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Jonathan Boudonck
June 10, 2005 - June 23, 2007
On June 23, 2007, a call would come in that would shatter the lives of the Boudonck family. Amy Boudonck was crying when she said:

"Get to the hospital"

Two year old Jonathan was in trouble, he was not breathing and they needed to get to the hospital. Greg Boudonck would be holding his grandson as he died
 

With teears in his eyes Greg Boudonck
spoke with anger, frustration and sorrow, about his grandson:

“It feels like a very big part of us is gone. This is the worst time of our lives. I’ve never had anything so bad, he’s just such a loving boy. He didn’t deserve 
to die"
Greg Boudonck

Living in a local motel were David Olson, Amy Boudonck and her son, Jonathan Boudonck, who was two years old. One night, Amy come
home from work to find David in the shower with Jonathan, she did
find this to be odd since she had already given her son a bath that
day. David said Jonathan wasn't breating right and that he was going
to put him to bed. Later, when Amy checked on Jonathan, he was no
longer breathing and she rushed him to the hospital. David claimed that Jonathan had fallen in the shower and hit his head:

“From what I understand, my daughter had just gotten 
home from work and the boyfriend and the boy were in the 
shower, which my daughter questions. She had given him 
a bath earlier. But she didn’t question it too highly because 
she trusted the boyfriend. They came out and he said Jonathan wasn’t breathing right and, from what I understand, said he was going to put him down 
to bed"
Greg Boudonck

Amy had tried to do CPR on Jonathan, it didn't help at all. Greg said
that he doesn't believe Jonathan fell in the tub, he feels that David did
something to cause the death of his grandson:

“It’s real questionable. I saw Jonathan just before he died. 
He didn’t fall in the bathtub, it didn’t do that damage. There 
is just no way. There’s no way possible.

The relationship between David and Amy was rocky from the start.
Amy's parents didn't like or approve him as he had been in jail and
he seemed to be able to manipulate her. David didn't work at all and
he took care of Jonathan while Amy did. David was working overtime
to convince Amy that her parents didn't love her at all. At times, Amy
would move back in with her parents because David had beaten her
up, he was always able to convince her that he was a good guy and she would go back to living with him.

Before his death, there were other incidents that caused Greg and his
wife to become suspicious about how David was treating Jonathan. At one point, his wife went to visit and Jonathan was crawling instead of walking. When questioned, David said that Jonathan had sprained his
leg and had not been taken to the hospital. Raising a fuss, she was
finally able to get them to take Jonathan to the hospital where it was
discovered that he had a broken leg. Even a doctor had called Social
Services, still, they ignored the abuse that Jonathan was going through and it cost him his life.

Greg immediately called Social Services and after several weeks went
by, they finally showed up to investigate. After speaking to the Social
Worker, Greg realized that she was only going to defend David. Many
arguments woudl take place, with nothing being done about what was happening to Jonathan. Greg thought that living in a hotel with a child was not acceptable, Social Services said that they had no problem with the living arrangement as long as food was available:

“They said living in that cheap motel was just fine, as long 
as they had food in there. I don’t agree with that”

Other incidents left bruises on Jonathan's body, including one on his spine:

“I have seen other cases when Jonathan come to visit and 
there was a case a couple weeks earlier where we saw him 
and we questioned — there were a few bruises down his 
spine. And the boyfriend said he fell in the bathtub again. 
It’s amazing how many times a kid can fall in the shower 
with someone in there”

Greg continued to call Social Services and it did him no good. Social
Sevices would fail Jonathan, the same way they had and will continue
to fail far too many other children.

.....

Greg and his wife, Jonda, did all they could to see Jonathan as often as it was possible for them to do so. There were times when Amy wouldn't allow Greg to see him because she was angry with him for one thing or another. Her mother Jonda was still allowed to see him, though. During the times she moved home due to being beaten by David, Greg got into an argument with David about his treatment of his daughter. David always won, when Amy would return to live with him. There came a time when Amy announced that she was once again pregnant.

On the night that Jonathan died, he had a large cut over on of his 
eyes and a bruise on his face. David was still saying that Jonathan had fallen in the shower. An autopsy would reveal that Jonathan died as
a result of a cerebral edema. If he had been taken to the hospital
after what was supposedly a fall in the shower, he would be alive right now.

“I requested and requested and requested help and I felt 
like it was falling on deaf ears. They did not help. 
They did not check up on that child like they should have”
Greg Boudonck

Ana Compain-Romero, a spokesperson with the Missouri Department of Social Services, said that they have had visits with the family in the
past and that the case was being reviewed. Ana said that they were
cooperating with law enforcement and would continue to cooperate
thoughout the investigation in the death of Jonathan.

David was not arrested in connection with the death of Jonathan. He
was allowed to return to the hotel the night Jonathan died. Greg is
asking why:

"My questions are: why does this guy still walk free? Why 
is child protective services NOT protecting children" 

Greg wanted to obtain an ex-parte ordert to prevent David from 
attending the funeral for Jonathan. David had made it clear that he
was going to be there.

“He’s telling people he’s showing up at the funeral. 
If he shows up there, for his protection, I was filing 
the ex-parte. I don’t want a big scene"

Greg felt that the crowd of people attending the funeral would not
appreciate the presence of the man who was responsible for the death of Jonathan, he says they feel the same way he does about what has
happened and how David is allowed to walk freely among them:

“There might be a scene in this town. And it won’t be 
a very good one if he shows up there.
I’m trying to prevent something like that happening"

Greg says he feels like a zombie, his heart is still aching and he misses Jonathan. Amy gave birth to another boy and named him Elijah, Greg calls him a beautiful gift from God:

"His name is Elijah he is a beautiful gift from God.His face 
and smile help me get through my days. I will Not give 
up on my battle for Justice for Jonathan"

Greg is asking only that people pray for them. He says that no one
should have to experience what they have been through, that grand-
children are supposed to outlive their grandparents.

Greg is still searching for the trugh. He doesn't want Jonathan to have
died in vain and hopes that further investigations will reveal what he
calls a damaged system:

“I hope they investigate the heck out of this town 
and take a look at how this town is run. Because 
one child’s death is way too many. There needs to 
be something done in this town"

Jonathan's case was eventually transferred to the Department Of
Social Services State Techincal Assistance Team. This team does the
investigating of serious child abuse, neglect and sexual bause as well
as child exploitation and fatalities:

“We’ve asked them to take the lead in this one.  Their job, 
I think, is children’s deaths investigations. So they do 
that all the time, I think"
Lebanon Police Chief Sam Mustard

Sam Mustard belived that the decision to pass this investigation on to
STAT will help out and allow his department to give their attention to
some of their other cases:

“It’s a benefit to have them there. They’ve got the 
resources. They’ve got people that do that day in, day 
out. Places like Lebanon, thank God, we don’t have 
children dying every day. So when you get a case that 
you don’t know exactly why the child died then why 
not call in someone that’s an expert? It makes sense.”

How said that passing off the death of an innocent child is such an easy thing for ANYONE to do. WHO does this make sense to? Sam
Mustard? I guess as long as he can sleep at night, that's all that should matter. The Social Services and law enforcement of Lebanon, Missouri has failed Jonathan Boudanck and his family. Unfortunately, this is not the first, nor will it be the last child to be failed by the very services which are put in place to protect them.


"He should be here with me. He should be at this park.
He should be able to play ball with these boys. I tried to 
get all the help in the world for my grandson. I had so
many plans for this boy and I'm never gonna forget him"

Please visit the following links created by Greg:

Jonathan's Place
>For Our Children's Future
In Memory Of Jonathan
A Book Written By Greg Boudonck
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For information about preventing child abuse in the state of Missouri, click the links below. If they can't help you, ask for someone who can. NEVER give up looking for help for an abused child!

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Call this number to report child abuse ANY WHERE in the United States!
1-800-4-A-Child  1-800-422-4453





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