Baby James’ Story
Renee never imagined her life changing when the couple upstairs moved in. She met Eric and Laura outside one day and their friendship took off from there. Laura was pregnant and soon both couples were getting together for meals and visiting one another. Renee was in a physically abusive relationship with a bipolar partner and Eric’s partner was also bipolar and schizophrenic and had to be forced into taking her medication. Renee and Eric started getting very close because they shared a common bond and were able to confide in each other. Eric saw the bruises left on Renee but she wouldn’t let him help.
Cops were called to both homes because of the abuse that went on between Renee’s
partner and Laura. They were best friends who turned to each other in the worst of times because both knew exactly how the other felt. Although they both tried to keep their relationship strictly platonic, Renee and Eric eventually fell in love. This only hindered Renee’s plans of escaping her current relationship without telling anyone. On May 12, 2006 Laura gave birth to the most perfect baby boy whom they named James Michael Hutchinson. She put Eric’s name on the birth certificate but scratched it out before it was printed.
It was Mother’s Day when Renee saw the baby, she would never forget that day. Eric got the baby out of the car ecstatic like a child and showed him to her. Renee knew right then that he would make a great daddy and always take care of his son. Eric and Laura had company so Renee told them they would come visit that evening. They later went up and visited and Renee told them both if they needed anything to just let her know.
It was the same night at 1AM that Renee heard the baby crying and Eric sounded worried. He told her the baby wouldn’t eat and Laura wouldn’t get out of bed. Renee noticed the hole in the nipple was too small and fixed it, then fed baby James because Laura would still not get out of bed. For the next 2 weeks Laura continued this behavior, she refused to take care of James and she trashed their apartment. She even pushed Eric’s mother while she was holding the baby. Laura had been rapid cycling during this time and refused to take her medications. She was telling everyone that she had postpartum depression but she acted the same during her pregnancy.
It didn’t take long before the landlord got tired of all the commotion and drama and told Eric they had to move out. Eric went to Renee and asked her to care for James since Laura obviously was too mentally ill to. Renee agreed and Eric went to stay with an older
couple he knew. It was barely 15 minutes later when she saw Laura climbing into a car with no baby. When she returned she packed all of James belongings and dropped them along with him off at Renee’s doorstep.
Around 11PM the same evening cops were knocking on Renee’s door saying that Laura reported her because James had a temperature of 103 and she refused to take him to the hospital. Obviously this was untrue and the police discovered that once they checked on the baby. Thirty minutes later more police showed up and this time they had a firetruck and ambulance accompanying them. One of the officers were the same ones from earlier so he knew right away that it was a hoax and asked if the mother had mental issues. Renee told him, “She had something, that’s for sure.”
Once again they looked James over and he was fine. This time they said they were taking Laura to the hospital for a mental check and she would hopefully be admitted. He also said DCFS would have to be called and Renee asked to be aloud to keep the baby until she could reach his father. The officer agreed.
Renee received a phone call around 2AM from Laura telling her to come get here from the hospital and she told her, “no, I cannot the officer has asked that I not allow you to see the baby till DCFS comes in the morning”. Neither the officer or Renee could believe could believe she was out and to top it off a nurse brought her home.
The next day DCFS called and made arrangements for James to stay with Renee temporarily. Eric also wanted to see James so she took him over to where he was staying to see him.
Renee called a friend on her way back to her apartment and was told that there were cops everywhere and not to go there. Her husband was threatening to commit suicide there. She checked her voice mail and had 26 messages where he was cussing her out, Renee wasn’t getting enough signal where she had been and just found out all this was going on. She called Eric and he told her to come back to where he was staying.
Judy and Nolan, close friends of Eric’s and who are now known as James’ grandparents kept him until it was safe and he could go back and stay with them again. Renee and Eric both were with him everyday and kept DCFS involved during this process. Laura didn’t call or come around often unless she wanted something or wanted to cause problems, it was never to see James. She lied once and said she wanted to see the baby to sign over temp custody to Eric but that was just to try and get close to Eric, it had nothing to do
with James. She was jumping from one man to the next. When Laura did finally visit with James she was abusive. She was cutting his toe nails one day and he curled his toes up and she slapped him for it. During supervised visitation a DCFS caseworker actually saw her shake him and when she was questioned Laura told her that the “doctor told her to do that.” The caseworker stopped the visit and called the doctor, of course she was lying and Laura was not held accountable for her actions.
In September 2006, Eric went to court and received full custody, he also chose not to take a paternity test and accepted James as his son. The caseworker’s, some members of Eric’s family and Laura’s family convinced him to give Laura’s and his relationship one more shot for the sake of James. Eric decided he would for the sake of his son.
Renee’s heart was broken and her life fell apart. After a month she started getting phone calls. Laura was giving James a bath and he slid out of her hands but for some reason he was laying face down. Eric’s grandmother was there and he was okay luckily. They soon
discovered this baby that normally loved his baths would scream and cry….he continued this until age 3 and still does not like water in his face or taking a shower. One his 1st birthday he got a little pool and he refused to have anything to do with it.
It took a while for DCFS to send Eric and Renee the summary report regarding that incident. Once they did get it they tried to get Coles County to set up a meeting to discuss bringing up charges on Laura for the abuse she inflicted on James. Coles County never even bothered to return a phone call much less set up a meeting.
An order of protection was filed against Laura for Eric and James. Renee, Laura and baby James were all staying at the same friends house again but it came time when they couldn’t stay anymore and all 3 of them became homeless. Nolan and Judy stepped in again and offered them a place to stay from November to February even though neither one of them had a job and Renee was still waiting on her disability. Judy even started tohelp plan their wedding and Nolan took Eric to free-cycle to pick things up for their future home. Nolan and Judy accepted them as if they were their own and James were their grandson. Judy got her back-pay from disability in February and they sat Renee and Eric down and told them they were going to pay their first months rent and the deposit in their new home. They along with a friend named Maria gave them everything they needed and didn’t have.
Nolan took Eric to look for a job and he found one almost right away. Everything was beginning to look up. Unfortunately, as soon as everything was going good it came to a crashing halt and quickly went downhill.
Laura began calling Eric’s job repeatedly once she found out where he was working and got him fired. The order of protection stated no phone calls but what’s a piece of paper going do if no one enforces it?
She was arrested when she went to Eric and Renee’s home. She was charged with a misdemeanor and sentenced to 18 months probation and fined in Fayette County. The case number for that is 2007CM40. She had been in prison previously and just got out on probation for burglary charges in Macon County. Laura showed up on the Hutchinsons’ door step again in 2008. The cops were called and she was charged with a felony and sentenced to 2 years in prison and a fine by the county of Fayette in case number 2008CF122.
Sadly, Laura delivered a baby boy while in prison, even sadder she delivered him in the toilet. The prison took him away and he was adopted out. Renee and Eric served her with adoption papers while she was doing her prison stint and she eventually agreed and they got a phone call saying she would sign.
The first court date was in Shelby County with Judge Kiley and the court recommended a guardian ad litem. Renee and Eric were appointed a attorney, Gina Vonderheide. Ms. Vonderheide agreed that it was in James’ best interest to remain with and be adopted by Renee. Renee had taken care of James since he came home from the hospital, she was James’ mother.
On July 30, 2009, James was officially, through all legal paperwork Renee’s son. James’ name was changed to James Michael Nolan Hutchinson after his grandpa Nolan, the very special man (and his wife) that played a huge role in all 3 of their lives when they needed it the most.
Laura got out of prison 2 years early and was on a GPS ankle monitor and probation so they thought they would not hear anymore from her. That was not the case, this woman just doesn’t get it!
On March 18, 2010 she called the Cowden/Herrick Head Start program and told them she had permission to pick James up and that Eric had given her a number that didn’t even belong to them. Laura then started calling the house non-stop, Renee recorded the calls, the officer that came to their home even recorded a call. The officer also made 2 reports about the calls. When this all occurred the Assistant States Attorney of Shelby County was Deborah Riley and she had the officer rewrite the 2 reports he filed twice and that’s only what Renee and Eric know about, it could have been more than that.
The States Attorney was taking the seat as the new judge and there was a new States Attorney. The problem with this is that the then Assistant States Attorney had already charged Laura with a misdemeanor. The law in Illinois says that order of protection violations are to increase not decrease. Renee and Eric contacted the States Attorney and told her what the order of protection stated as well as they had proof of 3rd party violations on Laura. It seemed the States Attorney didn’t care and was rude to them and the person that tried to verify that Laura was calling them and getting messages through to Eric.
Laura ended up getting a plea deal of 30 days in jail. That means she served 15 days and she was given 1 year of probation and fined. After about a year and all of this going on Renee and Eric finally get a hold of Cole’s County States Attorney’s Office. They said they would set up a meeting and then never called again and couldn’t be reached either. Renee said they were told that if they could get DCFS to send their report the State’s Attorney’s office would take a look at it. DCFS finally sent the report but they didn’t state they wanted to press charges so the States Attorney rejected the claims. When Renee and Eric asked the caseworker to request the charges they were told it’s not their place to ask it was Renee’s and Eric’s. Do any of these people know what their doing?
This was when Renee and Eric got their wake-up call. During all of this I’m sure they were learning rather quickly how horrible the system was but they were in shock to receive the 179 page report documenting James abuse and things about Laura they didn’t even know about.
The report stated that Laura had left James in a car while she went in for a mental exam. She had done things even while her and Eric were still together yet no one ever knew about it. Why had DCFS not contacted him and inform him about his child?
Because of this and the struggles that they have faced within the judicial system and DCFS Renee is now are dedicated to changing the laws. In order for this to happen everyone that holds a position in the legal system must be looked at. Child abuse laws are getting tougher in certain categories but not for child abuse as a whole. The Baby James Foundation is working to pass the Baby James Law, which will do exactly that. If their law passes there will be a Child Abuse Registry and not a Sex Offender Registry.
Renee is not against the sex offender registry, however, they believe it gives people a false sense of security. The child abuse registry will be used as a tool just like any of these registries should. Registries do NOT keep real life people safe though, only people keep people safe, children specifically.
It’s also important to remember that these abusers are criminals and criminals don’t follow laws. If they want to get to YOUR child, they WILL find a way. You can go to nearly any website and read advice on how to keep your little ones safe and secure. It never fails, one of those tips will be know who lives in your neighborhood. Why is this and why just your neighborhood? Do you think people only abuse in your area? Most victims know their abuser, therefore, yes, check people out on the registry but if you are genuinely concerned about someone go a step further and do a more in depth check.
Governor Quinn of Illinois starting putting felons on sex offender registry without them being actual sex offenders. What is the purpose of this and how does this protect anyone’s child? How many know there is a child murder and violent offender registry in Illinois?
Brynden Gibson’s Law was passed on July 20, 2010 that would say all convicted of Shaken Baby Syndrome would be on this registry. This is great news and it shows that we are progressing, however, these laws are again changing only a category. Child Abuse is child abuse no matter if its verbal, sexual, physical or emotional. It is our responsibility to protect our children, when we see a child abused pick up the phone and call, don’t call DCFS call the police. DCFS has 24 hrs to investigate a call, in that 24 hours a child can be dead. Do you want the death of a child on your conscious because you never made that call?
Tonight you can start with making a change for our children.
Tonight you can sign Baby James Law, tomorrow you can write our representatives and ask them to pass Baby James Law.
Do what is right for our children.