Edwardsville mother wanted her son to go to prison to save his life

She has dedicated her career as a social worker to improving the social safety net.

Why did her son Kaden, 18, have to go through this crisis?

“If my son hadn’t been caught, I can’t imagine what would have happened, given all the warning signs I raised,” said Sarah, 43, who was sitting by her pool with friends on Thursday evening.

Kaden had been on the decline for a long time. On May 16, he was shot and killed in an apartment complex in Wood River. Aside from an earlier statement that it was not a random act of violence, the police chief has not provided any updated information.

“There were so many opportunities to save his life,” his mother said. “Nobody took it seriously.”

Her son suffered from drug addiction for years and had behavioral problems that landed him in the Madison County juvenile justice system and later in the St. Louis County Jail. His father served time in federal prison for drugs, but his mother said Kaden has good support – if he would accept it.

Although Sarah works in rehabilitation, helping offenders get back on their feet after prison, she wished her son had spent more time behind bars. She said she begged officials to arrest him in the weeks before his death.

“I knew Kaden was a threat,” she said. “I do this work for a living.”

She recently left the leadership team at Concordance and will soon become Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Ministry.

She said she sent Kaden to nine inpatient rehab programs across the country, from California to Florida to St. Charles. None of them were successful. Early last year, she said, she resuscitated him after an overdose. She said he was released from the hospital without further treatment and has since taken at least three more overdoses.

Last fall, he was charged in St. Louis County with two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, including one count in which he was allegedly intoxicated at the time, and he allegedly threatened his girlfriend. What’s notable about this incident is that his mother said officers initially took him to the hospital for a few days to stabilize his condition and then took him to jail.

During that time, she saw great progress and potential. She said her son got the sleep he desperately needed — in the same place, night after night — “away from the people, places and things” that sustained his addiction. She said he gained some structure by working in the kitchen. During visits, she said, he seemed open to the idea of ​​taking medication to treat his opioid addiction.

“Prison gave him this space, so we as a family had the opportunity to intervene,” Sarah said. “I’ve never seen him make so much progress.”

She said he was in jail for about three months until the Bail Project helped secure his release in January. She said she didn’t want that to happen, but allowed him to use her home as an address. She said he violated the terms of his release and even removed his ankle bracelet, but that didn’t result in a revocation.

Five days after a court date in mid-April, Sarah wrote to a supervisor at the St. Louis County District Attorney’s Office, who shared her concerns with a judge.

“Kaden has behaved in several dangerous and concerning ways that I firmly believe endanger his own safety, that of his family, and that of his victim in his currently open case,” Sarah wrote, according to a transcript of the email chain. “Kaden has sent videos of himself holding and firing a gun and has sent her text messages threatening to kill her.

“She reports seeing him drive past her house several times in the evening wearing a ski mask. This was reported to the Crestwood Police Department, but they did nothing to provide protection. On the day of his court hearing, I also found a loaded gun in his room and he was asked not to return to my residence.”

She went on to say that her son was “mentally ill, armed, dangerous and likely delusional.” She called for an arrest warrant to be issued “so that Kaden can be arrested and threats eliminated.”

“I am not sure what will help him, but his current condition is extremely concerning and I will continue to ask for help as I refuse to stand by and watch something tragic unfold,” she wrote.

On Monday, May 13, Kaden came back to his mother’s house to wish her a belated Happy Mother’s Day. She said the visit initially went well. Then his behavior changed for the worse. She offered him support for “any healthy decision he would make” and told him he was headed toward two destinations: prison or death.

She told him to leave. She then called Edwardsville police, hoping they would arrest him. A dispatcher confirmed that there was a St. Louis County warrant for Kaden’s arrest, but the “physical document” was missing, according to a 911 report. The Edwardsville dispatcher noted that a county archivist could “attempt to resolve the issue” the next day when the courts were open.

Kaden was not arrested that night. After pacing outside, someone finally came to pick him up.

Two days later, he called his mother and told her he had arrived at one of the targets: a holding cell in Richmond Heights. Kaden and another man, who were allegedly searching for unlocked cars, were charged with trespassing.

“Thank God he was arrested,” she recalled. “He’s going to jail and we can sleep tonight. At least we know he’s safe.”

A search of records by Richmond Heights police confirmed that Kaden had warrants out of St. Louis County for a felony weapons offense. Richmond Heights records also confirm that he was arrested at headquarters for “trespassing and fleeing.” Richmond Heights records also state that Kaden was released on a summons for trespassing and was held “pending pickup” by St. Louis County.

But Kaden didn’t make it to prison.

Instead of taking him to the hospital this time to stabilize him, Sarah said she was told he was being released from Richmond Heights because he was “under the influence of drugs and medically unable to remain in custody.”

“They have failed to protect and serve like they have plastered their car,” she said. “No wonder we are a vulnerable community.”

Richmond Heights did not return a call to the Post-Dispatch seeking comment on the matter.

The last time Sarah spoke to Kaden was around 8 p.m. on May 16, the night he died. She said she was non-confrontational. She said she told him she wanted to help him if he was willing. She said they agreed to go out to dinner on his birthday, which was in two days.

She said she texted him afterwards to say she loved him, sent him a photo of him and his siblings and said she wished his life was simpler, like it was when he was much younger.

She said he responded and wanted the same.

Eight hours later, at 4:30 a.m., the coroner drove to the mother’s pleasant neighborhood and knocked on her door in the 100 block of Friars Lane.

“I hear people talking about justice, and over the last few days I’ve really been thinking about what that might look like for Kaden and our family,” Sarah said during her son’s eulogy. “I want answers, but the reality is that reacting to the circumstances that led to Kaden’s death is not going to change what we have to live with going forward.”

Changing the way we respond to people in crisis at multiple levels of the safety net, she said, “could prevent this from happening to another family.”