Steven Quinn Jr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remembering Steven

Steven Quinn Jr. was only two years old. He lived with his mother, Kenyatta Brown, her boyfriend Randy Liebich, and his newborn baby sister. At the time Steven became critically ill, his sister was only eleven days old. Steven was just two months away from celebrating his third birthday.

There is painfully little preserved publicly about the ordinary parts of Steven's life what made him laugh, what toys he loved, what foods he refused to eat simply because he was two, or what kind of little boy his family saw every day. Instead, much of what remains about Steven is buried inside decades of court records debating how he died and whether the man convicted of killing him actually caused his death. Steven deserves to exist separately from that controversy. He was a little boy first.

His name was Steven Quinn Jr., and his life mattered regardless of what ultimately happened inside a courtroom.

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Steven's Story

On February 8, 2002, Steven's mother went to work, leaving two year old Steven and his 11 day old baby sister in the care of her boyfriend, Randy Liebich. When Kenyatta returned from work that afternoon, Steven was seriously ill.  He was lethargic, had vomit in his mouth and was breathing abnormally. Randy told medical personnel that Steven had choked while eating a piece of hot dog earlier that day. Steven was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago. Doctors discovered that something was seriously wrong with his brain, and he was transferred to Rush University Medical Center for specialized neurological treatment. His condition was critical. Doctors performed neurosurgery in an attempt to relieve the pressure building inside Steven's skull. But Steven never recovered. On February 11, 2002, three days after he was hospitalized, Steven Quinn Jr. died.

The investigation initially concluded that Steven had suffered severe physical abuse. The medical examiner who performed Steven's autopsy determined that he had died from multiple injuries caused by blunt-force trauma to his head and abdomen. Doctors involved in Steven's treatment also believed he had suffered an acute traumatic brain injury. Randy Liebich, who had been alone with Steven for much of the day Steven became critically ill, quickly became the focus of the investigation. He maintained that he had not hurt Steven. Nevertheless, prosecutors concluded that Randy had inflicted the injuries that killed the toddler. But years later, the medical evidence surrounding Steven's death would be questioned. And that changed the case dramatically.

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Questions About What Happened to Steven

Years after Randy's conviction, additional medical experts reviewed Steven's records. Their conclusions challenged the original theory that Steven had suffered an acute head injury while Randy was caring for him. One forensic pathologist concluded that Steven's cause of death should have been considered undetermined. Another expert testified that he was “absolutely certain” Steven died of natural causes that had been misdiagnosed. Other experts proposed that an abdominal injury or medical condition—not an acute traumatic blow to Steven's head that day could have caused the brain swelling that ultimately resulted in his death. The medical opinions were not unanimous. The original medical examiner continued to maintain that Steven died from blunt-force trauma. That distinction matters. We cannot responsibly say today that we know exactly what happened to Steven. What we can say is that the medical evidence ultimately became disputed enough to undermine the certainty of the original murder conviction. 

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Justice, Conviction & Exoneration

Randy Liebich was prosecuted for Steven's death. In 2004, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 65 years in prison. For approximately 14 years, that conviction stood. Then the case was reopened. Randy's attorneys presented medical evidence that his original defense lawyers had failed to investigate and present at trial. In September 2018, a DuPage County judge ruled that Randy had been denied a fair trial and vacated his murder conviction, ordering a new trial.

The prosecution initially continued pursuing the case. Eventually, however, the state elected not to retry Randy for Steven's death. Federal court records later described the new medical evidence as undermining the prosecution's original theory of how Steven suffered the brain injury that led to his death.

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Person originally charged: Randy Liebich
Relationship to Steven: Mother's boyfriend/caregiver
Original conviction: First degree murder
Original sentence: 65 years
2018: Conviction vacated and new trial ordered
Final outcome: State elected not to retry the case

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Forever Remembered

Steven's story is unusual among the children remembered here. For years, the public record presented a seemingly straightforward story: A two year-old child was abused. He died.

His mother's boyfriend was convicted of murdering him. But years later, that certainty unraveled.

Medical experts disagreed about what actually caused Steven's death. Evidence that had not been presented to the original court raised serious questions about whether the prosecution's theory had been correct. And ultimately, the conviction was vacated. That history deserves to be told accurately.

But there is something even more important beneath all of it. Steven Quinn Jr. died. He was two years old. He was someone's son.  He was a brand new big brother. He was only weeks away from his third birthday. Whether Steven's death resulted from inflicted injuries, an undiagnosed medical condition, or some combination of circumstances that can no longer be determined with certainty, Steven himself should never disappear behind the argument over who was responsible. His memorial does not require us to choose a side where the evidence no longer allows certainty. It requires us to remember the child. His name was Steven Quinn Jr. And Abuse Angels remembers the little boy whose short life became the center of a legal and medical controversy that continued for decades after his death.