A 7-year-old girl was killed during a domestic dispute in Addis, Louisiana, and the woman arrested in connection with her death faces second-degree murder and child endangerment charges — part of a single week where children were killed, harmed, or went missing across five states, and in every case, the adults responsible for their safety are the ones in custody or under scrutiny.

The press will cover each as its own isolated incident. Stitch them together and the pattern is unmistakable: a country that has made adult desires the organizing principle of its institutions keeps producing dead and missing kids.

In Addis, 30-year-old Breyonne D. Dorsey was arrested Friday and charged with principal to second-degree murder, two counts of domestic abuse battery with child endangerment, and obstruction of justice, according to the Addis Police Department. The Baton Rouge Advocate reported the 7-year-old was found unresponsive shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday and died at a local hospital. A woman was also hospitalized with injuries from a physical altercation with a man witnesses identified to police.

In Colorado Springs, 21-year-old Alyssa Ned was arrested July 3 and charged with child abuse resulting in death after her 4-month-old infant was found unresponsive at the Copper Chase Apartments around 4:20 a.m. last September and pronounced dead on scene, KRDO reported. It took police nearly a year to bring charges.

In Sparks, Nevada, 46-year-old Maria Guerrero-Guerrero walked into a local courthouse Thursday morning and told staff she had tried to harm her children, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal. Police arrested her on charges of attempted murder with a deadly weapon and child abuse with a deadly weapon. A child sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Police have released virtually no other details — including how many children were in her care.

In Aiken, South Carolina, the search for 4-year-old Javeayah Kemauni Harris entered its third day Friday, with more than 3,000 acres combed by over 200 first responders using helicopters, drones, and dogs, WEAU reported. The girl was last seen playing with chickens in the family's coop around 8 p.m. Tuesday, wearing pink Minnie Mouse pajamas and Crocs, pink beads in her braided hair. Her father, Johmarea Harris, told News 12 that people had been "snooping" around the house lately and that he gave that information to detectives. He was doing laundry and had visited a convenience store when she disappeared. The Aiken County Sheriff said the information authorities have suggests she wandered away on her own, calling it "still a search effort."

And in Independence, Oregon, a 28-year-old Central High School teacher was arrested July 2 on a stack of felony charges — luring a minor, possession of child pornography, online sexual corruption of a child, first- and second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, computer crime, identity theft, displaying child sexual conduct, and tampering with a witness — the Salem Statesman Journal reported. The district placed the teacher on paid leave. Police Chief Juventino Banuelos said in a statement: "Our priority is protecting children and seeking justice for victims." The district called student safety its "top priority" in a Facebook post. The same institution that gave this teacher access to children is now investigating itself.

Five states. Five sets of children. Five adults who were supposed to be the shield, not the threat. Every institution involved — family services, school districts, family courts — exists to protect kids. The body count says they're failing. The question isn't whether these are tragedies. The question is how long a country that organizes its laws, its courts, and its culture around what adults want will keep pretending the casualties are a surprise.