Steven SpearieState Journal-Register
Hunter Lee Drew was the life of the party.
That's what Kiel Quigley remembers about his three-year-old nephew dancing around his wedding reception in Sherman less than two weeks ago.
"He was running around double fisting cupcakes on the dance floor, laughing, giggling, giving out hugs to everyone who wanted them," recalled Quigley, a Springfield restaurant worker who lives in Mt. Auburn, his eyes lighting up.
It would be the final time Quigley saw Hunter. This week, he and his family finalized the child's funeral arrangements.
Sitting and replaying the events of the last several days -- including the incident that led to Hunter's death Thursday and the arrest of 33-year-old Ashley Nichole Bottoms, the girlfriend of Hunter's biological father -- Quigley becomes somber.
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"Devastated, lost, confused, hurt and a little bit guilty," said Quigley, of how he was feeling.
Bottoms faces involuntary manslaughter and endangering the life of a child causing death charges. She had a first appearance before Seventh Judicial Circuit CourtAssociate Judge Joshua Meyer in Carlinville Monday and will be back in front of the judge Nov. 10. Bottoms remains jailed on a $250,000 bond.
Charging documents show that Bottoms was breaking up a fight between two juveniles at the Carlinville home when she allegedly threw Hunter against a half wall. His head struck a ledge, leading to blunt force trauma and a brain bleed, causing his death.
Hunter lived with Quigley and his then-girlfriend and now-wife, Hailee Quigley, for a little less than a year before the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services placed him with Christopher Gunn, his biological father, and Bottoms, in Carlinville.
William McCaffrey, a spokesman for DCFS, confirmed that a court ordered Hunter reunified with his father in August after a service plan and home safety checklist was initiated in July. McCaffrey said a case worker visited the home six times in September and October to ensure Hunter was in a safe environment.
Hunter had come to live with the Quigleys on Oct. 6, 2021 after Alisha Drew, Kiel Quigley's sister and Hunter's biological mother, said DCFS threatened to take Hunter if she couldn't come up with a suitable place for him to go that wasn't her home. Hunter was made a ward of the state on April 6.
Quigley, speaking with The State Journal-Register Monday, said he had bad feelings about Hunter's move to Carlinville earlier in the summer.
More:Hunter Drew timeline
"I sat on my couch a week before Hunter moved out," Quigley said, "and I told his case worker that this was going to happen if they sent that child down there. My gut told me this would happen. I knew it would not have a good outcome.
"When I brought that up to DCFS, the case worker sat on my couch and she promised me that he would remain in the care and custody of DCFS for the next six months, that he would remain in after-care, that they would ensure that he was getting to the doctors he was supposed to, that they would ensure he was getting into the school and educational programs he needed to be in and that they would do once-a-week scheduled visits and at least two unscheduled visits in that house to check on that child.
"Where were they? Where was DCFS on this one? They promised me that they would keep an eye on this child and not let something like this happen."
"If they didn't want him," Hailee Quigley interjected, "all they had to say is that they didn't want him."
Before Hunter, eight children died under the watch of DCFS from December to July.
“The Department of Children and Family Services is deeply committed to protecting vulnerable children and strengthening families, and the loss of any child is tragic," McCaffrey said, in a written statement.
Kiel Quigley said Hunter had medical issues that were being addressed under his and his wife's care.
Hunter had surgery to remove adenoids. Tubes were inserted into his ears because, Quigley said, doctors determined Hunter was about 90% deaf.
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Hunter also was extremely lactose intolerant, leading to a significant change in diet.
"We got him into daycare our kids went to (in Springfield)," Quigley added. "On the first day, he was confused. He had never seen that many kids in one place. He had never seen that many adults in one place. He had never seen that many toys. He had never seen that many people running around and laughing. It confused and kind of scared him.
"Our then three-year-old took him by the hand and said, 'C'mon Bud, let's go play.' From that day on, that kid took to that daycare like a duck to water."
Quigley' said his son "is still telling everyone Hunter is his best friend. They would dance, laugh, play, run, hold hands. They did everything together. They were attached."
Macoupin County state's attorney Jordan Garrison said Tuesday authorities were aware Bottoms was in the car with Hunter for over three hours. Videotaped evidence indicated Bottoms was running errands in Carlinville before going to Litchfield to pick up Gunn from work. Other juvenile occupants were in the car during that time period, Garrison confirmed.
Garrison said earlier that when someone in the car told Bottoms that Hunter was unresponsive, she drove to the Litchfield Fire Department to get him medical attention.
Garrison said EMS was called but he didn't know if someone from the fire department alerted them or came as result of a 911 call. Garrison said his office hasn't been delivered the Montgomery County 911 call as of Tuesday morning.
Carlinville Police, Garrison said, has taken lead in the investigation with assistance from the Macoupin County sheriff's deputies.
Garrison said there was "always that possibility" that additional charges against Bottoms could be filed but "at this time, no agency has recommended any other charges than what we have."
Involuntary manslaughteris the unintentional killing of an individual without lawful justification. If convicted, a person could be sentenced for the Class 2 felony to between three and 14 years in prison. Endangering the life of a child causing death, a Class 3 felony, is punishable by between two and 10 years in prison upon conviction.
Meanwhile, a visitation has been planned for Hunter from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday at Davis-Anderson Funeral Home, 226 N. Third St., in Girard. The celebration of life is at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. A final motorcycle ride will follow the service.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for funeral expenses and legal expenses, if any proceeds remain.
Through the grief, Kiel Quigley wonders what might have been.
"There was no reason to take that child away from a family he knew, a household where he was safe, where he was being taken care of and where he was thriving, and put him with monsters who didn't even want him."
Contact StevenSpearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
