March 14, 200422 yr 'Worse than mutilation, beating' March 13, 2004 BY DAN ROZEK Staff Reporter Advertisement Wearing only a soiled diaper, a shriveled and severely malnourished Seamus Leonard lay curled on a dark blanket in a room filled with trash when rescuers arrived at his Crystal Lake home, McHenry County prosecutors said Friday, offering a judge photos that depicted the teen's appearance. The 15-year-old boy, who suffered from cerebral palsy, wasn't breathing when paramedics answering a 911 call found him early Thursday morning. But as disturbing as Seamus' death was his physical condition: He weighed only 23 pounds and was so malnourished that his body was little more than a gaunt skeleton covered by skin. "It's the most heart-wrenching condition of a victim I've seen in this county. It's worse than a mutilation or a beating,'' McHenry County State's Attorney Gary Pack said after the boy's mother appeared in court to face charges in his death. Seamus' mother, Katherine Leonard, has been charged with felony involuntary manslaughter, although Pack said the charges against her may be upgraded to murder. An autopsy done Friday indicated the boy, who was 3 feet 11 inches tall, died of pneumonia, although he also was severely malnourished, McHenry County Coroner Marlene Lantz said. On Friday, McHenry County Judge Gerald M. Zopp set bail for Leonard, 44, at $1 million. She remained under a suicide watch late Friday in the McHenry County Jail. Leonard, who was in the midst of a divorce and raising six other children along with Seamus, is being held in isolation and is expected to undergo a psychological evaluation, jail officials said. Her husband -- and the father of all seven children -- hadn't lived at the home since May 2003, according to documents in the couple's divorce, which was filed last October and is still pending. Leonard's other children, who range from 3 to 17 years old, have been placed with other relatives by the state's Department of Children and Family Services. None appeared to be malnourished or in ill health, Crystal Lake police and DCFS officials said. Zopp also issued an order barring Leonard, if she posts bail, from having any contact with her remaining children. Prosecutors contended during the bond hearing that Leonard arrived home from one of her two jobs early Thursday morning and found that Seamus wasn't breathing. But, prosecutor Robert Beaderstadt alleged, she waited for between 30 and 60 minutes -- until about 6:35 a.m. -- before she called 911. Leonard worked at a Crystal Lake discount store and also delivered newspapers early in the morning to help make ends meet. She had just returned from delivering papers Thursday morning sometime between 5:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. Thursday when she found Seamus lifeless, authorities said. The two-story Colonial home where the family lived was filthy when authorities arrived. It was declared uninhabitable. "The house was severely strewn with debris, garbage, feces and food particles,'' Beaderstadt said. What remains unclear is how and why conditions in the home became so filthy. A DCFS worker visited the home on Jan. 9, 2003, and found no signs the boy was being abused or neglected, DCFS spokeswoman Jill Manuel said. "The house was clean and everything seemed fine,'' Manuel said. "It seems something went terribly wrong in the last 15 months.'' Leonard allegedly hadn't taken Seamus to see a doctor in two to three years, officials said, and he hadn't been to any type of school in as long as two years. Seamus apparently was "fed occasionally,'' usually pudding or ice cream, Pack said, citing statements the other children gave to investigators. A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said several of the Leonard children she saw during the last few months often looked "unkempt'' or wore "beat-up'' clothing, but did not appear to be mistreated. "They needed to have their hair brushed,'' said the neighbor. She described the kids as "sweet'' and said it seems like the youngsters "tried to look out for each other.'' :fyou :puke
March 14, 200422 yr You just don't get suprised by these things much anymores, ppl can do sum really sick things nowadays.
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