DADI.org

The Associated Press
11/11/2003, 3:15 a.m. ET

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The biological mother of the oldest of four boys who allegedly were starved by their adoptive parents says she wants to become part of her son's life again.

It has been 11 years since Bruce Jackson was taken from Joanne Principal by child welfare officials. She was rebuffed Monday when she tried to see him at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden, but she vows that she will see her son again.

"I know I can't make up years lost," Principal told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Tuesday's editions. "I don't know what I would say, where I would begin."

Principal, now a mother of five who lives with her boyfriend in Camden, said she instantly recognized Jackson when she saw the photo of him with his adoptive family in the newspaper. She said it looked like he had hardly gained a pound since he was 8 — the last time she saw him — and it shattered her hopes that he had grown up better off without her.

"I'm angry, upset, confused. I'm wondering why this had to happen," said Principal, who lives less than five miles from the Collingswood home where Bruce and his adoptive family have lived for years. He was less than a year old when he was taken from Principal because officials felt she lacked the parenting skills needed to raise him, the report said.

The boy was turned over to Bruce Roy, his father and namesake, and Roy's mother. The report, citing unidentified investigators close to the case, said the file on Jackson indicates Roy underfed and physically abused him, and Principal said Roy also abused her before she left him.

Roy's whereabouts are unknown, and he could not be reached for comment.

The state Division of Youth and Family Services eventually placed Bruce with Raymond and Vanessa Jackson in 1991 as a foster child, and five years later severed Roy and Principal's parental rights. That opened the door for his foster parents to adopt Bruce, which they did in 1996.

"I didn't give him up, but I know I should have tried harder. I should have asked for help, but at the time didn't know how to," Principal said.

Meanwhile, she remains baffled by what she's read about the Jacksons. She also denies that Bruce was born with fetal alcohol syndrome, an allegation made by the Jacksons' relatives to explain his tiny frame.

"They look like such a happy family," she said. "How could they have missed it?"

The Jacksons' adopted sons, who range in age from 9 to 19, each stood no more than 4 feet tall and weighed no more than 45 pounds when they were discovered last month after Bruce was found foraging through a neighbor's trash. A foster child who also lived with the Jacksons had been visited numerous times by DYFS staffers during the past several years, but state officials say those visits produced no reports of problems in the house.

Camden County Prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi said last week that the boys have gained a total of 55 pounds since being taken under state supervision on Oct. 10.

Information from: The Star-Ledger (New Jersey)