Family Of Naperville Boy Who Killed Himself Reaches Settlement

NAPERVILLE, IL — Days after a new law went into effect regarding police questioning of minors, the family of Corey Walgren, 16, the Naperville student whose suicide prompted the law, have apparently reached a settlement in an ongoing lawsuit surrounding his death. An item on the upcoming City Council agenda directs Naperville and School District 203 to each make a one-time payment of $125,000 to the parents of Walgren, who jumped from the top of a city-owned building after police questioned him about alleged images on his cellphone.

Walgren's parents, Douglas and Shannon, were not contacted until after he was questioned the lawsuit alleged.

Walgren's death recently prompted a new law in Illinois that makes it a requirement for the parent or guardian of a student to be present for police questioning. The law and settlement come after a lawsuit filed by the teen's parents that claimed his death was caused by "extreme intolerable and excessive emotional and psychological distress" during the interrogation.

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Walgren had been accused of having illegal pornographic images on his cellphone depicting him filming a female student without consent, but police say they ultimately found no illegal images on his phone.

The settlement, up for final approval on the City Council agenda for Sept. 3, was signed by Walgren's parents on Aug. 23, according to city council documents.

The settlement, which would dismiss wrongdoing by Naperville and District 203 in Walgren's death, must be signed by officials from city council and the school district, and then approved by a DuPage County probate court before it goes into effect.