Found Deceased IL - Semaj Crosby, 16 mos, Joliet Township, 25 April 2017

[Linskid]

Update?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Niner]

I haven't seen an updates on this. No one has been charged yet, There was supposed to be a custody hearing on her 1/2 bros and older bro, but have seen nothing on what happened.

:dunno:

 

[PinkPrincessPoop]

I just want to say thank you for those who kept on posting updates last year. I do hope they find more information/evidence soon.

 

[MsMarple]

I haven't seen an updates on this. No one has been charged yet, There was supposed to be a custody hearing on her 1/2 bros and older bro, but have seen nothing on what happened.

:dunno:

Crickets. The only news is that a local group is hosting an anniversary event on April 28:

https://patch.com/illinois/joliet/semaj-crosby-anniversary-event-planned-joliet

And a news team will be receiving an award for their investigative reporting regarding Semaj's case:

http://sunshinestatenews.com/story/...rting-team-brought-you-george-sheldon-friends

So lots of celebrating but no updates. So for now I guess her sibs are still in DCFS custody.

 

[Niner]

going to :bump: for Sema'j

Almost a whole year (5 more days)!!

:rose: JUSTICE for SEMA'J!! :rose:

 

[MsMarple]

Interesting article from April 17:

Speaking before a statehouse committee, State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) summed up the frustration many have with the child welfare agency: “Let’s tear the whole system apart and just listen to what people have to say," said Hunter. "See if we can put together a whole new system, or something. I don’t know. I don’t have the answers. The one thing I know, the direction we’re headed in… that’s not it.”

Hunter was not alone. Others echoed her sentiments regarding a lack of trust in the agency. State Senator Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) says he too is ready for accountability within DCFS.

“I’m done giving you guys the benefit of the doubt," said Rose. "There will be accountability. There will be training. There will be enforcement, and it will be done right. I have had it. It is inexcusable. Again, you just got here so I’m sorry it’s all landed on your shoulders but we have got to do a better job.”
...
DCFS has also come under scrutiny for privatizing what is known as the “intact family services program.” Its goal is to offer counseling and other services so that children can remain in a home if possible. The Chicago Tribune reported a spike in deaths after that change. Crosby’s case was among them.

http://nprillinois.org/post/dcfs-asks-increase-102-million-funding#stream/0

Not surprising, one problem is finding accommodations for children. Larger caseloads. Opiod crises. Most of all though is the problem of trying to keep families intact and instead of removing kids DCFS supported offering counseling and other services. Deaths rose as a result.

What a dilema. It's time to stop giving caretakers the benefit of the doubt and instead remove kids while an investigation is active. But where the heck do you put them?

 

[Niner]

One year ago Semaj Crosby's death sparked outcry, prompted change — but remains unsolved
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...girl-death-one-year-later-20180424-story.html

One year after Semaj Crosby was found dead under a couch in her home, her mother says she struggles to deal with the loss of her only daughter and awaits answers, even as she remains a person of interest in the investigation.
[.....]
For Gordon, the repercussions of Semaj’s death have been vast: Her remaining three children were removed from her care and remain in the custody of Illinois’ child welfare agency. She also lost her home when it burned to the ground the day after her daughter’s funeral.
[.....]
Three other women — Semaj’s paternal grandmother, Darlene Crosby; an aunt, Lakerisha Crosby; and a family friend — also have been identified as persons of interest in the investigation, Will County sheriff Deputy Chief Dan Jungles said.

Investigators have identified a minor who was at the home as another person of interest.

 

[MsMarple]

On April 27, 2017, the 16-month-old child was discovered dead in the family's Joliet Township home not even two days after she was reported missing. Police say the baby was probably already dead and placed underneath a heavy couch that was low to the floor when the frantic search for her began.
...
According to Will County Sheriff's investigators, Gordon remains a "person of interest", in her daughter's death along with at least three others including the child's paternal grandmother, an aunt, and a family friend.
...
Since then, Gordon's three other children have been removed from her care. Pending DCFS cases against Semaj's paternal grandmother and aunt has also prompted removal of their children from their care.

http://abc7chicago.com/no-justice-for-semaj-crosby-1-year-after-toddlers-death/3391465/

2017 DCFS Report:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3755632-Crosby.html
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3755632/Crosby.pdf

 

[Steelslady]

Timeline for Semaj:

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/...preston-heights-toddler-semaj-crosby/asw2vv3/

 

[MsMarple]

Will County authorities say the toddler’s death — ruled a homicide by asphyxiation — remains a high priority, though little progress has been made in recent months.

That’s because the five persons of interest in the case — the child’s mother, grandmother, aunt and two other people — all retained attorneys before the toddler’s body was even found, according to police.

“Once she was located, when the hard questions started coming, people started not wanting to talk to us,” said Will County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Dan Jungles. “When we started asking the more difficult questions, they basically ended the conversation.”
...
Eventually, police sought to search the home, but police said a lawyer for Gordon wouldn’t let them do so until they obtained a search warrant, which they did.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/one-year-later-still-no-arrests-in-death-of-toddler-semaj-crosby/

Lots of outcry about DCFS but at the core the blame should be placed squarely at the feet of the people in Semaj's life who clearly failed to nurture and protect her, including her own mother.

What the heck, the very same people screaming for answers opted to stop cooperating with LE and lawyer up? And let us not forget the deplorable conditions that poor child lived in, with people who put their own wants and needs before those of a vunlerable, innocent child.

Darlene Crosby, who sat down for an exclusive interview with NBC 5 Investigates last summer, said she has been fully cooperative as well.

“I have nothing to hide. I want to talk. I want to help,” Darlene Crosby said.
...
Darlene Crosby declined a second interview with NBC 5 Investigates. The Crosbys’ attorney Cosmo Tedone said any suggestion by police that his clients are not helping are “misleading and false.”

“There is no way that the Sheriff’s Office can say that my clients are uncooperative since the Sheriff’s Office has not contacted me in over a year to speak with my clients,” Tedone said in a statement. “My clients are deeply saddened as the one year approaches for the death of such an adorable young child who was taken too soon in life.”

https://www.nbcchicago.com/investig...tion-One-Year-Later-No-Answers-480856491.html

Semaj's mother wants her other children back. I hope that doesn't ever happen. MOO.

 

[MsFacetious]

I'm just glad the other kids are out of their care. I hope they can be adopted.

 

[Niner]

for Sema'j

still nothing....

 

[YESorNO]

'My daughter is missing. I cannot find her.' 911 call captures growing panic as mom reports Semaj Crosby's disappearance (with clip)

August 3, 2018

"A newly released 911 missing-person call from the mother of a 17-month-old girl who was later found dead under a couch in the family’s Joliet Township home captures growing panic in the woman’s voice as she speaks with a dispatcher....

Her death was later ruled a homicide caused by asphyxiation. The family home burned to the ground just days later in what authorities labeled an arson fire.
But so far, no one has been charged in connection with either Semaj Crosby’s death or the subsequent house fire.

Other persons of interest in the case are Semaj’s grandmother, Darlene Crosby; an aunt, Lakerisha Crosby; and a female minor who was living with the family.

A fifth person who authorities say may have information pertaining to the child’s death has also been named a person of interest....

Hoffmeyer said there was no timetable for when charges might be filed, but said that detectives are still actively pursuing the case."

'My daughter is missing. I cannot find her.' 911 call captures growing panic as mom reports Semaj Crosby's disappearance

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[kirkassoc]

What a beautiful baby! Why didn't they give her up for adoption. Someone would have loved her and provided for her future. So sad, and you can see sadness in her beautiful eyes. Praying that justice is served. She is safe from their hands. RIP little one.

 

[MsMarple]

'My daughter is missing. I cannot find her.' 911 call captures growing panic as mom reports Semaj Crosby's disappearance (with clip)

August 3, 2018

"A newly released 911 missing-person call from the mother of a 17-month-old girl who was later found dead under a couch in the family’s Joliet Township home captures growing panic in the woman’s voice as she speaks with a dispatcher....

Her death was later ruled a homicide caused by asphyxiation. The family home burned to the ground just days later in what authorities labeled an arson fire.
But so far, no one has been charged in connection with either Semaj Crosby’s death or the subsequent house fire.

Other persons of interest in the case are Semaj’s grandmother, Darlene Crosby; an aunt, Lakerisha Crosby; and a female minor who was living with the family.

A fifth person who authorities say may have information pertaining to the child’s death has also been named a person of interest....

Hoffmeyer said there was no timetable for when charges might be filed, but said that detectives are still actively pursuing the case."

'My daughter is missing. I cannot find her.' 911 call captures growing panic as mom reports Semaj Crosby's disappearance

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks so much for the link, YesorNo! One of my "things" in missing child cases is paying close attention to 911 calls if they are released. IMO what the caller says can tell a lot. So far, in calls where either the caller harmed the child or knows who did red flags go up immediately. For example the old "I was sleeping/napping" or other CYA comments, making sure to let the dispatcher know they could not be responsible.

I also look at the priorities of what the caller says - in Caliyah McNabb's case the mother listed 4 or 5 things before she even said her child was missing. A low priority of the actual emergency tells me something's not right.

Disclaimer - I'm not a professional nor do I strictly adhere to the "statement analysis" tenets; like other long time members here, after a number of alibi-building 911 call statements the old hinky meter kinda pulses on its own. So JMO.

Anyway, I noticed that Semaj's mom got right to the purpose of her call, which IMO is a good sign. There were a few little flags but right now I'm not convinced she was aware of what happened to Semaj, at least during the call. What she may have learned later and doesn't speak about is anyone's guess.

And shame on all the other adults in the house for not dealing with the screaming, crying kids during the call. And good on the dispatcher for asking clear, simple questions one at a time.

Mostly though I hope the spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office was correct in saying it's still an active case. Sorry for the long post - this one's been in my craw since day one.

 

[Niner]

Negligence by Semaj Crosby's mother, DCFS contractor led to child's death: suit

The father of Semaj Crosby — the Joliet Township infant who was found dead under a couch in a squalid home last year — has filed a lawsuit against the child’s mother and an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services contractor, alleging negligence by both parties led to the death of the 17-month-old girl.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of James Crosby, Semaj’s father, in Cook County Circuit Court Tuesday. Sheri Gordon, Semaj’s mother, and Children’s Home + Aid, a DCFS contractor, were named as defendants.

Among other things, it alleges that Gordon was the person who “placed Semaj Crosby under the couch where she died.”

More at link.

 

[YESorNO]

Chicago’s youngest murder victim this year mourned by neighbors, cops

10/08/2018

"...Elizabeth Ramirez attended the roll call with a poster board that featured the photos of several other children murdered in Chicago and the surrounding area in recent years, including 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee and 17-month-old Semaj Crosby...."

Chicago's youngest murder victim this year mourned by neighbors, cops

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

I can’t believe this case has just stalled completely. I figured there would be charges filed by now.

 

[MsMarple]

I guess we should be glad that LE is still calling it a murder. The 5 suspects closed ranks and lawyered up so fast it makes me think there's more than them being prudent - most of it happened before they were named. And then someone burnt down the house within days.
From April 25, 2018:

Gordon is among five people Will County sheriff’s investigators have identified as “persons of interest” in Semaj’s death.

She declined to discuss specifics about the day of Semaj’s death, the investigation or ongoing Department of Children and Family Services cases.

“I just want justice for my daughter,” Gordon said. Will there be justice? “Only God knows,” she replied.

Three other women — Semaj’s paternal grandmother, Darlene Crosby; an aunt, Lakerisha Crosby; and a family friend — also have been identified as persons of interest in the investigation, Will County sheriff Deputy Chief Dan Jungles said.

Investigators have identified a minor who was at the home as another person of interest.

Darlene and Lakerisha Crosby also have pending DCFS cases, and their children also were removed from their care after Semaj’s death.

One year ago Semaj Crosby's death sparked outcry, prompted change — but remains unsolved
Yes DCFS screwed up but all the suspects were there, the house was crowded with people living there when they weren't supposed to be and it was in a deplorable condition.

Where were all these women when it came to caring for the children and keeping the home clean? I haven't heard a peep from any of them about taking responsibility for their own actions. They didn't seem to mind taking advantage of the system but were quick to point fingers elsewhere. And they made damn sure to run to msm protesting their innocence.

We're talking about Semaj's mother, aunt, and grandmother for FFS. What did they do that day? Are they protecting someone?

Remember, grandmother Darelene Crosby took a polygraph and failed. She called it "a hoax" whatever that means. All the while demanding a better investigation. SMDH.

 

[Cubby]

Negligence by Semaj Crosby's mother, DCFS contractor led to child's death: suit



More at link.

I was just thinking about Semaj and found this post/article.

Is this article correct in stating James Crosby fathered all 4 of Ms. Gordon's children?

I find it interesting his mother and sister were not mentioned in the lawsuit despite their being in the home when his daughter died and being named suspects in her murder.

I'm also curious as to why his lawsuit was filed in Cook county when this occurred in Will county.

I'm also curious about what James current relationship is like with his mother and sister.

Such an incredibly sad case.