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
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With
tears 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 breathing 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 would
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 Services 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 though out 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 order 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 truth. 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 Technical
Assistance Team. This team does the investigating of serious child abuse,
neglect and sexual abuse 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 believed
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
UPDTE:
David Olson and Amy
Boudonck face charges in 2-year old's death...3 years later
A mother and her
ex-boyfriend were in the Laclede County jail Monday afternoon. The woman's
father says the pair was arrested and then released later that day.
Jonathan Boudonck's
grandpa has been fighting for three years to see someone charged for the
death of the 23-month-old. Greg Boudonck says his own daughter texted him
on the way to jail "I'm headed to jail. It's your fault. I hate you." Late
Monday evening Boudonck says she and her then boyfriend were released from
jail without charges. Despite her arrest, Boudonck says he still loves
his daughter but also wants justice. “He was a little boy that was innocent
and didn't deserve what he had happen,” Boudonck said.
For years the grandpa
desperate for answers drove around Lebanon with his dead grandbaby's picture
taped to his truck window. Next to the picture is a sign that asks anyone
who looks "If Laclede County will let the toddler's death go unpunished."
Boudonck says he
always thought his daughter’s boyfriend killed the boy. "There was barely
any water in the lungs so it couldn't have been drowning but Jonathan's
brain was more swollen than they've seen," Boudonck said. On June 23, 2007,
Jonathan was found unresponsive inside a Budget Inn Hotel room. Boudonck
says he suffered head trauma.
His mother and her
then-boyfriend told police that Jonathan fell. The boyfriend told KSPR
News the same story in a 2008 interview with him while he was in jail on
other charges. “He just fell you know what I mean I saw him in the process
I went in to even catch him but he still had fallen and hit his head on
the side of the tub,” the boyfriend told KSPR News reporter Joanna Small.
Boudonck says he
never bought the boyfriend’s story. He protested on foot outside the courthouse
and with the sign on his truck. His fight, a new police chief and a new
look at the "cold case" has now led to two arrests --` the boyfriend and
Boudonck's daughter. "I feel maybe she protected him,” Boudonck said. “She's
stupid. She's ignorant." The day of the arrests is bittersweet. "I stuck
with my daughter. I still love her," Boudonck said. He says no matter who
is responsible they need to be punished.
Police say new evidence
and new statements led to the arrests. “The arrests of both individuals
are the culmination of an in-depth investigation that resulted in additional
evidence and statements obtained by detectives,” Lebanon Police Chief Joseph
Brauer wrote in a news release. He says he can’t give any details about
the new information. “Everything right now is sitting in the office of
the prosecuting attorney for her review,” Brauer said. “You'll have to
ask her I don't want to compromise what we do have."
KSPR News called
Laclede County Prosecutor Angie Hemphill-Wright Monday afternoon. She has
not returned the call. With 24 hour holds prosecutors have 24 hours to
file charges or the arrested are released. As of 10:00 Monday night, the
prosecutor has not confirmed the pairs release.
Police say they arrested
the man on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare
of a child. They arrested the woman on suspicion of endangering the welfare
of a child.
Prosecutors previously
said there was not enough evidence to file charges.
.
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!
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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My sincerest appreciation goes out to
Diane Trembly for allowing me to use one
of her beautiful Angels to make the graphics
for this set. Please visit her site,
by clicking the link below, to see all
of her amazing work.
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