BIRTH: July 10, 2005
DEATH: June 23, 2007
Jonathan H. Boudonck ~ Age 23 Months
Jonathan, 23 months, was found unresponsive by first responders in a motel where he lived with his mother, Amy, and her then boyfriend. The little boy’s mother, Amy, 23, and her boyfriend, told investigators that the little boy slipped and hit his head while he was taking a shower with the boyfriend.
It took about an hour after Jonathan allegedly fell and hit his head for any adult in the motel room to call for help for the little boy. On the 9-1-1 tape you can hear Amy, Jonathan’s mother, screaming for the boyfriend to call 9-1-1 as she attempted to resuscitate the toddler. Jonathan was taken to St. John’s in Lebanon, MO. and placed on life support where he died later the same night.
The death was ruled suspicious; the county coroner believed a washcloth was placed over the little boy’s face while he was being tortured (a doctor, called to the child death review, stated he believed Jonathan could have been water-boarded). On the night that Jonathan died, he had a large cut over one of his eyes and a bruise on his face. The boyfriend was still saying that Jonathan had fallen in the shower. The official cause of death was cerebral edema, or swelling of the brain. Laclede County did not press charges against Amy or the boyfriend at the time citing lack of evidence.
Before his death, there were other incidents that caused suspicions about how the boyfriend was treating Jonathan. At one time, Jonathan was crawling instead of walking. When questioned, the boyfriend said that Jonathan had sprained his leg and had not been taken to the hospital. Raising a fuss (by the grandparents), the grandmother 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 called Social Services, still, they ignored the abuse that Jonathan was going through and it cost him his life.
Jonathan’s grandpa has been fighting for three years to see someone charged for the death of his 23-month-old grandson. 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.
OTHER LINKS:
Two Suspects Arrested In Connection To 2007 Toddler Death In Lebanon (Then released without charges)
Stolen Lives 