-State.
RELATED: How investigators broke the case.
The Carrolls are in prison. Liz got 54 years to life after a jury found her guilty. David took a plea deal and got 15 years to life.
Marcus, who had autism, had lived with his mother in Butler County, but Children Services removed him because of abuse and neglect. A private agency, Lifeway for Youth, placed him with the Carrolls. When the agency's lack of oversight was revealed, the state revoked its license.
A tree will be planted in Marcus’s honor.
COLUMN: A decade after Marcus Fiesel, why are kids still dying in the care of people they trust?
