MATTHEW DEGNER - 14 yo/ Disabled - Berwyn IL

BERWYN, Illinois - A 49-year-old suburban Chicago woman has been
charged with criminal abuse, neglect and child endangerment after her
disabled teenage son died amid squalid conditions in their home. Matthew
Degner, 14, was pronounced dead at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn Thursday
afternoon after he was found dead in his back yard. He was lying
outside, wearing only a T-shirt, according to CBS affiliate WBBM.

The teen's mother, Lydia Price was charged on Monday with two felony counts
of criminal abuse and neglect of a disabled person and three
misdemeanor counts of endangering the health of a child, Cook County
prosecutors said.
She was released on $100,000 bail after a bond hearing in Maywood on Monday.
An autopsy Friday determined Degner died of bronchopneumonia and his death
was ruled natural, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Authorities said three of the teen's siblings were removed from the home, WBBM reported.
Three children have been placed under the care of the Department of
Children and Family Services. An 18-year-old was hospitalized for an undisclosed illness.
Five children between the ages of 12 and 18, including Degner, were living in the house with their mother.
In addition, about 200 animals were found living inside the home amid
squalid conditions, in what animal welfare officials said was one of the
worst cases they've ever seen.
At least one Cockatiel -- one of 74 birds found inside -- was missing virtually all the feathers
on its back. Its spine was visible from malnutrition. Four rabbits, a
guinea pig and two dogs were encrusted with feces.
One hundred and nine cats found in the house had to be put down, WBBM
reported. They were never socialized and attacked investigators. They
also had feline AIDS and leukemia, said Linda Estrada, president and
director of the Animal Welfare League.
Neighbors said they never even knew so many children were living in the house, in such horrible conditions.
"They looked sad, depressed, like something was wrong. They never talked to
any of the other children," neighbor Denia Lopez said.
Neighbors said their mother was always gardening. They thought the strong odor at
the house was from manure used for gardening, not a home overrun by animals.
"My heart weeps for the children, the animals. That was a hell hole," Estrada said.
All of the surviving animals are up for adoption at the Animal Welfare
League in Chicago Ridge. Several rare kinkajous -- nocturnal rainforest
mammals found in South America also known as honey bears -- were also
found in the home. They were sent to a shelter out of state.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20104995-504083.html

Berwyn, IL — Lydia Price, the mother of a Berwyn boy who was found dead in his home last week of bronchial pneumonia, will appear in court Wednesday on charges of neglect and animal hoarding.

Price, 47, was charged Monday with two felonies and six misdemeanor counts related to neglect and animal cruelty. She posted $10,000 bond today to be released from Cook County Jail, with a preliminary court hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning.

James Young may have been the closest thing to a mentor for family members of Matthew Degner, a 14-year-old Berwyn boy who was found dead outside a squalid home in the 2800 block of Lombard Avenue on Thursday that was filled with more than 200 animals and all of their waste.

The case is so severe it’s left the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services warning about the dangers of extreme social isolation.

Young was a neighbor to the family who befriended two of Degner’s teenage sisters while they sold boxed household items on a street corner near his home.

According to multiple sources, including Young, Matthew was mentally disabled and unable to care for himself. Young also said none of the Degner children went to school.

“I felt a draw to them and I knew they needed help ... but I had no idea what was going on,” he said. “They were wonderful kids.”

Four additional children ages 12 to 18 were found in the home, along with their 77-year-old grandmother. The minors are now in the custody of DCFS, and have all been treated and released from MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn. The 18-year-old and 77-year-old were also treated, but their condition is not known.

All 109 cats found on the property had to be euthanized because they all had feline leukemia and feline AIDS. Price also was hoarding dogs, exotic birds, squirrels, rats, a large raccoon, brown bats, rabbits and two kinkajous — raccoon-like animals that are found in South America. According to a Berwyn news release, some of the other animals were also euthanized “due to tumors, rabies or other potential diseases which can be transmitted to humans.”A police official, however, said the public is not in danger.

The Animal Welfare League of Chicago has been heading the release of some feral animals back into the wild and taking domesticated ones into custody.

Although the house had running water, the toilets were not working. Police officials said the kids were found with their feet caked in human and animal feces and their bodies were covered in animal bites and scratches.

Price initially pulled Matthew’s body outside the home so that emergency service personnel would not have to come inside, police said. The boy was pronounced dead at 4:39 p.m. Thursday at MacNeal Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

Conditions at the house were so bad that the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office requested the home be sealed off pending the outcome of Matthew’s autopsy for fear communicable diseases may be present. It was later determined that Degner died of bronchial pneumonia.

The case was so unusual that many seasoned professionals were shocked by the conditions inside the home and the suffering of Matthew and his family members.

Kendall Marlowe, a DCFS spokesman, found the case so compelling he decided to make an additional statement about the need to check in on neighbors.

“Social isolation is one of the most powerful risk factors for serious harm to children,” he said. “If we as a community never knock on that door that no one ever seems to open, we may never know how bad it is or how we can help.”

Marlowe said the three minor children are receiving medical treatment and psychological counseling while they are in the custody of the state. Information about the 18-year-old sibling and grandmother’s whereabouts was not immediately available.

On Monday, Price was charged with one felony county of criminal neglect of a disabled child resulting in death, one felony count of criminal neglect of a disabled child not resulting in death, four misdemeanor counts of endangering the life of a child, one misdemeanor count of companion animal hoarding and one misdemeanor count of cruel treatment.

Rigoberto Cisneros, who lived a few doors down from the Degner family, described them as aloof and secretive.

“If you said ‘hi’ to them, they just wouldn’t say anything back,” Cisneros said.

A crowd of children that gathered outside the home on Friday as emergency service personnel investigated. All said they had never met the family or any of the children.

Young, who seemed to be the only neighbor with a connection to any members of the family, wanted to help but only encountered the two girls on the street. He said he never spoke to Price, or any other members of the family.

The children described themselves as not having any friends, Young added.

“It’s a shame that the family is broken up now,” he said. “These kids never looked like they lived in squalor. They looked clean and healthy to me.”

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/berwyn/features/x219212668/14-year-old-Berwyn-boy-found-dead-at-house-filled-with-animals

September 13, 2011|By Christy Gutowski, Carlos Sadovi and James Jaworski, Tribune reporters
Lydia Price's neighbors said Monday that they thought something was amiss inside her small brick bungalow on South Lombard Street in Berwyn.

Price's children were rarely seen, and when they did come to the backyard, it was often at odd hours, the neighbors said.

On Thursday, one of those children was found unresponsive in the yard wearing only a T-shirt and was later pronounced dead of natural causes related to bronchopneumonia.

Authorities said the mentally disabled boy and his four siblings, ranging from 12 to 18, never went to school and were forced to live in filth among more than 200 animals — many of them dead. The home, officials said, was covered with feces and infested with spiders.

Price, 49, was charged Monday with criminal neglect of a disabled child, a felony, as well as misdemeanors alleging child endangerment, animal hoarding and cruel treatment. Cook County Judge Pamela Leeming set a $100,000 bail.

"Their feet (were) caked with feces and dirt," Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Hodal said. "Most of the plumbing, including the toilets, (was) broken, as were the washer and dryer, the oven and two of the refrigerators."

Hodal said the children slept on the floor because the bedrooms were used to house 109 cats, three dogs, 39 cockatiels, a large raccoon, two raccoonlike kinkajous and other exotic animals. Many of the animals were so diseased and malnourished they had to be euthanized, including all the cats, police said.

Meanwhile, the body of Matthew Degner, 14, remained unclaimed Monday at the county medical examiner's office. Three other children, all girls, were in state protective custody. One of the girls has autism. An 18-year-old brother remained hospitalized.

Officials said it was unclear whether the animals or living conditions were responsible for the children's illnesses.

Horacio Hernandez said he and his neighbors contacted police because they were concerned about what was happening in the home.

"People seem to think this neighborhood, and Berwyn, knew what was going on but didn't say anything," Hernandez said. "That's just not true."

Neighbor Antonio Andrade said he contacted police several times, even as recently as last month. He said his concerns were dismissed as a neighborhood dispute.

"It's a shame that boy had to die," Hernandez said. "Enough people had complained for them to look into it."

Berwyn police Chief James Ritz said Monday that his department had never gotten complaints about the family.

Authorities painted a horrific picture of what police discovered inside the home last week. All of the children were "shoeless and dirty," covered in scratches and animal bites, officials said. They never got regular medical treatment, authorities said.

The children's elderly grandmother also lived in the bungalow. Price was divorced from the children's father, Robert Degner, 59, who is serving a 22-year prison term for a home invasion in summer 2007, court records show.

The sister-in-law of the children's father said she called a child-welfare hotline she thought was run by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services in summer 2007 after Robert Degner's arrest, but she said her complaint fell on deaf ears.

Susan Degner, of Plainfield, described a dysfunctional family that relatives had not had any contact with for several years.

Kendall Marlowe, a DCFS spokesman, said the agency has no record of a call made by Degner in 2007 and that officials would be able to track it only if an official report was taken. Of the 250,000 annual hotline calls, typically about 1 in 4 results in a report, he said.

"There had to be specific and actionable information of child abuse or neglect in order for us to take a report and initiate an investigation," Marlowe said.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-09-13/news/ct-met-berwyn-hoarding-charges-0913-2-20110913_1_animal-hoarding-animal-hoarding-exotic-animals

Posted Dec 15, 2011 @ 10:51 AM



Berwyn, IL — Lydia Price, the Berwyn mother charged with neglect in the death of her 14-year-old son, Matthew Degner, has been allowed visitation rights with her remaining children.

Judge Nora Valeria Love this morning made an amendment to Price’s bond that states under set times and conditions, Price is allowed to leave the state to visit her 18-year-old son, Nathaniel Degner, in Indiana for two scheduled visits each week.

A juvenile court earlier allowed Price three visits per week with her three minor children.

Matthew Degner was found unresponsive behind the family home in the 2800 block of Lombard Avenue. Police officers later discovered squalid conditions within the home, including more than 200 animals, an infestation of hissing cockroaches and the four other children whose feet were covered in human and animal feces.

Price has been charged with 11 felonies in relation to his death.

Steven A. Greenberg, Price's attorney, said Nathaniel is staying with relatives “six feet” over the border and wanted to prevent the two from having to meet at a truck stop near the border.

Prosecutors and Greenberg also swapped evidence in the discovery process, which is expected to continue through Price's next court date on Feb. 2.

Greenberg also said he expects the case to go through a full trial.

“(Price) is charged with negligence, which implies an accident,” Greenberg said. “We punish reckless behavior, but I find punishing accidents unfair ... . There's a system in place to deal with that and why not just let that work?”

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/berwyn/newsnow/x645109775/Lydia-Price-allowed-to-leave-state-visit-children

What is wrong with the judge? This woman should be locked up for a long time. Why is she allowed visitation with her children when she treated them no better than dead animals. That poor boy died from pure neglect. I don't understand why there aren't hundreds of charges about the animals since so many of them died again from neglect.

That home was the most disgusting place I've ever heard of but those hissing cockroaches. I would have run like the dickens and never looked back. This is just horrific. I think the mother should be in jail for a long time and those children should be cleaned up and placed with a normal loving family so they can learn how to socialize and live in society. Sounds like they have lived like dirty caged animals. Horrible!

It's disgusting! I don't understand the lack of charges either, but it seems about par for the course...I hate to see the children that come out of these environments split up. They generally have an extraordinarily tight bond as a result of their struggle to survive. Such a sad story. Hopefully they are being well cared for and integrated into a family/society which will embrace and empower them.

Lydia Price, Berwyn mom accused of animal hoarding and neglect, appears in court

By Brett Schweinberg, bschweinberg@mysuburbanlife.com
Posted May 01, 2012 @ 12:11 PM

Berwyn, IL — Lydia Price, the Berwyn mother facing 11 felony charges of neglect after her son Matthew Degner died outside a house allegedly brimming with 212 animals, seven people and no working toilets, appeared in court today.

Her case was continued, pending further discovery of evidence, until June 6. No pre-trial motions have been entered to date.

Prosecutors told Judge Noreen Love that they are still waiting for the agencies that worked the case to file evidence, without naming specific agencies.

Price appeared in court in a blue sweatshirt, matching blue sweatpants and a puffy black jacket. Her hair pulled back in a scrunchy, Price waited nearly two hours for her case to be called.

Price did not take off her jacket while in the courtroom or during her hearing in front of the judge, which lasted mere minutes.

No trial date has been set, and it could be several more months before a date is set.

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/berwyn/newsnow/x272276559/Lydia-Price-Berwyn-mom-accused-of-animal-hoarding-and-neglect-appears-in-court