Willie Durden - 2005

When "gurgling" sound came from the 17 year old Willie Durden's cell, the guards believed that he making fun of them.

But it wasn't a prank and how they dared to gamble remains a mystery.

What also was a mystery was the cause of death. The autopsy report took long to make and it did show that he died from enlarged heart. The report did puzzle the lawmakers and in another case also from Florida the public learned that autopsy reports sometime are altered to make the state look better. In the case of Willie Durden there was no video showing his last minutes which could prove the autopsy report wrong, so we have to settle for the state's version of what went wrong.

As for consequences against the guards for delaying the CPR it is difficult to determine if his death had consequence for them at all.

It is a sad story.

May he rest in peace.

Sources:

• Victims 2005-9 Fornits Wiki
• Jail Guards Delayed CPR on Limp Teen The Associated Press, August 22, 2006
• Teen's late autopsy file puzzles some lawmakers The Florida Times-Union, March 17, 2006

Harry Tyrone Rutledge - 2006

For reasons unknown to us 15 year old Harry Rutledge ended up at Azleway Boys' Ranch.

The ranch markets itself with:

• A rural setting
• An on-campus school
• Structured homework time
• Family style outings
• Structured therapeutic recreation
• Boys Scout Troop
• Basketball goals
• Tennis courts
• Covered pavilion
• Recreation Center
• Athletic fields
• Sunday morning worship
• Wednesday evening chapel

It certainly sounds nice, but for the boy and one of his friends the distance and isolation from their family and friends - their entire social network became too much.

They were killed when they were hit by a train. Was it a suicide or an escape attempt going wrong?

We cannot know.

What we do know are that it was a tragedy for their family and a reminder to us to do everything possible to avoid residential care.

May they rest in peace.

Sources:

• Victims 2005-9 (Fornits Wiki)
• Chief Of Police Talked To Azleway Runaways Killed By Train (KLTV 7)

Jonathan Avila - 1994

We will not know what young Mr. Avila told his parents when they left him at the Rocky Mountain Academy in 1994, but it not difficult to understand that his parents would remember his final sentence forever.

Did he tell her that he loved them or did he threaten to do himself in?

Will they forever blame themselves why they didn't see the signals of a possible suicide attempt coming up.

When people walk the campus today they can still see the marks of the rope he used to hang himself from if they know where to look. It is left as part memory off but also warning against the consequences of being left there.

We do not know the circumstances that brought young Mr. Avila to the facility, but we do know that they were not suited to handle teenagers with emotional problems so huge that they could end up with suicide attempts.

Maybe the facility oversold themselves or the family pushed too their son too far when they forced him to participate in a program they could not in anyway fully understand what would include.

This tragedy should be a lesson to parents. You are not in control when you leave your child at the mercy of professionals in any program. Maybe they will succeed, maybe they will not. In this case they did not and it did cost young Mr. Avila his life.

Yet another young man did not reach adulthood and to live his life as he would have hopes for.

May he rest in peace.

Sources:
BOY HANGS HIMSELF IN DORMITORY, The Spokesman-Review - July 19, 1994
Victims in the 1990s, Fornits Wiki

Lenny Ortega - 2006

Lenny Ortega died when he was only 16 years of age.

His death was the second death at Star Ranch. It was an accidental death. The poor boy was swept away by a creek and downed.

The case was investigated and the conclusion was that the boy hadn't been properly protected and warned against the dangerous waters, so the Ranch was closed down.

It was a tragic accident and a terrible loss for his family.

May he rest in peace.

Sources:

• Youth swept down creek dies (By Gerard MacCrossan, Kerrville Daily Times, June 1, 2006 - from Hope4Kidz)
• Victims 2005-9 (Fornits Wiki)

Angellika Arndt - 2006

This memorial website was created in the memory of our loved one, Angellika (Angie). That is the first line on her memorial site. It is rare to learn of such a meaningless, unnecessary and tragic death as she met only aged 7.

After a rough start she found a family where she was loved. She lived a normal family life.

The dark clouds came when it was recommended that she should receive some treatment to prepare her for life in school. Her family approached what they believed was professional, but they were fooled by the marketing Northwest’s Rice Lake Clinic used to get patients to their firm.

The problems started as soon as she entered the clinic. According to a DHFS report, Angie was restrained nine times for one to two hours each time, once for “gargling milk” and was put in 18 “timeouts”, all within 31 days.

That is not a professional approach. Problems at a child aged 7 are not met with restraints and time-outs. It is a slow process gaining the trust by the child which is needed. However a professional approach demands properly trained staff and it seems that that was something the management of this clinic was not prepared to pay for.

She was crushed to death under a staff member basically because there was a management too focused on profit.

It was meaningless. It was unnecessary. It was a tragedy.

May she rest in peace.

• Her memorial site
• Victims 2005-2009 (Fornits Wiki)
• Death of 7-year old Angellika Arndt results in closure of Northwest’s Rice Lake Clinic Press-release by CAICA on Webwire