Plea Deal Likely For Dad Accused In Death Of Son, 11: Attorneys

LAKE COUNTY, IL - A plea deal may be near for the father of a Gurnee middle school student who is accused of not providing his son with the proper care needed after the boy underwent a heart transplant, attorneys said Wednesday. David Stroud, 41, and his ex-wife, Jennifer Stroud, 36, were both charged in connection with the death of their son, Jason Stroud, 11. Jason Stroud, a sixth-grade student at Woodland Middle School in Gurnee, died in September 2016 at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, according to his obituary.

David Stroud and Jennifer Stroud are accused of failing to give Jason anti-rejection medication following his heart transplant, according to authorities. The former Park City couple has since divorced and have separate attorneys handling each of their cases, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Assistant Lake County State's Attorney Eric Kalata said during a hearing Wednesday that prosecutors and defense attorneys have "agreed in principal" to a plea deal but still need to finalize details, including an agreement where Stroud would testify against his ex-wife, according to the Daily Herald. David Stroud is expected back in court in April.

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A GoFundMe page originally set up in Jason's name, but which has since been taken down, said Jason was born with heart problems and underwent eight open-heart surgeries and 20 surgical procedures, the Chicago Tribune reports. He had two rounds of organ rejections after a heart transplant in 2012. By 2016, his heart was in complete rejection/failure.

The GoFundMe page reported the anti-rejection medications Jason was taking gave "him terrible headaches, chills/tremors, and is just not allowing him to be (his) happy self," according to the article.

In June 2015, the family switched from a Milwaukee hospital to Lurie's Children's Hospital where they were supposed to make regular visits but missed several of those appointments between December 2015 and August 2016, according to a February article in the Daily Herald. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was contacted to check on Jason's well-being.

Attorneys said during a February court hearing that David and Jennifer Stroud also did not give Jason the daily medication he needed and his body began to reject his donor heart, the newspaper reported.

Jennifer Stroud is free on a $75,000 bond while David Stroud was still in custody on his $75,000 bail.

Jason Stroud had five brothers and sisters, according to his obituary. He "loved his computer time, watching cartoons, eating (and) swimming like a little fish."

More via the Daily Herald and the Chicago Tribune

Photo via Symonds Funeral Homes