Semaj Crosby 'Shoved Under Couch Like A Piece Of Garbage' 6 Years Ago: Jungles

JOLIET, IL — For the past six years, the person responsible for suffocating little Semaj Crosby to death inside her family's rental house on Louis Road has gone unpunished. The 1-year-old child's lifeless body was discovered by Will County Sheriff's deputies concealed underneath a couch that weighed at least 90 pounds, according to Will County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Dan Jungles.

This week, Jungles spoke with Joliet Patch to provide an update on the investigation, and to reflect on the memory of Semaj and how her case continues to pull at the hearts of members of law enforcement who have worked on the case.

"The technology is changing rapidly with DNA and other techniques are being developed every day to help us," Jungles said, referring to the forensic evidence retained from the crime scene. "Right now, we're at that point where a lot has changed in six years to help us, and those are things we are trying to do right now."

Semaj was last seen alive around 4 p.m. on April 25, 2017.

Her body was found around 1:30 a.m. on April 27, 2017.

She is buried at Joliet's Elmhurst Cemetery off Washington Street.

"Semaj Crosby is obviously a case at the sheriff's office that weighs heavy on our hearts," Jungles told Joliet Patch. "She had her life ahead of her, and she's no longer with us. People loved her, and it tugs at everyone."

The events surrounding Semaj's death spark anger and sorrow.

"She was entrusted in the care of her family, and she's no longer with us because of them," Jungles explained.

Jungles said the sheriff's office has never backed off its initial statements that the person or persons responsible for Semaj's death and hiding her body were family or someone connected to the famiy. About a half dozen people had access to the child around the time of her disappearance.

Jungles said that too much time has elapsed to file charges of obstruction of justice against somebody.

"We've never swayed away from saying that someone in that home" caused her death, Jungles said. "This isn't a stranger danger or a bogeyman coming in the middle of the night and stuffing her under the couch."

Sheriff's detectives ruled out any scenario involving the Semaj crawling underneath the couch and dying of suffocation there. The 90 lb couch was only two to three inches off the ground.

"It was physically impossible for her to crawl under there," Jungles remarked. "There is no doubt in my mind that there are people who know about the circumstances. And there's no doubt that there was a cover-up because of the way that Semaj's body was found under the couch. So someone had to have done that."

Joliet Patch asked if there's any possibility Semaj's family did not intentionally hurt her, but rather, she died from an accident and her family panicked, thus hiding her body under the couch to avoid casting suspicion from law enforcement and Illinois Department of Children and Family Services social workers, who had already been to the home numerous times in the past.

"Accidents happen all the time," Jungles said. "If it was an accident, that is obviously different in a court of law. But that's information we don't know because the family refuses to speak with us."

Back in 2017, Semaj's mother, Sheri Gordon, made herself available to sheriff's detectives, Jungles said, unlike many of her other relatives who refused to cooperate.

Police have not tried to re-interview Gordon for quite some time. "There's not a whole lot of questions we have for her, so we haven't spoken with her in a while," Jungles said.

One of the biggest obstacles in solving the mystery was the fact that sheriff's deputies were misled about the events surrounding Semaj's disappearance.

Family members told police that Semaj was seen down the street, prompting deputies to canvass the entire area including the nearby quarries off Brandon Road, thinking Semaj wandered off.

"The entire family told us she was standing by a stop sign and that was verified by eyewitnesses that were not connected to the family," Jungles said. "No doubt she was standing there, but it was not right before she went missing.

"All the information was that she wandered away. We weren't aware of a crime being committed."

Deputies did not have probable cause to obtain a search warrant at the time Semaj was initially reported missing, according to Jungles.

Finally, sheriff's deputies obtained consent through Gordon's lawyer, Neil Patel, to go into the Preston Heights home on Louis Road during the late night hours of April 26, 2017.

After searching the house without success, detectives turned their attention to the couch, one of the last places left to check.

By that point, Semaj had been missing for about 36 hours.

"The trail had gone cold outside the house," Jungles said. "We wanted to get back into the house because all of the evidence of her being outside the house, we exhausted those efforts. That was literally one of the last places we checked because that was one of the only places detectives had not searched under."

When detectives lifted the couch, the roaches had already started to eat at the dead child's flesh," Jungles recalled.

"It was a very dirty home," he said. "She was shoved under the couch, like a piece of garbage."

During a November 2017 event that involved the attendance of Semaj's grandmother, Darlene Crosby, and family friend, Tamika Robinson, both women told news reporters they had nothing to do with Semaj's death.

During that event, the following rough timeline was given:

3 p.m. Several family members and children were outside, playing, dancing, listening to music.

3:45 p.m. Sheri Gordon brought Sema'j into the house, apparently to change her diaper.

5:15 p.m. Sheri Gordon begins yelling, "Where's my baby?"

6 p.m. Semaj gets reported missing.

Darlene Crosby and Robinson both insisted they were outside the entire time Semaj went missing. Robinson said she did not arrive at the house, actually, until after the child disappeared, perhaps around 4 p.m. During a question-and-answer session with reporters toward the tail end of the November 2017 event, Darlene Crosby revealed she believed Semaj was killed by her mother.

"I feel as though she did it out of spite," Darlene Crosby declared, referring to Sheri Gordon. "In my eye, there is only one woman for Sheri, that's Sheri."

Jungles said it's still not too late for someone in the community to step forward if they have information to help sheriff's detectives solve the case. He said that reward money remains available through Will County's Crime Stoppers program.

To submit a tip, people can call the sheriff's office at 815-727-8574. Will County Sheriff's Investigator R.J. Austin remains in charge of solving Semaj's homicide.

"This case has affected everyone at the sheriff's office that's been involved with it," Jungles reflected Monday. "Semaj had her life in front of her. It's a difficult pill to swallow. My kids were still in preschool, only a few years older than her. It definitely affects those of us in the investigation and makes us more determined to solve these cases because of the connections you have with the victim.

"It's our job to being justice to the offender and do what's right for the victim. In this case, it's Semaj Crosby."

Related Joliet Patch coverage over the years:

Semaj Crosby Settlement: $6.4 Million For Her Family

Grandmother: Sema'j's Mother Sheri Gordon Killed Her

Coroner: Sema'j Crosby Died Of Homicide