Southern Illinois woman pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in toddler’s death
A Carlinville woman pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Thursday in the death of her 3-year-old stepson.
Authorities accused Ashley N. Bottoms, 34, of throwing Hunter Drew into a half-wall on Oct. 20 while trying to break up a fight between two children. They believe his head hit the ledge of the wall, which caused a brain bleed and led to his death, according to charging documents.
Bottoms had also been charged with endangering the life of a child causing death for allegedly running errands with Hunter for three hours without obtaining medical care for his head injury before he died on Oct. 20.
Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison said the endangerment charge, the less serious of the two offenses, was dismissed Thursday because of a state rule known as the one-act, one-crime doctrine. It states that a person can only be convicted of one crime for the same physical act.
Bottoms is scheduled to be sentenced June 16 in Macoupin County Court.
Involuntary manslaughter is an accusation that a person unintentionally killed someone without justification. It is classified as a Class 2 felony when it involves family or household members. If convicted, a person can face between three and 14 years in prison.
Public Defender Anne Clough, who is representing Bottoms, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Child welfare agency involved before boy died
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services moved Hunter to his dad’s and stepmom’s home in August, about two months before he died.
Hunter had been living with his aunt and uncle Hailee and Kiel Quigley just before that because the state child welfare agency took protective custody from Hunter’s mom, according to accounts from family and official sources.
The agency’s policy is to keep children with a parent or return them to a parent whenever possible, with support to address safety threats and risk factors.
After Hunter’s death, the Quigleys called for accountability for the agency.
An agency spokesperson said it had visited the dad’s and stepmom’s home six times in September and October to ensure it was a safe environment.
A change in the law three years ago now requires the agency to keep in touch with families for six months after a child is placed in their care or returned to their care to make sure they are getting any services they might need to keep the child safe.
DCFS’ last visit with Hunter was Oct. 14, six days before he died.
Before Hunter was placed in their care, DCFS completed a “service plan and home safety checklist,” according to the spokesperson. Then, Montgomery County Judge Marc Kelly issued an order granting custody to the father.
A DCFS service plan includes an assessment of possible risks and any services the family might need. Possible risks could include previous child welfare agency investigations finding evidence a child was abused or neglected in their care or a criminal history.
A home safety checklist evaluates the house for things like a working smoke detector and makes sure parents can recognize the signs of illness and know the ways children could hurt themselves in a home, like choking on buttons or coins and falling off changing tables if left alone.
A DCFS spokesperson could not immediately be reached for further comment this week.
This story was originally published April 14, 2023 at 12:08 PM.
