CHICAGO, ILLINOIS—An autopsy has found that a six-year-old girl who allegedly died after authorities were unable to act on several reports of possible child abuse had considerable amounts of antipsychotic drugs in her system.
Kerrigan Rutherford was found dead in her Kendall County home on July 2. While her cause of death was initially unknown, her parents were later charged with involuntary manslaughter. Observers are now wondering whether little Kerri’s death could have been prevented. An investigation by CBS 2 revealed that there were at least a dozen calls made to law enforcement and the Department of Children and Family Services before the tragedy. “When I saw them at the house my first response was, ‘It’s Kerri,’” neighbor Monica Alexander said. “I just assumed that she was hurt or she was gone. And then when they didn’t take her away, I knew.” Alexander had called police several times in the past to report her concerns.
Police dispatch accounts state that responding officers found a “6-year-old female, possibly not breathing, bleeding from the nose, turning different colors.”
Toxicology tests would reveal the cause weeks later. It was found that Kerri had consumed a lethal dose of olanzapine, a drug commonly prescribed for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder patients.
Kerri’s stepfather James Davidson, 29 and mother Courtney Davidson, 32, were charged with involuntary manslaughter. The horrific conditions inside the home were described in police records obtained by CBS 2 via the Freedom of Information Act. “The living conditions were horrible,” according to the police report, “With a very foul stench in the house, as well as what appeared to be feces on the floor.”
Authorities said it appeared the youngster had been dead for some time.
Among the red flags uncovered by CBS 2, there were multiple warnings from neighbors, as well as several calls to law enforcement requesting welfare checks at Kerri’s home. “Records show the Kendall County Sheriff’s Department was called to this house 15 times since the family moved in,” per the outlet.
Neighbor Alexander said she called to report child abuse and neglect “at least four times. I’d say more because I know I called anonymously a few times.” According to her, authorities could have done more to protect Kerri. “They never went inside the house,” she alleged.
Debbie, another neighbor, said her family had “called the police to check on those kids at times. I was scared for those kids.”
Neighbors told CBS 2 they heard screaming and, at times, also witnessed physical abuse of the children, who were often left in the home unsupervised. They revealed they had also summoned DCFS for help, but to no avail.
A spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that they had been in contact with the family prior to Kerri’s demise but did not reveal any further details. A Kendall County judge ordered both the mother and stepfather to be held on $250,000 bonds.
In July, we reported how an Illinois mother was sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to beating her five-year-old son to death and burying his body before reporting him as missing. During the sentencing hearing, a tape of an argument between JoAnn Cunningham and her son Andrew ‘AJ’ Freund was played in court by McHenry County prosecutors, who said it took place two weeks before his death in April last year.
The tragic boy, who was beaten by his parents for years, was reportedly heard on the tape telling his mother he wanted “really bad people” to do bad things to her so he would only be with his father. “Why do you want those bad people to hurt me?” Cunningham was heard asking the child.
“So I don’t ever see you again,” the five-year-old said in response. AJ died two weeks later, prosecutors said. Authorities found him with his head bearing the outlines of the showerhead Cunningham reportedly hit him with after forcing him to stand under freezing water as a punishment for soiling himself.
