IL - Child, 9, charged in fire deaths of 5 people, Goodfield, 6 Apr 2019

[claudianunes]

Seems to me the 12 year old was given pointers on how to do all of this by his mother (more like threatened) knowing he would get in less trouble that she would. She is a narcissist that is projecting on her son.

He's not 12. He was 8 when the fire happened, he's 9 now.

 

[Lynetta]

First of all, thank you so much for posting this.
Regarding the part bolded by me, does it state that someone reported that Kyle was scratched on the arm by his own mother? Since they have the same initials it gets a little confusing.
This is absolutely revolting. All of the "unfounded" stamps slapped on these reports seem to be nothing more that pure laziness on the part of whoever visited the home.
So, someone reports that a registered sex offender is not only living in the same house, but also caring for Kyle and the report gets classified as "unfounded" because that person was not present at the time of the home visit? Really? Because I doubt mom didn't know about people talking and being concerned, after the first visit she kind of knew to be alert.
It was reported that the children were not getting fed and, because there was food in the home, the report was classified as... "UNFOUNDED". Because having food in the home totally means that they are feeding the children. Yeah, right. Come on.
There are back-to-back reports about the disgusting state of the home, when visiting, it's clear as day that the home is, indeed, in a disgusting state but the reports get classified as "unfounded" because they pinky promised that they would clean the house, over and over again? On top of that, they are given community services, they receive help and, yet again, everything stays the same.
They had a dirty house because they wanted to. These children were being abused and neglected. Kyle was not even being taken to school. They couldn't even do that, the bare minium, sending a child to school. This kid never had a chance.

BBM

Yes, the KA are all the mother

[...]

11/2/2018 Investigation of an allegation of abuse by Katrina Alwood is closed as UNFOUNDED. The report alleged that the surviving son was scratched on the arm by Katrina. The report was unfounded after evidence indicated otherwise.

[...]

DCFS had 14 interactions with 9-year-old charged with murder since his birth





It is horrible, there were 6 reported incidents in 2018 alone! Kyle, his siblings, and ultimately his cousin were failed.

 

[Lynetta]

Pre-trial hearing held for boy accused of setting fatal Goodfield fire

[...]

While Alwood himself was not in court Friday, his father, mother, grandmother and aunt were in attendance.

[...]

Alwood’s aunt and grandmother were asked to leave because of strict rules surrounding juvenile cases, and the potential that one or both could be called as witnesses.

The defense is still waiting on the prosecution to present its case. Prosecutors said they plan on filing more motions which include allowing statements from other witnesses.

[...]

Another pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Dec. 20.

[...]

 

[Lynetta]

9 year old charged in Goodfield fire deaths not in court Friday, evidence gathering continues

[...]

The defense in the case said they are still receiving evidence from the state. Another pretrial date has been set for December 20.

A prosecutor said he plans on filing two motions, one allowing for statements from the 9 year old accused in the case and another for statements on “past bad acts.”

[...]

 

[claudianunes]

Pre-trial hearing held for boy accused of setting fatal Goodfield fire

[...]

While Alwood himself was not in court Friday, his father, mother, grandmother and aunt were in attendance.

[...]

Alwood’s aunt and grandmother were asked to leave because of strict rules surrounding juvenile cases, and the potential that one or both could be called as witnesses.

The defense is still waiting on the prosecution to present its case. Prosecutors said they plan on filing more motions which include allowing statements from other witnesses.

[...]

Another pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Dec. 20.

[...]

So, the grandmother and the aunt had to leave but the mother, that was in the same fire and is the only adult that escaped it, gets to stay? Wouldn't she be the best witness, in theory? I hope Kyle's dad is a good guy and is present in his life now, the kid surely needs it.

 

[Niner]

Thanks for the updates!

 

[Scrapper18]

So, the grandmother and the aunt had to leave but the mother, that was in the same fire and is the only adult that escaped it, gets to stay? Wouldn't she be the best witness, in theory? I hope Kyle's dad is a good guy and is present in his life now, the kid surely needs it.

My guess is the judge may think they could be pulled in as witnesses to his daily life and relationships with those he lived with. JMO, MOO

 

[casesensitive]

9 year old charged in Goodfield fire deaths not in court Friday, evidence gathering continues

[...]

The defense in the case said they are still receiving evidence from the state. Another pretrial date has been set for December 20.

A prosecutor said he plans on filing two motions, one allowing for statements from the 9 year old accused in the case and another for statements on “past bad acts.”

[...]

I hope that Kyle was allowed to have a lawyer present when he was questioned by LE and gave statements.

 

[Lynetta]

So, the grandmother and the aunt had to leave but the mother, that was in the same fire and is the only adult that escaped it, gets to stay? Wouldn't she be the best witness, in theory? I hope Kyle's dad is a good guy and is present in his life now, the kid surely needs it.

I'm guessing the mom and dad got to stay because he is a minor, but neither of them have custody at this point. Kyle was placed in custody of his paternal grandparents as far as I remember. So the whole thing just seems ....weird.

 

[claudianunes]

I'm guessing the mom and dad got to stay because he is a minor, but neither of them have custody at this point. Kyle was placed in custody of his paternal grandparents as far as I remember. So the whole thing just seems ....weird.

Right, it's weird. At this point, mom is the best witness, she was in that fire too and knows her son.

 

[katydid23]

Right, it's weird. At this point, mom is the best witness, she was in that fire too and knows her son.

Yes, but at the same time, she has been an inconsistent 'witness' it seems. Her stories keep changing and some details seem implausible. Is she the 'witness' they are relying upon to bring charges against this young boy?

 

[claudianunes]

Yes, but at the same time, she has been an inconsistent 'witness' it seems. Her stories keep changing and some details seem implausible. Is she the 'witness' they are relying upon to bring charges against this young boy?

Oh God, I hope that's not the case.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“It’s a very rare charge,” said Elizabeth Clarke, president and founder of the Juvenile Justice Initiative. “You read about it in the paper, but you read about it in the paper because it is so unusual.

“We are the only developed country that charges young children criminally,” she said. “It’s actually prohibited under international law. You’re supposed to set a reasonable minimum age of prosecution that’s recently been defined as 14. So this is way outside the international norm and very unusual for the U.S.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” said Chicago Tribune reporter Peter Nickeas, who was in the courtroom when the boy was charged.

“They cleared the courtroom. Members of the media were allowed to attend. And they walked this kid out and he looks like he’s going to church on Sunday. He’s got the shirt tucked in and his hands in his pocket and goes and sits at the table with his attorney,” Nickeas said. ”It precedes like a regular court hearing. Except this kid doesn’t understand what’s going on. And he says as much.”

“It was a poor decision on the part of the prosecutors,” said Clarke. “There’s no advantage in terms of services.”

“Now, if he was 10, he could conceivably have spent time in a county detention facility,” said Nickeas. “If he was 13, he could have potentially served time in a state juvenile detention facility. But because he’s 9, the only punitive option here available to the court is probation.”

“One of the conditions of probation that’s pretty ominous is there’s no contact with alcohol or drugs. So, if he smokes a joint when he’s 16, he could potentially be in violation of his probation and be sentenced to a juvenile detention facility,” said Nickeas.

According to Illinois law, a child charged with a crime can’t be convicted unless the defendant is age 13 or older when the offense was committed. A 2007 committee paper from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child said that criminal charges for a child under the age of 12 are not internationally acceptable. Experts on the U.N. committee recently said that age should be raised to 14.

“The research is vigorous,” said Clarke. “Children cannot appreciate the consequences of their actions at that young age. And that’s why the international community has long advocated for a reasonable minimum age of prosecution. The most common minimum age prosecution worldwide is 14.”
Too Young to Prosecute? 9-Year-Old Boy Facing Murder Charges

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The commentary re: fire starts around the 22:00 mark.

 

[gitana1]

Coroner just doesn't decide in a vacuum. If cause of fire is arson (which would have been decided by fire investigators) then the cause of death would be homicide.

Yes. It doesn’t have to be set for the purposes of murder to be homicide. It just had to be intentionally set.

 

[mickey2942]

I have worked with many fire starters, all most all of them were boys. But at age 8, there just isn't the sophistication of connecting starting a fire, with killing people. Even if the child wanted the people dead. Children start fires, not able to grasp cognitively, that fires can become huge, fast.

They start small fires, because they like doing something that is "bad", and they have been told not to do it. That is as concrete as it gets. There just isn't the ability to figure out how to plan to burn down a trailer, unless it was by accident. Remember, he was 9 years old when this occurred. And he isn't the world's brightest bulb on the tree.

INMO, the kid did this by accident, or an adult created a perfect storm, and used the child as the perfect "suspect". And fed the kid information to repeat. Easy enough to do.

 

[claudianunes]

I have worked with many fire starters, all most all of them were boys. But at age 8, there just isn't the sophistication of connecting starting a fire, with killing people. Even if the child wanted the people dead. Children start fires, not able to grasp cognitively, that fires can become huge, fast.

They start small fires, because they like doing something that is "bad", and they have been told not to do it. That is as concrete as it gets. There just isn't the ability to figure out how to plan to burn down a trailer, unless it was by accident. Remember, he was 9 years old when this occurred. And he isn't the world's brightest bulb on the tree.

INMO, the kid did this by accident, or an adult created a perfect storm, and used the child as the perfect "suspect". And fed the kid information to repeat. Easy enough to do.

I don't think the boy is "stupid" or "dumb". I believe he knew that whatever he did would start a fire, what I don't believe is that he knew how big of a fire it would become and that people would get hurt and die because of it. If we knew how the fire started, it would be way easier to understand the situation. I really don't think Kyle knew what could happen, he seems too naive to the point of not being able to understand what is going on in Court. Makes me sad that he was neglected to the point that nobody even cared to notice where he was and what he was doing. I understand giving kids privacy and not being all up on them 24/7, but he's not 16, I think the adults in the house should be aware of what the kids are doing.

 

[Kittybunny]

I'm very much still of the firm belief that Katrina is cut from the same cloth as Lisa Snyder who tried to pin the murder of both her children on the 8-year old boy, and by hanging nonetheless.

I could be wrong and Kyle is a disturbed vengeful child, but I highly highly doubt it. I just pray and hope that investigators in this case did the due diligence that they did in Connor and Brinley's case and that they are not taking mom's word about what happened at face value and that Kyle has not been manipulated into a false confession.

 

[claudianunes]

I'm very much still of the firm belief that Katrina is cut from the same cloth as Lisa Snyder who tried to pin the murder of both her children on the 8-year old boy, and by hanging nonetheless.

I could be wrong and Kyle is a disturbed vengeful child, but I highly highly doubt it. I just pray and hope that investigators in this case did the due diligence that they did in Connor and Brinley's case and that they are not taking mom's word about what happened at face value and that Kyle has not been manipulated into a false confession.

Yes, that's what I suspect too.

 

[Niner]

Friday, December 20th:
*Pretrial Hearing (@ am CT) - IL – Ariel Wall (1), Daemeon Wall (2), Rose Alwood (2), Jason Wall (34) & Kathryn Murray (69) (April 6, 2019, Timberline Mobile Home Park, Goodfield) - *Kyle Alwood (9) arrested & charged (10/7/19) with 5 counts of murder, 2 counts of arson & 1 count of aggravated arson. The aggravated arson charge is based on the conclusion that the child knew people were in the home at the time the fire was started. Plead not guilty.
The suspect, if convicted, could be put on probation for at least 5 years, but not beyond the age of 21, and could be eligible to receive therapy & counseling. Prison time is not an option. If the juvenile is under 12 years old, police can only hold him or her for 6 hours, and an attorney will be appointed for the child and the verdict & possible sentence would be decided by a judge (bench trial).
Kathryn Murray is his great-grandmother, Jason Wall is the stepfather, Ariel & Daemeon are his siblings, and Rose is his cousin. The other person who survived was his mom, Katrina Alwood (27). Mom says Kyle was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia, ADHD and bipolar disorder, and showed interest in fire and lighters.
10/21/19 Update: Hearing to be held behind closed doors. Katrina subpoenaed to attend & gag order placed on her. As Judge read the charges Kyle asked his attorney what the words “alleged” “arson” or “resident” meant. Next hearing is on 11/22.
11/22/19 Update: Alwood himself was not in court Friday, his father, mother, grandmother & aunt were in attendance. Alwood’s aunt & grandmother were asked to leave because of strict rules surrounding juvenile cases, and the potential that one or both could be called as witnesses. The defense in the case said they are still receiving evidence from the state. Another pretrial date has been set for Dec. 20. A prosecutor said he plans on filing two motions, one allowing for statements from the 9 year old accused in the case and another for statements on “past bad acts.” Judge issued a gag order on case.