Katelyn Frazier was born in December of 1997 to Pennee Frazier. She entered the system just a short two months later when Pennee showed up at Alexandria's Carpenters Shelter with two small children, infant Katelyn and her older sister Jessica, three years old at the time. The Frazier children showed up at the nighttime only overflow area. Concerned workers at the shelter notified Social Services when they saw that they children were filthy, unwashed and smelled horrid. When Pennee told workers that she'd been living in a car with her children, it was pretty much the last straw. Social Services also found that Pennee suffered from a mental disorder, bipolar disorder which is also known as "manic depression" and was also struggling with substance abuse. They also noticed bruises on the children that shouldn't have come from everyday play. At the time Frazier stated "There was no abuse and neglect," Frazier said then. "We were staying in a shelter, and you can't take showers. They had some bruises, sure, but I could tell you where every one came from."

Within days Social Services obtained a mandatory removal order and both children were placed in a temporary foster home. Katelyn and Jessica would eventually be moved to a Fairfax foster care family where they would remain for seven months. The family informed Social Services that caring for an infant and a child with emotional problems was too much, they decided to split the children up and place them in separate foster homes.

The two new foster families lived in Alexandria, pretty close to each other and had become friends during parenting classes, so placing one sister in each household seemed the perfect solution. Zenia Reyes (30) and her fiancee, Corey Grant (31) took Jessica while Lesley Dodson and her husband Rich Wray took Katelyn. Both families were told that Frazier had all but exhausted her options and the two children would probably become available for adoption. Reyes and Grant told Social Services that they weren't interested in adopting a child with emotional problems but Dodson and Wray jumped at the chance. The couple had been unsuccessful in having children of their own and immediately told Social Services that they wanted to adopt Katelyn.

The shy withdrawn child suddenly turned into a bright, inquisitive toddler who brightened everyone's day. After 15 months of living with the Dodson's, Katelyn now called Leslie "mommy". The couple was so certain they would be allowed to adopt Katelyn that they took her with them on a trip to Florida to meet extended family and celebrate what they thought was "Kate's" adoption. They would never have guessed what awaited them on their return.

Social Services attempted to have Frazier's parental rights terminated, which would have let the Dodson's adopt Katelyn, but Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Nolan B. Dawkins ruled that Social Services had not met the great burden needed to terminate parental rights. He also ordered Social Services to come up with a foster care solution with reuniting the family in mind, rather than termination of parental rights.

City officials started making plans for visits in Maryland and moving towards the direction of reuniting Jessica and Katelyn with their mother. The visits that Pennee had with her children disturbed the foster parents as much as it did the children. Upon being returned to the foster families, both girls would come back late, exhausted and filthy from head to toe. Jessica's long hair would be so matted with food and dirt that Reyes eventually cut it.

In the meantime, Social Services was becoming more concerned with Dodson's attachment to Katelyn and over stepping her role as a foster parent. In mid October of 1999 Katelyn returned from a weekend visit at the Frazier's with red area's on her bottom. Frazier's father (Donald Frazier) had been ordered by Social Services to never be left alone with Katelyn as he had been previously convicted of one count of sodomy on a child several times during the boys childhood (from ages 8-14). The redness on Katelyn's bottom was of serious concern. Dodson rushed Katelyn to the hospital where she was examined but a sex expert from Maryland would later follow up and determine that it was "diaper rash"

In November, Jessica's teacher noticed bruises on her bottom after another visit with the Frazier's. She reported the incident to Maryland officials and yet again, the report was determined to be unfounded. Yet, Social Services had become concerned enough about the Frazier's to write a letter to Alexandria officials opposing putting the girls back in the Frazier's home. This letter would be disregarded and the children would be returned to Frazier on February 14.

Dodson immediately filed a petition seeking custody of Katelyn and asking that she immediately be removed from the home. Wray's grandfather (retired Marine Col. Paul Maginnis) began calling everyone he could think of including Attorney General Mark L. Early, who charged right on in. The state lawyers filed an emergency motion arguing that it was illegal to send the girls back to Maryland over the objections of officials there. Dawkins reversed himself and the social workers removed the children from the home just ten days after being there.

Jessica was returned to Reyes and Grant but Katelyn was moved to another foster family. By this time, Pennee had given birth to her third child and was pregnant with her fourth. Alexandria officials had moved her into a publicly subsidized apartment and Levin, the soon to be father of baby number four, went with her.

In May of that year, Jessica arrived for a long term visit. In August, Pennee's fourth child was born and in late September Katelyn arrived for a long term visit. City official retained custody of the children.

Dodson was fighting for a child's life, for a child that she considered her own, when she appealed Dawkins previous ruling. However, Kloch ruled that Katelyn had a "strong and positive" attachment to her biological mother and it would serve no purpose to remove her from the home.

Just a short eight weeks later, Dodson, who had been ordered to stay away from Katelyn, was granted one last visit with her .... this time ... to say a final goodbye before Katelyn died.