Could An Amber Alert Have Saved The Life Of Jovani Ligurgo?

CORAM, NY — After a 2-year-old Long Island boy and his father were found dead in a burning Jeep in Virginia, scores of shocked and heartbroken family, friends, and residents have echoed one question: Why was no Amber Alert issued for the child Tuesday night?

The news of the horrific discovery came about 12 hours after Suffolk Police asked for the public's help to find Jovani Ligurgo when his father failed to return him to his mother's custody Tuesday afternoon.

According to Suffolk Police, Jovani's mother dropped him off at his father's residence on Bretton Woods Drive in Coram at about 7 a.m. Tuesday. When Jovani, who resides with his mother in Smithtown, was not returned to his mother's custody at the predetermined time, 3:30-4 p.m., the mother called police.

Officers responded to a call of a house fire around 3:35 p.m. at 265 Bretton Woods Drive, where the boy's father, 43-year-old John Ligurgo, resided. The home was unoccupied when first responders arrived on the scene.

Toll cameras had captured the Jeep crossing the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey. It was believed that Ligurgo could be in possession of a hunting rifle, police said.

In a tragic ending, a black Jeep Grand Cherokee with NY license plate GAV4699 was found in Rockbridge County, VA with Jovani and John Ligurgo dead inside the SUV. The vehicle was on fire in the backyard of a residential area, and both the bodies inside, including a man and toddler, had gunshot wounds, a report by People.com said.

And the discovery left outrage and disbelief mounting that no Amber Alert had been issued.

During a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, Suffolk Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said her department had asked New York State Police to issue an Amber Alert for Jovani, but that request was denied.

A livid public and lawmakers are demanding a broken system see an overhaul.

According to a report by NBC New York, New York State Sen. Phil Boyle said he was floored by the lack of an alert.

“I was shocked,” Boyle told NBC. “Child had been abducted. House was set ablaze and father had a gun. If that did not mean the child was in danger, I don’t know what did.”

The lawmaker wants to create a commission to review guidelines for issuing an Amber Alert, an urgent bulletin issued to departments and the general public when a child has been kidnapped and is in danger, the post said.

No alert “be on the lookout” bulletin for other police departments was issued, either, the post said.

Suffolk County Police did not immediately return a request for comment on the suggested commission.

Jovani's heartbroken mom is left with her world shattered: "“How many children need to be lost before a law is changed or criteria is changed?" she said in an interview with News12.com. "I'm now without my son for the rest of my life."

Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law spoke out on the "really tragic" outcome.

"We maintain concerns because the Suffolk County Police Department did provide all of the facts relating to the case to the state and the state made a determination not to activate an Amber Alert," she said. "We were told their determination was based on one specific criteria that a period of time had passed since the child had been taken. We have concerns about that."

In Jovani's case, she said, a custody hearing was coming up a day later, "police identified that he had possibly burned his house down, he could have a weapon and he had abducted his son and not returned him to the custodial parent," all reasons to trigger the Amber Alert activation.

If those factors did not meet the current criteria for a statewide Amber Alert in New York, Ahearn said, "This criteria has to change."

She pointed out that the criteria listed on by the New York State Dept. of Justice varies in state to state criteria for Amber Alert activation, including in New York.

"An Amber Alert could be activated for multiple states," she said. For example, even if Ligurgo had passed into New Jersey from New York, Amber Alerts could have perhaps been activated for NY, NJ and Pennsylvania. "We don't know what information they had at the time. We now know he possibly had a weapon and possibly burned a house down."

If the failure to trigger an Amber Alert did hinge on the current criteria that an extended period of time had passed since the abduction, "Perhaps that's a criteria that needs changing," she said. "Why would you not want to active an Amber Alert if you had certain criteria? Why not err on the side of activating?"

Officials set out to explain reasoning this week.

“This is a terrible tragedy and the New York State Police is extremely saddened by the outcome of this case," said Beau Duffy, from the state police's public information office. "Based on the preliminary investigation, at the time the request was made an Amber Alert was not warranted. The father did not have a criminal history, had no history of violence, and had never harmed the child. In addition, once it was established that the vehicle had crossed into New Jersey, the focus of the search moved there. State Police contacted the New York State Intelligence Center to further assist Suffolk PD in their investigation."

While Ahearn said she understands the inclination to not want to "overuse" the Amber Alert — and while Ligurgo may not have had a criminal history, it was known that he "could have a weapon. Having a weapon leads to the satisfaction of criteria that the child could be in danger of serious bodily harm," Ahearn said.

The possibility of a gun and the fact that Ligurgo's home was set on fire were red flags, she said.

"We're in the beginning on an investigation. Once we find out more we need to drill down more on whether there is going to have to be more stringent criteria as it relates to what the dangers are," Ahearn said. "Clearly, Amber Alerts work and we do have cases where there are activations for family abductions."

In fact, Ahearn said, family abductions, with more than 200,000 per year, still represent the highest number of child abductions each year, compared to approximately 100 stranger abductions.

According to Amberalert.gov, "once law enforcement has determined that a child has been abducted and the abduction meets Amber Alert criteria, law enforcement notifies broadcasters and state transportation officials. Amber Alerts interrupt regular programming and are broadcast on radio and television and DOT highway signs. Amber Alerts can also be re-disseminated through lottery, digital billboards, Internet Ad exchanges, Internet Service Providers, Internet search engines, as well as wireless devices such as mobile phones."

A heartbroken and outraged public has turned to social media to demand answers. The question echoes: Could an Amber Alert have saved the toddler?

As of December 23, 2015 there have been 800 children rescued and returned specifically because of Amber Alert, the Amber Alert site said.

And, according to the U.S. Department of Justice statistics listed on the Amber Alert site, 924 children have been rescued specifically because of Amber Alerts through 86 Amber Alert plans throughout the United States, with 53 saved due to wireless emergency alerts.

Suffolk County Police told Patch: "During the press conference, the Commissioner said the state police — who are responsible for issuing Amber Alerts — were given the information and made the decision to not put out an alert. An alert was made to NCIC, the National Crime Information Center, which is a national database available to all law enforcement. When asked what the reason for not putting out the amber alert, reporters were directed to ask state police."

Later, a joint statement was issued from the Suffolk County Police Department and New York State Police: "The Suffolk County Police Department and the New York State Police are extremely saddened by the death of two-year old Jovani Ligurgo. We express our deepest sympathies to his family.

"Throughout this investigation, the Suffolk County Police Department worked quickly and diligently to seek the safe return of Jovani. This includes reaching out to multiple law enforcement partners, including the New York State Police. While circumstances did not trigger an Amber Alert based on the established criteria, the investigation did not stop there," the statement said.

"Both agencies continued to investigate throughout the night and morning to determine the whereabouts of both individuals. These efforts included accessing the resources of the New York State Intelligence Center, and working together with law enforcement agencies throughout the region, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the NYPD. The priority of all involved was to locate the child and father, and ensure their safe return," the statement said.

According standard procedure, both agencies will review the steps and guidelines ensure that best practices were followed, the statement said. "The Suffolk County Police Department and the New York State Police have worked closely on countless cases, and remain committed to continuing our close partnership. We want to reassure the public that every aspect of this investigation will be thoroughly reviewed. Our number one priority is to provide for the safety and security of our residents that we serve," the statement said.

State Police told the Associated Press that Suffolk Police did not provide enough information to meet the criteria for an Amber Alert to be issued.

An AP report in the New York Times said according to state police, Amber Alerts are issued only when an abducted child is in danger of serious bodily harm or death; Suffolk Police "said Ligurgo may have been armed with a hunting rifle, but that they had no indication that he would harm his son."

Each state's Amber Alert plan includes its own criteria for issuing Amber Alerts, Amberalert.gov said.

The PROTECT Act, passed in 2003, which established the role of Amber Alert coordinator within the Department of Justice, calls for the Department of Justice to issue minimum standards or guidelines for Ambert Alerts that states can adopt voluntarily.

According to New York State's criteria to trigger an Amber Alert: "The New York State Amber Alert Plan can be activated when an investigating law enforcement agency has reasonable cause to believe that "an abduction of a child, under the age of 18, has occurred, and the child is believed to be in danger of serious bodily harm or death, either due to the actions of another or due to a proven mental or physical condition. Even if formal activation criteria have been met, activation may be impractical if available information is not specific enough and/or an extended period of time passed since the disappearance."

In addition, "reasonable cause to believe" means that from eyewitness accounts, or by eliminating other possibilities, the investigation leads to the belief that a child has been abducted, the site said.

Familial abductions qualify only if a child is endangered by the actions of the abducting family member, the description reads.

'Whenever an Amber Alert request does not meet activation criteria, requesting agencies are referred to other state police investigative resources and to the Missing Persons Clearinghouse for possible issuance of a Missing Child/College Student Alert, the site said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice's Guidance on criteria for issuing Amber Alerts is as follows, according to the site.

• There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred.
• The law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.
• There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction for law enforcement to issue an Amber Alert to assist in the recovery of the child.
• The abduction is of a child aged 17 years or younger.
• The child’s name and other critical data elements, including the Child Abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime Information Center, or NCIC, system.

Days after the horrifying outcome rocked a community, friends and loved ones are rallying to help a family ripped apart by grief. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Jovani's heartbroken family pay for his funeral arrangements.

"Jovani was a fun, loving, and happy two year old. He loved his mother, brother, family and friends very much. He will be missed terribly by many," the page said.

"I am so sorry for your loss," one person wrote on the page. "I'm heartbroken for you and your family. May your beautiful baby boy rest in peace."

"No words would have meaning," wrote another friend. "I love you all."

Jovani's devastated family is faced with the unthinkable.

"I love you so much baby brother," his brother Anthony Busone wrote on social media. "RIP Jovani."

Patch file photo.