The Misery Machine - The Case of Kendall Chick

Starting point is 00:00:01 Kendall Chick was born on November 26, 2013 to parents Alicia Chick and Scott Hood. Her grandfather was Stephen Hood, who was in a long-term relationship with a woman named Shauna Gatto. Though they were not married, Stephen called Shauna his fiancée, and they lived together. Kendall was born into a troubled family, and she had two older siblings that she never met. Her mother lost custody of them before she was born, and they were adopted by other families. At the time of our story, Kendall had just turned four years old. She had wispy blonde hair and a soft smile. She was described as a sweet and happy-go-lucky little girl.

Starting point is 00:00:41 Her grandfather called her his Little Ray of Sunshine. When he came home from work, Kendall met him at the door smiling. She held her little arms open wide for a hug. She loved Minnie Mouse. When her family brought her to the family dollar where they often shopped, Kendall liked to show one of the workers there her mini-mo socks or shirt. Kendall was born drug-affected. Her parents both struggled with substance use and her mother used opioids while she was pregnant.

Starting point is 00:01:09 The main Department of Health and Human Services was notified by the hospital when the baby tested positive and conducted their first assessment of Kendall's family. The department offered Alicia and Scott help for their substance use disorder, parenting education and housing assistance. They helped Alicia find a stable place. to live, and Kendall was able to stay with her parents. In August of 2014, the case with child welfare was closed. Two months later, there was another report made about suspected trouble in Kendall's home. The department investigated, but found no issues. Around this time, Alicia started having Kendall's

Starting point is 00:01:47 grandparents babysit her. According to Stephen, who was Scott's father, he didn't even know he had a grandbaby until she was seven months old. But once he and Shauna met the little girl, they began babysitting her on the weekends. When she wasn't staying with her grandfather or one of the neighbors, Kendall lived in an apartment in Lewiston with her mother. As time went on, Alicia fell back into her old habits and struggled to take care of Kendall. Instead of picking her up when the weekend was over, Alicia often left the baby with her grandfather for several weeks at a time and sometimes months at a time. Stephen and Shauna lived in a double-wide mobile home on Crickets Lane in Wisconsin at Maine.

Starting point is 00:02:29 Although they were not married, they were engaged and had been together for 12 years. Shauna's two adult children lived in trailers nearby on the same property. She had been working for a hospice agency in Brunswick, but left her position in order to help take care of her grandson. Her son and his girlfriend had a baby boy about the same age as Kendall, and they relied on Shauna to take care of him. Stephen was a welder. He worked long weeks, often over 40 hours at Bathiron Works Harding's plant in Brunswick. So when Kendall was abandoned at their home for weeks or months even, Shauna was the one who had to take care of her. Around March of 2016, Shauna's son and his girlfriend had another baby, this time a little girl. Shauna was soon the caregiver for her granddaughter

Starting point is 00:03:18 as well. A few months later in May, DHS got another report from a concerned neighbor alleging that Alicia was neglecting Kendall. They assigned caseworker Heather Campbell to investigate and she found evidence of neglect. By this time, Kendall's father was nowhere to be found. He had succumbed to his habit and was living on the streets. Alicia wasn't doing much better. When Heather told her she was losing custody of her daughter, Elisa suggested placing Kendall with Stephen and Shauna. Alicia said that Kendall already spent a lot of time there and she was always happy when she returned. Her grandfather even sent her home with new toys. The department preferred placing children with family members when they could.

Starting point is 00:04:01 However, before placing a child with anyone, even relatives, their policy required criminal background checks and home inspections. However, both Stephen and Shauna were in recovery. They too had struggled with an opioid addiction and were taking Suboxone, a medicine that blocks the effects of opioids on the brain. This alone would not have prevented them from caring for Kendall, but it should have prompted the department to supervise them more often and more closely, but that did not happen. Shauna's only criminal record was a misdemeanor shoplifting charge. However, Stephen had more than one prior conviction for assault. It had also been convicted of DV

Starting point is 00:04:41 in Florida. However, caseworker Campbell's assessment, since she had done the required background check and found no evidence of convictions or pending charges. She said she and her supervisor at the time were aware of Stephen's criminal record and that her supervisor knowingly signed off on placing Kendall with them. Due to this, the HHS accused her of falsifying records. This would not be the only time that the department would let Kendall down. That May, when Kendall was about three and a half years old, she was placed with Stephen and Shawna full time under a safety plan.

Starting point is 00:05:15 The goal of the safety plan was to keep Kendall safe until her mom got the help she needed and was able to take her back home. It was voluntary, so they didn't have to go to court. But that meant Kendall had less protection. No guardian ad litem was assigned, so there wasn't anyone looking out for her best interest. Shawna was now taking care of two toddlers along with an infant. They lived on the property of their parents but spent most of the time at her home. She was the full-time caretaker of Kendall who lived with her and Stephen. According to DHS policy, caseworkers should have visited the home at least once a month

Starting point is 00:05:53 check on Kendall and evaluate her care, but that didn't happen. Between June and October of 2016, the agency had five phone calls with Shauna, but no one visited the home on Crickets Lane. During this time, Alicia was supposed to be getting herself clean so she could reunite with Kendall, but she was ultimately unable to do so. The last time she saw Kendall was sometime in June of 2016. In November and December of 2016, caseworker Heather Campbell conducted home visits. According to Heather, Shawna seemed overwhelmed by the needs of the three children.

Starting point is 00:06:28 She referred Shauna to counseling and training to help. She also referred her to resources that offered respite care so Shawna could get a break and recharge. But, Shana did not make use of any of these resources. In January of 2017, the HHS made one more phone call to Shana. Because of Alicia's continued absence, caseworker Campbell advised Shanna and Stephen to terminate Alicia's parental rights

Starting point is 00:06:52 and become official guardians for Kendall. They never did. She had not been adopted or permanently placed. But in February of 2017, the HHS closed the case. They left Kendall in Shana and Steven's care with absolutely no oversight. Because Stephen worked such long hours, Shana was often home alone with the children.

Starting point is 00:07:14 According to Shana, her infant granddaughter had a high-pitched cry. When she left the room, the baby would scream. With an infant in diapers to care for, she had little patience when Kendall had an accident and soiled her pants. In fact, she claimed Kendall would soil herself on purpose in order to force Shana to pay attention to her. She said she called her mother every day to blow off steam and complain about the children.

Starting point is 00:07:40 She called Kendall a drug bait. She said that the three and a half year old was lazy and often misbehaved. She said she was so clumsy that she fell down and ran into walls. Her grandfather blamed her clumsiness on her developmental delays. Said Kendall fell down often and did not protect her head. She always had bruises. In fact, she had so many bruises that it was uncomfortable taking her out in public, afraid that someone would report them for mistreating her.

Starting point is 00:08:08 He said he didn't understand why Kendall didn't protect her head when she fell, said he and Shauna discussed getting her a helmet. Although he was sure he must have seen Kendall fall, he could not remember a particular incident. He said, I would usually come in after the factor Shauna would explain. He said Shauna was often frustrated because he didn't discipline the children. Instead, he left it up to her. He recalled one time when Kendall soiled herself and he hit her with a belt three times. He said he felt like crap afterwards. The next day he said he He texted Shauna and told her, I'm never doing that again because I don't want her afraid of me. He claimed it didn't leave a mark, and that was the only time he ever struck her.

Starting point is 00:08:51 Because there was no oversight, we only have glimpses of what Kendall's life was like during the last months of 2017. Bonnie Lane, the family dollar cashier who always took a moment to look when Kendall showed off her mini mouse clothing, notice bruises. She asked about them and Shauna said the girl fell out of bed. She talked to Shauna about getting government help for Kendall, but Shauna said the state dropped Kendall off and never came back to check on her. Bonnie contacted DHS but didn't have enough information to identify Kendall or her grandparents. Without knowing their full names, she couldn't file a report. She planned to try to get more information the next time she saw a little girl,

Starting point is 00:09:31 but she never had the chance. Stephen also noticed that Kendall was becoming more bruised as the months passed. He said Shauna asked for a paddle to span. Kempk Kendall. She had been spanking Kendall with her hand, but wanted a paddle so that the spankings wouldn't hurt her hand as much. In a photo later revealed on Shauna's cell phone, Kendall had dark purple bruises around her right eye, a swollen nose, and several cuts. The photo was dated August 8th. Stephen said Shauna told him Kendall hurt herself when she accidentally fell into a door jam. He didn't see the accident, but believe what Shauna had told him. He said the bruise faded to yellow

Starting point is 00:10:09 the following week and he thought it was healing. Only a few weeks later, the same eye was bruised and swollen shut again. On September 14th, Shawna texted Stephen. She said, I'm so fucking done with this kid. She's been running around the house in her princess shoes and fell right into the coffee table. Shawna also claimed Kendall went to the bathroom on the floor. While Kendall kept collecting deep bruises and other wounds, the other two children in the home, Shauna's grandchildren, had no injury.

Starting point is 00:10:39 In November, Stephen became concerned about Kendall's head. He noticed it was swelling and was worried. Shauna told him Kendall did not have a concussion and that she would be fine. Said Shauna reminded him that she worked in the nursing field and would know if there was anything seriously wrong with Kendall. He said they discussed taking her to the ER to a doctor, but they both decided it would be unwise to take her given her condition. He said, we both agreed on that.

Starting point is 00:11:08 We couldn't take her in public because of her. obviously we have a child that has multiple bruises, so it would be awfully uncomfortable. Stephen knew Shauna was frustrated. They discussed asking for help. Stephen texted Shauna, called DHS, see what they say. If they think she needs special care, they can place her. Fine, take her. But the couple never called. They never asked for help. They never took advantage of any of the services DHS recommended. The department never checked in. Her mother never checked on either. Everyone failed this little girl. November 26, Kendall turned four years old. On December 6, Stephen texted Shauna again. He asked her what she wanted to do with Kendall. He said,

Starting point is 00:11:54 I don't know what to do. Get rid of her? How? And if we did that, we'd have to carry the guilt. Stephen said that when he said, get rid of her, he meant admitting they couldn't take care of her and giving custody back to child protective services. On December 8th, Stephen went to work like he always did. Shauna stayed home with Kendall. As usual, she was also watching her grandson, also four years old, and her granddaughter, now nine months old. While Stephen was gone, Shauna called her mother again to vent.

Starting point is 00:12:27 That day, record showed she'd stayed on the phone for more than two hours. When Stephen got home at 3.30, he noticed that Kendall didn't greet him at the door like she usually did. Shauna told him the little girl had thrown up and soiled her pants again. She said Kendall was in a timeout in the bathtub. Stephen did a little work in the couple's bedroom, then went outside at dust to check on his chickens. A little before 4.30, Shauna texted her daughter-in-law who worked at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick. She said, you need to get home now. I think Kendall is dead. One minute later, Stephen called 911. He said, I have an emergency. My granddaughter is unresponsive.

Starting point is 00:13:06 The dispatcher told him how to perform CPR on the little girl. In the background, Shauna said, she was fine 10 minutes ago. The two argued. At one point during the call, Stephen said, what are you doing? The dispatcher interrupted and told Stephen arguing with her is not going to help. The dispatcher told Stephen to use the speaker phone. After he put the phone on speaker, Shauna can be heard saying she had fallen a while ago, like two days ago. At another point in the call, Stephen said, we're losing her.

Starting point is 00:13:36 Shawna cried and repeated, she was fine. EMTs arrived about six minutes after the call was placed. Inside the home, they first encountered two unnamed adults in the darkened living room. One was holding a small child, the other was holding a dog. The MTs thought they were acting off. Usually they encounter people who were frantic and frightened or focused on performing CPR. Only Stephen and Shauna were in the back bedroom with Kendall. In that bathroom, the EMTs encountered a new horror.

Starting point is 00:14:09 Kendall was on the floor on a bath towel. It was limp and lifeless. Stephen was trying to perform CPR, but the little girl was not breathing. Her small body was covered in bruises and cuts. Her right eye was swollen shut and surrounded by deep purple skin. Some of the injuries looked new, but many looked older. Pale and cold to the touch, EMTs couldn't find her pulse. Given her condition, they would have expected to see bleeding, but there was none.

Starting point is 00:14:39 In particular, they noted in their report the lack of blood on her chin. There was a fresh cut there, but no bleeding. After a few minutes, EMTs loaded her into the ambulance and rushed her to Mid Coast Hospital. While moving her, they felt what appeared to be a skull fracture. Her head appeared, in their words, to be deformed and squishy. The head wound appeared to be older, and it didn't look like an accident to these EMTs. Kendall was transported to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick about 25 minutes away. At the hospital, she still had no vital signs.

Starting point is 00:15:16 When doctors intubated the little girl, her jaw was so stiff they suspected her body was in rigor mortis. They tried to bring her back to life for more than 30 minutes, and even considered lifelighting her to a bigger hospital, but they couldn't get her heart to beat. At 5.43 p.m., they declared Kendall dead. Stephen told detectives that he hadn't seen Kendall that day until Shauna told him that she was unresponsive. While she told Stephen that she had put Kendall in the tub as a timeout, Shauna told detectives that she put her in the tub to clean her up. She said she had left the bathroom for only a moment to get Kendall a drink.

Starting point is 00:15:54 When she returned, she said the girl was unresponsive. At the home on Crickets Lane, detectives started collecting evidence. They found reddish-brown stains throughout the house. Tests conducted on site showed that the stains were blood. Found blood stains on the bathtub. It also found evidence that someone tried to clean up. Blood was found on a sponge in the tub and on paper towels found discarded in a plastic bag in the same bathroom. Found blood stains on a towel in the laundry hamper in the kitchen.

Starting point is 00:16:24 Most disturbing evidence was found in the bedroom Kendall shared with Shauna's grandchildren. Found blood on Kendall's bedding. The blood in the little girl's bed was still wet. Nothing in Shauna's story indicated Kendall was in the bedroom near the time of her death, and there was no reasonable explanation for why she would have been bleeding in there. Detectives also found a round dent in the wall of Kendall's bedroom. The dent was the same size and shape as Kendall's head. They found blood transfer in a strand of hair that looked like it belonged to Kendall

Starting point is 00:16:58 embedded in the broken wall. Later, DNA analysis would confirm that the blood belonged to Kendall. Shaana's daughter-in-law responded to Shaana's message that Kendall was dead. Her first text said, I have never seen something so bad in my life. The next said, did she hit her head off something? That was horrible. The scene was so disturbing that several of the responding police officers and EMTs

Starting point is 00:17:24 had to receive counseling because of what they saw. No one knew where Kendall's mother and father could be found on the day of her death. Her mother was found later at a local homeless shelter and was given the news. She hadn't seen Kendall for over a year and a half. Police were unable to locate Kendall's father, Scott, in the days after her death. Police arrested Shawna on December 14th, six days after Kendall died. At first, she was held without bail at the two bridges regional jail in Wisconsin. Later, her bail was.

Starting point is 00:17:57 said at $150,000, but she was unable to pay and remained in jail. On December 19th, Stephen placed a phone call to Shauna at the jail. A few minutes into the conversation, he told her, we are not supposed to be doing this right now. We are supposed to be a happy home. I thought we were a happy home with happy children. He said he wanted to know what happened to Kendall, but Shauna repeatedly said she didn't know and swore she didn't do anything to her. She asked why he was getting mad at her. He asked several times. what happened and said he wanted to know what killed his little girl. He said, had I known about it, I sure is she would have put a stop to it if there was any abuse going on in this house.

Starting point is 00:18:37 Shauna said, oh my God, is that what you think? She asked Stephen if he still loved her and trusted her. He said he did. She told him that should give him his answer. Later in the conversation, Stephen pressed her for answers again. He said, something happened. Shawna swore on her life that nothing happened. He repeated, something obvious. had to have happened. If there were no accidents that day, like you say, then something doesn't add up. The simple fact is something happened, and she bled internally in that house. Shauna said, I don't understand that, though, Steve, because she was fine. While it seemed like Stephen was finally standing up to Shauna and demanding answers,

Starting point is 00:19:19 at the end of the call, he said, you better start thinking. That's all I can say. I love you with all my heart. I loved you the day before he said. she died and I loved you the day after. Well, Stephen and Shauna knew their calls were being recorded. Phone call was later used as evidence at her trial. Shana pled not guilty and waived her right to a jury trial. Superior Court Justice William Stokes was the judge who presided. During the trial, Shauna's interviews with detectives were entered into evidence. In them, she insisted all of Kendall's injuries happened when the girl tripped or accidentally fell. She said, When she's walking, she trips over air.

Starting point is 00:20:00 She told detectives that Kendall fell down all of the time and often didn't put out her hands to catch herself. When asked if Kendall fell every day, she responded. I can't say it was every day, but pretty close. When asked about the many, many bruises Kendall had, Shauna said, Honestly, I couldn't tell you where half of them were from. When asked, she told detectives that she did nothing for herself and that no one ever did anything for her either.

Starting point is 00:20:26 Crying, she told them, I don't have any me time. I just invest it in my grandkids. It's all I have. Later, she told detectives, I never thought this was going to happen. She was fine. I don't know what happened. You tell me what the fuck happened. The forensic scientists and medical examiner did exactly that. They showed that Shauna's story didn't match the physical evidence found in the house and on Kendall's body. Shawna claimed she was the only adult alone with Kendall on the day of her death. Police found evidence of trauma and the cleanup of blood in multiple rooms of the house. If Shauna was the only person there, she had to have been responsible for the trauma and the cleanup. Prosecutors also pointed out that Kendall only seemed to have accidents when Shauna was the only person watching her.

Starting point is 00:21:15 Shauna swore the little girl was fine minutes before the 911 call, but multiple witnesses said that would have been medically impossible. EMTs, a paramedic, the emergency room doctor, and the forensic pathologists, all agreed that Kendall would have been in severe pain from the physical trauma she had suffered. Shawna also claimed that Kendall was breathing and talking and her body was warm just before she became unresponsive. This does not match what other witnesses observed. Stevens said her body was cold while he was performing CPR.

Starting point is 00:21:46 The MTs said she was pale and lifeless. Based on the signs of rigor mortis and the emergency room doctor that observed, her. He believed Kendall could have been dead hours before the couple called 911. The most disturbing testimony was given by the chief medical examiner, Dr. Mark Flomondbaum. His name may sound familiar. He is the same person who testified in the case of Marissa Kennedy. Marissa was another young girl who fell through the cracks at Maine's DHS. She lived a little over an hour away from Kendall and died just two months later. We covered her case earlier this year. Dr. Flomenbaum performed Kendall's autopsy.

Starting point is 00:22:26 During his testimony, images of Kendall's 30-pound, pale and ravaged body were shown on the screen in the courtroom. The photos were so graphic and disturbing that even the medical examiner struggled to look at them. When one image had been projected for a long time during his testimony, he asked prosecutors to take it down. He found multiple contusions and lacerations to her body. In other words, her body was broken. bruised and cut all over. The wounds varied in age and she had them on her head, neck, both arms, and both legs. He found between 15 and 20 distinct wounds on her body. Her right eye was swollen shut and deep purple bruises surrounded it. This is the same eye that had been bruised repeatedly since August, four months before. Her right ear was bruised in a way that was consistent with

Starting point is 00:23:18 something twisting her ear. Her right eye was swollen shut. and deep purple bruises surrounded it. This was the same eye that had been bruised repeatedly since August, four months before. Her right ear was bruised in a way that was consistent with somebody twisting her ear. The doctor said four bruises on the left side of her face were arranged in a parallel pattern that would, and I quote, absolutely fit had it been a hand that caused the injury. He also noted a soft, spongy-feeling area on the right side of her. Kendall's head, along with a ridge that did not belong. This is the finding that led EMTs to believe

Starting point is 00:24:00 that she had a skull fracture. Once her head was x-rayed, the doctors discovered it was not a fracture. Instead, it was scar tissue from an older injury. Her brain was swollen and showed signs of hemorrhage. She was bleeding under her scalp. Dr. Flomenbaum examined her thigh misgland, which showed that she was under immense stress for a long period of time. He said, she had been under stress for a long time, or talking weeks or months. He concluded she suffered from battered child syndrome,

Starting point is 00:24:34 which is a trauma that results from repeated beatings and mistreatment. Kendall also suffered from what he called a catastrophic event that ultimately caused her death. This catastrophic event was blunt force injury to the abdomen. This caused lacerations of her pancreas and other internal injuries to the membranes surrounding the colon and stomach. These injuries caused her to bleed internally. Her swollen belly wasn't bruised on the outside. Dr. Flomambon concluded that the internal lacerations were caused by a slow squeezing force,

Starting point is 00:25:11 a force more than the normal amount of force that should be ever used with a child or anybody else. multiple blunt force trauma to the head also contributed to her death. In Dr. Flomenbaum's expert opinion, it would have taken her one to 12 hours to die. He ruled her death a homicide. Justice Stokes did not believe Shauna's claims that Kendall's injuries were accidental. He found Shauna guilty of depraved indifference homicide on April 30th, 2019. The charge of depraved indifference meant that while Shauna showed no regard for Kendall's life, The judge didn't think she killed her intentionally.

Starting point is 00:25:50 Depraved indifference comes with a sentencing recommendation of 25 years to life. The judge said he considered giving her a life sentence, but instead sentenced her to 50 years. He believed Shauna was overwhelmed by the needs of the three young children. Despite this leniency, he called her actions a horror. He said the physical abuse suffered by Kendall Chick when viewed objectively and in the totality of all. all the circumstances can only be described as outrageous, revolting, shocking, and brutal. Shawna appealed. In June of 2020, the Maine Supreme Court upheld her conviction. In their decision, they noted that the long-term abuse of Kendall could be considered torture. Shana is currently

Starting point is 00:26:36 serving her time at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, Maine. Kendall's case, along with the death of Marissa Kennedy, caused a public uproar and launched an investigation of DHS. The agency discovered a failure to follow agency policies as well as problems with casework and oversight. As part of the internal investigation, the department examined the work done by Heather Campbell. Though she wrote on the official documents that she performed the appropriate background checks, investigators could find no evidence that she did. No copies of the background checks were found in the files. A search of Heather's email found no evidence that she requested them.

Starting point is 00:27:16 On August 3rd, 2019, the regulatory board for social workers revoked Heather's professional license and fined her $1,000. They determined that she exhibited gross negligence, incompetence, and misconduct. Heather insisted that she did nothing wrong and said DHS was using her as a scapegoat for Kendall's death. She said her supervisors knew about Stevens' criminal record and agreed to the placement anyway. Her supervisors no longer work for the agency and no one has come forward to conversectuary. infirm or deny her claims. She also said that during her time at the agency, there was high staff turnover and that everyone had unsustainable workloads. When recalling the shock that she felt when she was notified that Kendall was dead, Heather said, I don't think anyone can understand what

Starting point is 00:28:07 that's like. I'm a sensitive person, an empathetic person. That's why I got into social work. But I've also seen enough bizarre situations to know that anything is possible. Heather was not alone in this criticism. Both internal and external investigations concluded that the department was overburdened and understaffed. In response to this criticism, the agency has added more staff, improved training, and modernized their computer systems. They found that safety plans like the one used for Kendall were often not properly monitored and lasted too long, as happened in her case. It's made them dangerous to the children they were supposed to protect. The department has stopped using safety plans for placements outside the home. The HHS also changed their policy about background checks.

Starting point is 00:28:56 They now require supervisors to personally review criminal background checks when placing a child with relatives. Senator Bill Diamond of Wyndham and other state and local officials held several events to remember CA victims from Maine. In September 29, 2021, Diamond spoke at a public meeting for Kendall. This meeting was held at the Wiscasset Community Center. At the meeting, he reiterated his belief that DHS could have saved the little girl. He said, I'm convinced Kendall would be alive today if someone had visited the house and seen those bruises. There were so many red flags there that it just makes you sick. The smallest amount of effort could have saved this child.

Starting point is 00:29:40 In some ways, Kendall left this world as quietly as she entered it. There was no birth announcement when she was born, and no one wrote an obituary for her when she died. Though the community held at least two vigils to remember her, most of the people who attended had never met the sweet little girl. She never had a wake, or a viewing, or a funeral service. Months after her death, her mother used Kendall's name and the abuse she suffered to panhandle money on the streets of Portland, Maine. Alicia claimed she was raising money for a funeral, but she didn't do that. Erica Sherman organized a vigil on December 20th, 2017 at the Wisconsin Community Center. She had never met her, but she was the mother of two young girls close to Kendall's age.

Starting point is 00:30:28 She said she couldn't stop thinking about the little girl who didn't live long enough to celebrate her fourth Christmas. Kendall's grandfather also attended the vigil. He wore a hood pulled up over his head and looked at the ground. He did not speak. Bonnie Lane, the family dollar employee who noticed Kendall on her visit to the store, attended the vigil. She released a bouquet of Minnie Mouse balloons in Kendall's memory. She came into the store the first time I met her, and she just stole my heart the second that I saw her. Kendall chick, just four years old, had an adoring smile and loved Minnie Mouse, but she won't get to attend kindergarten.

Starting point is 00:31:07 Police say her grandfather's fiance is responsible for her gruesome murder earlier this month. It was very stomach sickening and just heartbreaking, especially, you know, let alone it happening, but around Christmas time. Erica Sherman didn't know Kendall or her family, but she decided she needed to do something to honor the little girl's memory and help the town cope in the process. I feel like if we can all come together as one, it can help us with a, you know, with some closure. The result of that, a candlelight service tonight at the Wisconsin Community Center. In the disbelief, the questions, and our righteous anger, we pray for justice, for Kendall, and security for the smallest among us. Many of the folks in town here say they're having a hard time coming to terms with what happened, but this display behind me shows exactly what it means to have the support of their neighbors and friends during these difficult times. She's just a beautiful little four-year-old girl, and she's just a beautiful little four-year-old girl, and she's just.

Starting point is 00:32:05 She smiled all the time. She never stopped smiling. Bonnie Lane is a mandatory reporter, someone who's trained to look for signs of child neglect and abuse. She says she suspected something was wrong at home for Kendall and tried to inform authorities. I couldn't get the information that I needed to help her, and I was afraid for her.

Starting point is 00:32:26 Tonight she shared her painful story in hopes that it will help others in the future. She also had a message for Kendall. I love you so much. you will always be with me you'll always be in my heart and in the hearts of dozens of others in this close-knit community in the freezing cold

Starting point is 00:32:44 more than a hundred people from the community gathered in the circular driveway of the center when they lit their candles the light formed a bright circle local reverend Joshua Fitterling led the crowd in prayer he said the loss of Kendall's light

Starting point is 00:33:00 causes us pain sadness and anger It happened as the darkest night of the year approaches, but the sun will come again. Light will overcome darkness.

The Misery Machine - The Case of Kendall Chick

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