2010/ Amanda Lynn Runyon story ~ Another child failed

I don't know what has happened since this article was posted. I'll be looking for updates.

More details in the tragic abuse case of Amanda Lynn Runyon. According to the report, and as many following this case already suspected, 2-year-old Amanda is a glaring example of an innocent little girl who fell through the cracks of a system that was designed to protect vulnerable children like her.

On July 29, 2008, a Randolph County sheriff’s deputy made a call to the Illinois child abuse hotline to report that then 10-month-old Amanda was living in squalid conditions in a trailer in Coulterville. That deputy also reported that Amanda’s mother, Dawn Obptande, was allowing a registered sex offender to live in the home with them. Billy Obptande, Dawn’s brother, was convicted at the age of 22 in St. Clair County of aggravated sexual abuse for having sex with a girl younger than 17.

The standard operating procedure in a case like this is for DCFS is to assign a caseworker who will assess a report of abuse and then devise a plan that ensures the child’s safety. Children in situations like Amanda’s are often placed in temporary foster care homes. Parents are usually then required to take parenting classes and receive follow-up visits from social workers. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services did none of those things, and Amanda was left to continue living in that Randolph County trailer.

Fast forward to February 23 of this year: Amanda was living with her mother and her mother’s 24-year-old boyfriend, Kraig Monroe, in another filthy trailer in Belleville. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was once again notified of suspected abuse. A hospital staff member called to report that Amanda had a broken leg and an arm fracture that had been left untreated but was healing. An investigator for DCFS then contacted the Belleville Police Department to obtain the mother's name and address for a supposed investigation, but again, they never removed Amanda from the home.

A week later, Amanda was taken to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis with severe injuries, including a lacerated liver, intestinal injuries, and clumps of hair pulled from her head. She suffered all these injuries at the hands of Kraig Monroe, who is currently incarcerated and charged with aggravated battery to a child for allegedly punching Amanda over a four-day period because she would not stop crying.

We are now left with more questions than answers, scratching our heads wondering how something this egregious could happen. How did the system manage to fail yet another innocent child? Most of us will not deny that budget cuts, understaffing, and super-sized caseloads make the jobs of DCFS caseworkers even more difficult. Most of us are also likely thankful there are people who still dedicate their lives to the stressful job of helping children trapped in unhealthy and even horrific situations.

In a case like Amanda Runyon’s, however, one has to wonder just how deplorable do living conditions have to be before a child is removed from the home. Just how many broken bones are necessary to merit removal from a dangerous situation? Why on earth was this child allowed to needlessly suffer? In a country that claims to care for its children so much, it seems we have some serious work ahead to honestly live up to that assertion.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

March 5, 2010

The mother of a toddler beaten so severely parts of her intestines had to be removed is out of jail Friday night. Dawn Obptande is not being charged in the beating, at least not for the moment. The St. Clair States Attorney tells FOX 2 he wants the investigation to be completed before he makes a final decision on charges. Friday, investigators were back at the trailer outside Belleville where Obptande lived with her boyfriend, Kraig Monroe. Police say Monroe viciously beat Amanda Runyon, 2, earlier this week. But many believe it all could have been prevented.

Eleven days before the beating that hospitalized Amanda, she was taken to the Tree Hut Child Care Center for her first day of child care. Monroe dropped her off and workers there almost immediately knew something was wrong with little Amanda.

"Her leg was hurt and her mother did not know what happened," director Marva Smith says. "So we asked them to come back and pick her up and take her to the doctor. And that's what they did. And then it was discovered there were two breaks and mother repeated she didn't know what happened and we just felt that was something that needed to be looked into."

Smith says they called Illinois Department of Children and Families. She says an investigation was opened, and they followed up with the child care.

The problem is, there was miscommunication between DCFS and law enforcement. Officials there contacted Belleville Police, asking questions about Kraig Monroe's location. The problem is, the home where the attack happened is not in Belleville. It's also not clear if Belleville Police were even told details about the child and her injuries.

The St. Clair Sheriffs office should have been contacted, and they say they never were. All this happened ten full days before the beating that has Amanda Runyon fighting for her life. Something that Marva Smith calls heartbreaking. Her reaction when she heard of the attack: "Just shock. Because my understanding was it was already under investigation, so it was just shock."

Friday, the St. Clair Sheriffs Department says there was a conference call between DCFS and law enforcement to shore up any communication issues. They say positive steps were taken.

It was about the time that conference call was happening that the decision was being made to release Obptande from jail, where she was being held without charges. She was allowed to leave, but wasn't going to be able to rush to her injured daughter's side.

An emergency protective order was issued in St. Clair County Court requiring her to stay away from Amanda, the girl's biological father, and Cardinal Glennon Childrens Hospital where Amanda is being treated.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

BJ :heart: Thank you.

May 19, 2010

Kraig Monroe, the man accused of beating 2-year-old Amanda Runyon, is out of jail.

We learned Monroe posted 10 percent of his bond and walked out of jail on Tuesday. Monroe is being monitored with an electronic ankle bracelet, and he's not allowed to have any contact with the victim's family.
On Wednesday, we went to the St. Clair County Jail to find out where Monroe is staying, but they told us we would have to obtain that information at the county probation office. We went to the probation office, they told us they weren't allowed to release the information.

We finally obtained Monroe's bail agreement from the St. Clair County Circuit Clerk's office, but it turns out Monroe wasn't at the address listed on the agreement. We tried asking the people at the home where Monroe was, but a woman cursed us out and told us to leave.

Monroe's attorney, Rick Rustio, told us he knows where his client is staying, but isn't making that information public. Roustio also told us the proper authorities are aware of Monroe's location. Roustio also told us the evidence will show his client isn't guilty of the crime, and the case will come down to a timeline that will show Monroe didn't have the opportunity to beat Runyon.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

March 2010

Eddie Runyon watches his 2-year-old daughter, Amanda, clinging to life
at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center. He's not only angry
about what put her there. He's hurt.

Two-year-olds should be watching "Sesame Street" and playing with baby
dolls, not "hooked to 14 different machines" in a hospital, Runyon told
reporters Thursday morning in the hospital lobby.

"She's the best daughter you could have," he said. As her father, "my job is to protect her. And I couldn't."

Runyon, 23, lives in Kentucky, about 150 miles away from his daughter.
St. Clair County police say Amanda Runyon was beaten severely by her
mother's boyfriend, Kraig A. Monroe, in their trailer home in
unincorporated Belleville. Police say Amanda's mother, who was at work
when the abuse happened, is being held and could face a charge of
endangering the welfare of a child.

Monroe repeatedly punched Amanda in the abdomen, as she sat in an Elmo
chair, because she wouldn't stop crying, police say. The attack
happened over four days last week and early this week. The mother took
her to a hospital Monday when she was vomiting and lethargic. The girl
also had a broken arm and a broken leg from previous incidents and was
missing hair where it had been pulled from her head.


Kraig A. Monroe

Eddie Runyon is the girl's biological father. He works as a coal miner
in Morganfield, Ky., and had just gotten off work Monday when he got
the sad news about Amanda. Wearing hospital scrubs and looking weary,
Runyon spoke to reporters on Thursday in the lobby of Cardinal Glennon.
He and his mother are maintaining a constant vigil over the little girl
in the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit.

Amanda is on a feeding tube because of the intestine surgery, and she is medicated.

"She hears my voice and sometimes she'll open her eyes," he said.

Amanda is Eddie Runyon's only child. He said doctors say she'll remain at the hospital a couple weeks.

"I'm praying and know she will fight her way through this," he said.

Runyon thanked the public for their prayers and the hospital staff for
trying their best to put his mind at ease. But he wouldn't talk about
the man accused of beating his daughter except to say "I've never met
the man." He also declined to talk about Amanda's mother or to say if
they shared custody of Amanda. He indicated he might answer more
questions later. "Right now, my 100 percent concern is for my
daughter," he said.

Until recently, Runyon said, he would talk with Amanda nearly every day
by telephone while he was in Kentucky. When he was off work, he would
come see her and they would spend time together, he said. He declined
to elaborate on what happened recently that got in the way of his daily
phone conversations with Amanda.

Runyon said he last saw Amanda on Jan. 25, and she was fine. When a
reporter asked if he had any previous concerns about the girl's safety,
he declined to comment.

"I want to make it clear that, just because I live and work out of
state doesn't mean I don't have a good relationship with her," he said.
Runyon, in fact, had asked for the media to come to the hospital so he
could make sure people know he's tried to be a good father.

Sheriff's officials in St. Clair County say state child-abuse
investigators knew about Amanda's broken leg in late February but never
notified the sheriff's office.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services' spokesman
Kendall Marlowe said DCFS was investigating an allegation of neglect
against the mother based on a Feb. 23 report. The DCFS also was
investigating allegations of abuse against Monroe once Amanda showed up
at Cardinal Glennon.

DCFS had no contact with the family before Feb. 23, Marlowe said.

"DCFS did contact local law enforcement as part of our initial
investigation of this family," Marlowe said. "Our investigator
contacted and talked with the Belleville Police Department the morning
of Feb. 24."

Marlowe explained to the Post-Dispatch that the DCFS contacted
Belleville, instead of the sheriff's office, because a DCFS
investigator had been given a Belleville address for the family, not
knowing they actually lived outside the city limits.

Marlowe doesn't know if Belleville police passed along the report to the sheriff's office.

Monroe, of the 100 block of Princeton Drive, was being held on $500,000 bail.

Three other children in the home, ages 4, 5 and 6, were taken into state custody.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

March 2010

He couldn't protect his 2-year-old
daughter when she allegedly was beaten by her mother's boyfriend, but
he sure intends on being there when she wakes up.Amanda Lynn
Runyon was in critical and stable condition Thursday at Cardinal
Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis, where her father, Eddie
Runyon, 23, stands vigil by her bed."I just tell her that her
daddy's here. I ask her questions to see if she'll respond. I ask her
to be strong for me and she nods her head," Runyon said. "I don't plan
on leaving until she can leave with me."
Every so often, Amanda opens her eyes for a few seconds. She should be able to go home in two weeks.Runyon
holds on to his daughter's hand. She is healing from a previously
broken arm, one of the injuries Runyon didn't know about until his
daughter was hospitalized Monday.He listens to her troubled
breathing, helped by a machine. He thinks about her feeding tube and
how 18 inches of her intestines had to be removed.He remembers
how excited he was when Amanda, his only child, was born. The young
dad, new and nervous about fatherhood, knew he loved her. He tattooed
his daughter's first name on the right side of his chest and her middle
name on the left side of his chest."A 2-year-old should never
have to go through what she went through. She should be watching
cartoons, running into stuff, coloring ... not hooked up to 14
machines," Runyon said.Amanda needed emergency surgery after
police said her mother's boyfriend, Kraig A. Monroe, 24, repeatedly
punched her in the stomach in an effort to silence her cries for about
four days while her mother was at work.Monroe was charged Wednesday with aggravated battery to a child.Amanda's
dad, a coal miner, said he was at work in Kentucky when the beating
allegedly took place. Runyon grew up in Marissa, but started working
out of state in 2008.Runyon said his job allows him to come home
for five days every six weeks. He last saw Amanda about Jan. 25 at his
mother's home in New Athens."Whenever I come home, she jumps up
on my lap, grabs my face and looks into my eyes and says, 'Daddy, do
you love me?' She'd want to give me kisses," Runyon recalled.
"Sometimes she tells me over the phone, 'Daddy, come here, come back.'"He came back as soon as he found out Amanda was in the hospital."When
I first got to the hospital, before the surgery, she was in so much
pain she was whimpering," Runyon said. "I asked her if she would be
strong for me and she said, 'Yea.'"From her hospital bed, Amanda still asked for her daddy's hand, and for a kiss.Runyon, who does not have legal custody of Amanda, said he didn't know she and Amanda's mother were staying with Monroe."I don't think about them. What's done is done, and now my concern is my daughter," he said.St.
Clair County Sheriff's Department Capt. Steve Johnson has said the
trailer was filthy and "so disgusting" that he felt uncomfortable
leaning on anything inside the home.Monroe did not have an
occupancy permit to live in the trailer at 110 Princeton Drive. He
lived in the trailer with his girlfriend, his girlfriend's daughter
Amanda, his girlfriend's two other children, ages 4 and 6, and Monroe's
5-year-old daughter.As a result of the violation, Monroe's
landlord was cited. Herb Endrijaitis, 78, of 109 Princeton Drive near
Belleville, was charged with unlawfully permitting a person to occupy
premise without a valid occupancy inspection. Endrijaitis was issued a
March 31 court date in St. Clair County.Also, a large pit bull that lived at the trailer was taken by animal control, Johnson said.On
Feb. 23, the Tree Hut Day Care Center in Belleville, noticed Amanda
said "owee" when a staff member changed her diaper, Belleville Police
Chief William Clay said. The day care called Amanda's mother, who was
not able to leave work, so the mother's "male friend" picked up the
child from the day care.Later that day, a day care employee
called the Department of Children and Family Services hotline to report
that Amanda suffered "neglect by broken leg" and listed the girl's
mother's name and a Belleville address, Clay said.A DCFS worker
was unable to get more information from the Belleville address. He
contacted the Belleville hospitals and learned that the girl had been
treated at Memorial Hospital.Clay gave the following account: A
neighbor to the Belleville address said that is where the mother's
parents live, and that the mother sometimes stays there and at other
times stays at her boyfriend's house, but did not know his last name or
address. So the DCFS worker contacted the Belleville Police Department,
to ask for another address for the mother or the mother's boyfriend.
Police provided the worker with the name of the mother and the
Belleville address for the mother.The detective told police that
he didn't "have enough for a report at this time" and said he would
call back if he needed more information.Clay called a news
conference Thursday to make sure the public didn't misunderstand and
think that the department had prior information about alleged abuse.
"Everybody gets in that cover-their-butt-mode," Clay said."I don't want people implying that we failed to do something," Clay said.Clay
also said he will talk to Belleville hospitals to make sure that when
they report something to the DCFS hotline, they also contact local law
enforcement.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

In a case like Amanda Runyon’s, however, one has to wonder just how deplorable do living conditions have to be before a child is removed from the home. Just how many broken bones are necessary to merit removal from a dangerous situation? Why on earth was this child allowed to needlessly suffer? In a country that claims to care for its children so much, it seems we have some serious work ahead to honestly live up to that assertion.

Niecey, who writes a blog covering children’s cases at Niecey456′s Weblog, contacted me this weekend and asked that I act as a type of webring with her to assist in getting the word out about a case of a brave little survivor who has not only beat medical odds, but now must beat the odds of a system that so far has not shown to adequately value her precious life that was almost taken. Niecey has written three very good articles, which I will be linking as references in this article. I encourage you to read through those in order to learn the specifics about Amanda’s case. I will briefly review the situation here so that you can be introduced to little Amanda and learn how the system appears to continue to fail her, despite her own valiant efforts.
Amanda Runyon was 2 years old when she almost died from abuse. Her mother, Dawn Obptande, had left her in the care of her mother’s boyfriend, Kraig Monroe, who over a 4 day period beat Amanda so severely, including punching her repeatedly in the stomach and pulling her hair out, that she landed in ICU with a lacerated liver and damaged intestines. She was not expected to live. The medical professionals who helped pull off a miracle in Amanda’s case eventually had to remove 1/4 of her intestines in order to save her life. During her medical treatment is was discovered that Amanda’s abuse had extended back over at least a 1 year period, which couldn’t all be applied to Kraig Monroe. In February 2010 Amanda was taken to a hospital because she appeared to be in pain. A daycare worker had detected that the child appeared to have a broken leg and contacted child protective services. When Amanda was treated at the hospital it was discovered she had also had a broken arm that had not been reported and was healing on its own. This would be one of the times child protective services would be called on behalf of Amanda and fail her.
Amanda’s daddy is a coal miner and when he learned of Amanda’s injuries he took leave from his job, went to the hospital and never left her side. Amanda’s mother had previously left her with her daddy, but in a short amount of time had changed her mind and took her back. The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) had been called at least two times in Amanda’ s short life, including a call by a deputy who had, at one point, found the child living in squalor when she was 10 months old with her mother and her mother’s registered sex offender brother. In each instance DCFS failed Amanda.
Amanda now lives with her daddy, who has sole custody. She is doing good health-wise, only having to take some vitamins and supplements due to the fact her body now does not metabolize these properly on its own. However, emotionally the healing is much slower, and may not be as complete as her body. She is terribly frightened of men (except her daddy), very skittish and needs constant reassurance that she is loved. Her family is providing this comfort and reassurance to assist her in healing emotionally.
Kraig Monroe was charged with aggravated child abuse for the near-death beating of Amanda. Dawn was charged with nothing. Kraig’s bond was immediately lowered by Judge John Baricevic who is presiding over Monroe’s hearings, so Monroe has been free since shortly after his arrest in March. Amanda’s grandma, who lives in Kentucky and stays in contact with Niecey and comments on Niecey’s blog has driven the long drive from Kentucky to the Illinois courthouse for each status hearing to show support for Amanda. At this point, with the latest hearing being another delay in the case, it feels like it has become a run-around. Fear is mounting that Monroe may get little time or time-served for his attempted murder by beating of little Amanda. And then, once again, the system will speak that Amanda’s life never has been worth anything to them. So far DCFS has stated clearly through its inactions that her life was not worth protecting. If Monroe walks, or is handed an insufficient sentence for the horrendous treatment of Amanda, the judicial system will be saying her near-death isn’t worth much either.
Please help spread the word about little Amanda’s case and the hearings and upcoming trial for Kraig Monroe. Please read Niecey’s wonderful articles below for more details on this case, and how you might be able to make a difference. And pray for justice for Amanda so that the Monster Monroe does not bring another child to the end of their life.
Valhall.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Amanda Runyon

She’s still a beautiful little girl, but her smile is gone. Her innocence was taken from her by the vicious assault on her. I’ve posted on Amanda’s case before:

Amanda Runyon……….A Beautiful Little Survivor

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Amanda Runyon applies lip balm to her grandmother, Linda Ford. Runyon, 2, was severely beaten and spent three weeks in a local hospital recovering from her injuries.

Amanda Runyon looked around the room at Albert’s Restaurant in Belleville on Saturday night for her grandmother Linda Ford and voiced one loud request.

“Lipstick,” she said, approaching Ford, who she calls her “Maw-maw.”

Ford picked her up in her arms and looked for a stick of red lip balm. Lip balm was something they shared when Amanda spent three weeks at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis.

A few weeks ago, the prognosis wasn’t good for the two-year-old, now playing with siblings much like any toddler.

Amanda Runyon applies lip balm to her grandmother, Linda Ford. Runyon, 2, was severely beaten and spent three weeks in a local hospital recovering from her injuries.

In March, Amanda Runyon had been in critical condition for three weeks after she was brutally beaten, allegedly by her mother’s boyfriend.

But the news has been good since she was released from SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis on March 19. Thanks to abdominal surgery and a great recovery she was able to go home with Ford and her father Eddie Runyon.

She’s now living with her father, formerly of Marissa, Ill, but now living in Morganfield, Ky., and he wants to take her back to his home where he works as a coal miner.

And the news was even better on Friday. “She’s doing great, we went to the doctor on Friday and the surgeon said she doesn’t have to come back for anymore checkups,” Runyon said.

Dr. Tarun Kumar, a pediatric surgeon at Cardinal Glennon who removed an 18-inch section of Amanda’s intestine after finding a tear in her bowl, said she should not suffer long-term effects.

“She’s (Amanda) fine, the pediatrician in Kentucky can take care of her,” Ford said. “If they have any questions they can call Dr. Kumar.”

Broken bones in her leg and foot are healing, her hair--some of which was pulled out--is growing back and Amanda wandered the restaurant without a cast, seeking out playmates.

Amanda, Ford, and other family members were at Albert’s for the third in a series of local benefits for Amanda. Proceeds raised from the fundraisers, including the dinner and dance Saturday night, are going to a trust fund established for Amanda.

Police charged her mother’s boyfriend Kraig A. Monroe, 24, of 110 Princeton Drive in an unincorporated area near Belleville, with aggravated assault against a child in connection to the severe injuries.

Monroe was left babysitting the two-year-old for three days, while the mother was at work. Authorities said he may have become angry because the toddler wouldn’t stop crying. Police said Monroe continually punched her in the stomach and pulled out some of her hair.

On March 1, the girl was vomiting, lethargic and going in and out of consciousness and was taken to Belleville Memorial Hospital. The toddler was then transported to Cardinal Glennon where officials notified police.

At one point, authorities said they feared Amanda might be on a feeding tube the rest of her life.

Eddie Runyon said he has full custody of his daughter, with her mother only allowed monthly supervised visits.

But there are other, less visible, scars to recover from and Amanda seems to be making progress on that front.

“She’s still shy of people, you know,” Ford said. “But she’s kind of back to her normal self.” Sometimes she steers clear of men with beards but she was laughing and smiling—different from the quiet little girl who left the hospital.

Leaving the hospital, Runyon said he wondered if his daughter would recover from psychological as well as physical wounds.

“I didn’t expect her to come right up and be the same old daughter she was before,” Runyon said. “But she’s getting back to it, she’s there. It didn’t take much time.”

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The system failed to protect Amanda, but miraculously she survived and will be able to live a pretty normal life, except for the emotional scars she will struggle with. Sadly, her mother was not charged, yet she was at the very least guilty of severe neglect and child endangerment, yet she tried to regain custody of Amanda and control over the trust funds for Amanda’s care, that the public so generously donated. She was denied these things thankfully, but she does have supervised visitation, and again, she was never charged.

Why am I writing this? I don’t want the system to continue to fail Amanda. Her mother should have been charged and should not be a part of her life. Her attacker should never see the light of day again. He should have to spend the rest of his life behind bars. So I was thinking maybe we could respectfully let the system know how the public feels about this. Maybe with all due respect we can write letters to the Judge, asking him to understand that while it’s wonderful that Amanda is alive and can live her life, that Mr. Monroe intended to shut her crying up, and he didn’t necessarily intend for her to live. What he did to her could have killed her and it will greatly affect her, the rest of her life.

C. John Baricevic, Chief Judge
County Building
10 Public Square
Belleville, IL 62220

Will you take the time to write a respectful letter on Amanda’s behalf? I’ve looked at some of Judge Baricevic’s prior cases and it’s really hard to say how he will rule. I’m not sure if this will go before a jury or not, but there has been no mention of that. Monroe maintains his innocence and his attorney has basically asked that his right to a speedy trial be waived as there is so much evidence to look at, that was in May. Monroe was arrested in March.

Source Of Information:

Trial Delayed In Amanda Runyon Case

Apparently the news in that area isn’t covering it too heavily. I contacted the State’s Attorney’s Office to ask if it would be better to send letters through them or directly to the Judge and they never answered, so here is the link to their office, just click on the contact button:

St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Dawn Obptande has a Private Myspace and Facebook.....of course!

Yet another tragic story of abuse of a precious child. BJ, your avatar (banging your head on the computer) is about how I feel right now! Why do these stupid mothers continue to leave their precious children with these monsters? I just don't get it!!

I am thankful that at least she survived (unlike so many of them), and that she has a caring father & grandmother. Thank God for Grandmas!!

Of course I will write a letter. I agree that her Mother should not be allowed any kind of visits. And the monster that did that to her will do it again if he ever gets out of prison. So please do write letters.