Oregon child welfare officials acknowledged today that they repeatedly failed to help an abused teenage Eugene girl who was murdered allegedly at the hands of her parents in December. Despite four separate calls alleging abuse and neglect over four years, state child welfare workers did not once adequately investigate or refer her case for assessment, did not ever consider the family's past history of abuse and neglect, and relied on the victim herself to disclose her own abuse, a report from the state's Department of Human Services concluded.

Fifteen-year-old Jeanette Maples was murdered Dec. 9. Her mother, Angela McAnulty, 41, and stepfather, Richard McAnulty, 40 have been charged with aggravated murder as a result of "intentional maiming and torture." Both could face the death penalty if convicted, and both have pleaded not guilty.

Officials from the state's Department of Human Services convened a critical incident review team to examine how the agency handled the case just days after her death, as required by state law.

Although no details about the girl's death have been released by the Lane County District Attorney's Office, which is prosecuting the case, friends, teachers and family members say Jeanette died a horrific, bloody death at her Eugene home after being starved and abused for years. Angela McAnulty had previously lost custody of her daughter in California due to abuse and neglect.

School officials at Jeanette's Eugene middle school at least twice reported their suspicions of abuse in 2006 and 2007 along with a family friend who'd also called the Oregon Department of Human Services, the report found. Two of the three calls were never investigated and social workers concluded a third report could not be substantiated. Two calls in 2009 anonymously made by Jeanette's grandmother were also never investigated or followed up in any way.

Wednesday's report, which follows several other critical incident inquiries that found serious problems with the agency dating back to 2004, recommends that the department consult with outside child abuse experts to help Oregon's child welfare agency improve.