Tag: Part 1

Episode 155: Ryker Michaud-DaPonte (Part 1)

During Canada’s Victoria Day long weekend in 2014, 20-month-old Ryker Michaud-DaPonte was scalded over 25% of his body by a hot cup of instant coffee. Over the next three days, Ryker’s mother, Amanda Dumont, and her boyfriend, Scott Bakker, carried on with their lives as if nothing was wrong. They not only refused to take Ryker for medical treatment, but they went so far as to lie to Amanda’s family members, telling them they had taken Ryker to a doctor for his severe burns. Only when they found Ryker dead in his crib on May 21, 2014 did the full extent of their lies – and Ryker’s injuries – come to light.

This is the story of a happy little boy whose three older sisters adored and doted on him and whose family called him “Ryker Roo.” It’s also the story of the two adults who were responsible for baby Ryker’s care but were too self-absorbed, lazy, and likely drug-addled to bother taking him for medical treatment that had a 95% chance of saving his life. 

This is part one of the maddening story of Ryker Michaud-DaPonte.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/STLC, and get on your way to being your best self.

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed in this Facebook album.

You can also follow the podcast on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $5 per month can listen to my weekly episodes ad free, while $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

You can also support the podcast at Ko-Fi.com/STLCpod.

Merch is available at www.sufferthelittlechildrenpod.com/shop.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 146: Alexavier Pedrin (Part 1)

In 2011, 19-year-old Josie Dikeman was accused of child neglect after her boyfriend’s one-year-old daughter suffered a skull fracture and a brain injury in her care. That charge was dropped. Two years later, she was convicted in a separate child neglect case regarding the same little girl, by then age three, who had been returned from foster care only to become malnourished and suffer fractured hands and feet while in Josie and her boyfriend’s care.

After Josie moved in with her new boyfriend, Derek Pedrin, forming a large, blended family with seven children, loved ones began reporting concerns that Josie was abusing or neglecting Derek’s son, Alexavier. Derek and Josie began refusing to let Alexavier’s maternal family see him. On February 10 of this year, police performed a welfare check at the family’s request, finding Alexavier asleep and very drowsy, but supposedly fine. Fifteen hours later, police returned to the home, where six-year-old Alexavier was pronounced dead.

This is part one of the infuriating story of Alexavier Pedrin. 

Links discussed in today’s episode:

Anderson family GoFundMe campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/rjfpz-justice-for-alex

Justice for Alexavier on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090123498090 

Justice for Alexavier on TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@justice.alexavier

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

You can also support the podcast at Ko-Fi.com/STLCpod.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 142: Jack and Jenny Edwards (Part 1)

On July 5, 2018, 13-year-old Jennifer Edwards got off the bus and walked eight minutes to get to her home in West Pennant Hills, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Jenny had no idea that her father, 67-year-old John Edwards, was following her in a car he rented so she wouldn’t recognize him. When Jenny arrived at home, John pulled into the driveway and chased her inside the house with a handgun. Jenny fled to her brother’s bedroom, where she and 15-year-old Jack huddled under his computer desk, terrified, as their own father stormed in and fired multiple shots directly into his helpless children’s bodies.

This is the story of two kids whose mother did everything she could to protect them from the man she left after years of psychological and physical abuse. It’s also the story of a family who was catastrophically failed by multiple systems that were in place to prevent horrific events like Jack and Jenny’s murders from occurring, and of a man who, despite leaving decades of red flags in his wake, still managed to secure the permits and licenses he needed to buy multiple guns.

This is part one of the infuriating story of Jack and Jennifer Edwards. 

Links discussed in this episode:

Laura Richards on coercive control: https://www.thelaurarichards.com/resources/coercivecontrol 

Domestic violence resources in Australia:

1800 Respect national helpline: 1800 737 732

Women’s Crisis Line: 1800 811 811

Men’s Referral Service: 1300 766 491

Lifeline (24 hour crisis line): 131 114

Relationships Australia: 1300 364 277

NSW Domestic Violence Line: 1800 656 463

Qld DV Connect Womensline: 1800 811 811

Vic Safe Steps crisis response line: 1800 015 188

ACT 24/7 Crisis Line: (02) 6280 0900

Tas Family Violence Counseling and Support Service: 1800 608 122

SA Domestic Violence Crisis Line: 1800 800 098

WA Women’s Domestic Violence 24h Helpline: 1800 007 339

NT Domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

You can also support the podcast at Ko-Fi.com/STLCpod.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 136: Bradley McGee (Part 1)

In 1987, four-month-old Bradley McGee was abandoned at a shopping mall and placed into foster care. He spent most of his life thriving and happy in the Lakeland, Florida home of his foster family. In 1989, despite reports of abuse from multiple family members and others, Bradley was placed back into the custody of his mother and stepfather, Sheryl and Tom Coe. Just two months later, two-year-old Bradley was dead.

This is the story of yet another toddler murdered over potty training when his stepfather punished him for having an accident by dunking his head repeatedly and viciously into the toilet bowl. It’s also the story of a little boy whose death prompted sweeping changes in Florida’s child welfare system. 

This is part one of the horrific story of Bradley McGee.

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

You can also support the podcast at Ko-Fi.com/STLCpod.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 129: Santina Cawley (Part 1)

In the early morning hours of July 5, 2019, Michael Cawley left his two-year-old daughter, Santina, with his girlfriend, Karen Harrington, at her apartment in Cork, Ireland. Michael and Karen had argued that morning, but Michael had no reason not to trust the woman he knew to be excellent with children. Michael couldn’t have predicted that he would return two hours later to find Santina naked under a blanket on the floor, bruised, bloody, and unresponsive.

This is the story of a happy baby with red hair, bright blue eyes, and a big, contagious smile who brought joy into the lives of everyone who knew her. It’s also the story of a woman whose unthinkably horrific actions baffled an entire country, leaving everyone with the same unanswerable question: Why?

This is part one of the heartbreaking story of Santina Cawley. 

Bridget’s July 2019 interview with Neil Prendeville: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcAgqADP9_M

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Re-Release | Episode 87: Judah Morgan (Part 1)

**This episode was originally released in November of 2021. I am re-releasing part 1 and part 2 of Judah’s story in honor of his father being sentenced this week to 70 years in prison for Judah’s murder.**

Little Judah Morgan spent almost the entirety of his four years in the loving, stable foster home of his second-cousin, Jenna Hullett, and her family. When Indiana DCS essentially forgot to terminate the rights of his biological parents, Judah was returned to the custody of his mother, Mary Yoder, and his father, Alan Morgan. Six months later, Judah was dead.

This is the story of a joyful, jubilant little boy with warm brown eyes, curly blond hair, and adorably pinchable cheeks who loved singing and dancing, learning, and especially spending time with the family who loved him. It’s also the story of yet another child protection agency yet again failing a child with fatal and undeniably preventable results.

In part 2, you’ll hear my conversation with Judah’s foster mom, Jenna, who is already fighting to change laws to protect other kids like the little boy she loved like her own.

This is part 1 of the infuriating story of Judah Morgan.

justiceforjudah# Facebook group

Hullett family GoFundMe

Petition to hold DCS responsible

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook.

You can also follow the podcast on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $10 a month or more access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

You can also support me on Kofi: https://www.ko-fi.com/STLCpod

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.