Crime & Safety
Parents Accused of Denying Life-Saving Medication Charged in Death of Son, 11
Jason Stroud, 11, also missed several medical appointments following a heart transplant, according to authorities.
LAKE COUNTY, IL - The parents of a Gurnee middle school student who died after they allegedly did not give him the medication he needed following the boy's heart transplant have now been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The new charges have been filed against David Stroud, 41, and Jennifer Stroud, 36, who were originally charged with endangering the life of a child, a less-severe charge, in January in connection with the death of their son Jason Stroud, 11, the Daily Herald reports. The Park City couple pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to the manslaughter charges.
Jason Stroud, a sixth-grade student at Woodland Middle School in Gurnee, died last September at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, according to his obituary.
Find out what's happening in Libertyvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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 and 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.
Find out what's happening in Libertyvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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."
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
