Carrie Lynn Gaines

Born May 19 1988

Killed March 1990

*Winnebago county coroner Sue Fiduccia still visits Carrie Lynn Gaines' grave and asks: "Where is the justice for this little girl?"

Here are some of the articles from the local paper!

Coroner: Toddler died slowly
Thursday May 16, 1996
One to three days: Carrie Lynn Gaines 'came to her death by homicide' after being kicked and beaten, an inquest reports.
Rockford-----Twenty two month old Carrie Lynn Gaines was kicked repeatedly in the chest and stomach, a coroner's report says, and may have suffered for days before dying six years ago.
"We believe it was one to three days," Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia said. Carrie's death was not reported for about 5 and a half years, and her body was found last fall in a shallow grave behind a house on Arthur Avenue.
In a five-minute proceeding Wednesday morning, a coroner's jury ruled Carrie "came to her death by homicide."
The coroner's report doesn't identify the sources of the information, but Deputy Coroner Ron Canode said it is based on interviews with Carrie's mother- Sherri, police investigators and others who police said had information about the crime.
The report says the mother's boyfriend, Richard Lee Howard, arrived home intoxicated late in the evening and physically abused the child's mother, six months pregnant with a half-brother that Carrie would never know.
Sherri was knocked to the floor before the abuse was turned on Carrie, the report says. Howard then left the house, threatening to harm Sherri and his unborn child if she told what happened, it says. Carrie's 3 year old sister was asleep in another room on Searles Avenue.
Howard, 41, is charged with first-degree murder in Carrie's death. He remains in Winnebago County Jail on $500,000 bond. He has pleaded not guilty and is set for trial in september.
Howard has talked to a Register Star reporter several times, but has declined to explain what happened the night Carrie died, saying only that he has become a scapegoat.
"The reason it was never reported is knowing how DCFS works. Sherri and I didn't want to lose our daughter and son who was on the way. I cannot tell you what happened. The truth will come out."
The exact dates of the alleged beating and subsequent death are unknown, but are believed to be in the second week of March 1990.
The coroner's report says Carrie began vomiting after the beating, and Sherri wanted to get emergency care for the child. But when Howard returned, he again threatened Sherri and the unborn baby, the report says.
The day after Carrie's death, Howard took Gaines to show her a freshly dug hole in the back yard of a home in the 1300 block of Arthur Ave, where he knew the residents, the report says. Police say the residents were unaware of Carrie's death or that she was buried there.
Carrie still wrapped in a pink and purple blanket that Sherri crocheted for her, Howard took Carrie from Sherri's arms, and placed her in a cardboard box, and left. On his return, "nothing more was said" about Carrie's death.
Fiduccia said Sherri said she was too afraid of repercussions to report Carrie's death.(Sherri had a 3 year old and a baby on the way, she felt she had to protect them, so she had to be careful in whatever she did or whoever she talked to)
When asked by friends or relatives about the whereabouts of the little girl, Howard and Sherri said the child was visiting relatives. The couple separated in March 1995.
Cheryce Mercaitis, identified as a longtime friend of Sherri, said she once asked about Carrie out of earshot of Rick Howard. She said Sherri told her it is better for Carrie to stay with relatives, because Rick and Carrie didn't get along."
Rockford police and Winnebago County sheriffs deputies dug up the body Oct 24 after an anonymous letter to Crime Stoppers five days earlier. The mother was identified in the letter, Fiducia said. The mother later either took ploice to the burial site or told them where it was, she said.
Sherri's description of the blanket helped with identification of the body, Fiduccia said. The mother has not been charged, and police say she is co-operating with the investigation.
Mercaitis said she called the Illinois Department of Children and family Services in 1990 to report her suspicions about Carrie. DCFS has no record of the call, but acknowledged the report may have fallen through the cracks.
After the discovery of Carrie's body, DCFS took custody of Sherri's other 2 children....(the daughter she had before she met Rick, and the son she had of Rick's)
Besides Fiduccia, the six member jury and the media, Two citizens were present Wednesday at the coroner's inquest. One was Bea Hakes of Bereaved Parents and survivors of Suicide, and the other was indentified by Fiduccia as a concerned citizen who occasionally attends inquests.
"Atleast people cared enough to come," Fiduccia said.
Johnny Ray Gaines, father of Carrie and the older girl, was notified by mail of the coroner's inquest but did not attend or call, Fiduccia said. She didn't know if he still is in Rockford, but he had been staying with his mother on Kishwaukee Street, where the notification was sent.
Johnny Gaines had not seen Carrie since she was one and a half years old. He and Sherri were still married last year, but had been separated since 1989.
Last fall, Johnny Gaines, who was living with another woman near Decatur, said he provided NO financial assistance for his two children by his wife. He has seven other children from three other relationships.
At the inquest, one of the coroner's jurors, said the more she learned about the child's life and death, the more incredulous she felt. "Nobody could imagine," she said.
Fiduccia said Carrie's death is one of the most difficult cases she has encountered in the 24 years she's been associated with the coroner's office. She characterized it as "horrendous."
"The more we read, the more we talked with the officers, the more difficult it became for all of us," Fiduccia said.
A fund was set up to bury Carrie,(as of May 16 1996) For now, her body remains in a box at the morgue at the request of Public Defender Gary Pumilia, whose office represents Howard. The Murder trial is expected to begin in september.
"We still do have her," Ficuccia said.
She is in a secure place and is being watched over."
Every couple of days, someone opens the drawer where Carrie's remains lie and places a fresh flower on top.
Inside the box, a teddy bear keeps Carrie company.

Richard Lee Howard

Kid killer gets life sentence
Saturday, Nov. 1, 1997 written by Antionette Taylor-Thomas
Were certainly happy': Richard Howard was convicted of fatally beating 22 month old Carrie Lynn Gaines
Rockford----- The next time Richard Howard leaves the confines of prison walls, he will be dead.( atleast this reporter thought so)!
Associate Circuit Judge Rosemary Collins sentenced Howard, 42, to natural life in prison without parole. He stood motionless Friday as Collins spoke.
Howard was convicted in September of fatally beating 22-month old Carrie Lynn Gaines and burying her body in a shallow grave in March 1990. The body remained hidden until police received an anonymous tip and unearthed it on Oct 24, 1995.
Winnebago County Assistant State's Attorney Mark Karner said the sentence protects the community from Howard, who throughout his life left a trail of victims, including Carrie (my great niece).
"We're certainly happy. The sentence was just, " Karner said. "Still in mind we lost a 22-month old child."
Collins said the case qualified for a term beyond the normal 20 to 60 years because Carrie was under the age of 12 and the crime was accompanied by "exceptionally heinous and brutal behavior."
(They sould have gave this man the electric chair.....or let him die in the way he killed CARRIE! )
Any way as the news reports go.......
Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty because they believed it could have been a barrier to a conviction.
(They should have killed him before he had a chance to find the loop hole in this so called legal system of ours! )
"This was a difficult case, "Winnebago County State's Attorney Paul Logli said.
"We went from an anonymous tip to recovery of a mass of bones and working with a very difficult situation."
A red faced Sherri ****** , Carries mother and Howard's ex-girlfriend, fought back tears as Collins read the sentence. Sherri and Howard's eyes locked as Winnebago County jailers led him out of the courtroom.
Sherri bent over and buried her face in her hands and cried after Howard left the room.
During a 25 minute statement, Howard detailed a life of drug and alcohol abuse that started at the age of 18 with his first wife.
He thanked numerous people for supporting him during the trial, Howard also apologized to several people, including his second wife Lynn, for hurting them.
(Sherri,and Lynn, and all the other victims in Ricks life.....I really commend you, and through all of this, I just want to say, to be strong, you can overcome Rick's wickedness, and you can over come his covered up sweetness. Beware of the wolf in sheeps clothing. )
(Now, back to the story......)
Lynn, who testified during the trial that Howard broke her jaw and shot at her during their marriage, broke down in tears. She was comforted with a hug from Sherri, who also was crying.
Howard said he hoped that Sherri, with counseling, would regain custody of her two children, one of whom she had with Howard.....The state's attorney's office is opposing the return of custody to Sherri.
Finally, Howard apologized for concealment of Carrie's death and using bad judgment.
"To Carrie, I guess I owe you the biggest apology of anyone, "he said. "In heaven, where you are, you know the truth."
Judge Collins told Howard he could not use alcohol, drugs or bad relationships as an excuse for his behavior.
"Apologies are nice, but they wont breathe life back into a child," she said.

Carrie Lynn needs to be laid to rest
Wednesday, May 15, 1996 written by Judy Emerson
Early this morning, Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia will place a flower on top of a small box in a refrigerated room at the county morgue.
Inside the box are the remains of 22 month old Carrie Lynn Gaines. More than six years after her disappearance and death, and seven months after her body was discovered in a shallow grave, the child has not been properly buried.
No one knows when that might happen, something that deeply disturbs Fiduccia and others in her office.
"This has been a very difficult case for people here," Fiduccia said. "It's one of the saddest cases I've ever seen. It's time for her to be laid to rest."
Today is a legal red-letter day in the case. At 9 a.m., Fiduccia convenes the inquest. The proceeding, which takes place in the coroner's office at the Public Safety Building, is open to the public.
Facing a six-member coroner's jury, Fiduccia will summarize forensic evidence and reveal what caused the child's death. The jury will issue a verdict on the manner of Carrie Lynn's death---homicide, accident, suicide, natural death or undetermined.
Carrie Lynn's Mother's 40 year old ex boyfriend, Richard L. Howard, pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder in the case. Howard is accused of beating the child to death and burying her in a shallow grave on Arthur Avenue.
For years, Howard and 26 year old Sherri, the child's mother, covered up Carrie Lynn's absence by telling anyone who asked that she was visiting out-of-town relatives.
An anonymous tip last October led authorities to the toddler's grave. Sherri has not been charged in the case.
Nobody who was present at the site believed they'd find anything when they started digging, Fiduccia said Tuesday.
"We were doing a lot of talking among each other," she said. "But the minute the two officers down in the hole found a blanket, there was total silence. We all stopped talking and walked away. We took a little bit of a breather and went back, because we knew what we had to do.
"It stayed very quiet. we unearthed her and put her into a box and brought her down here to the Public Safety Building."
Tests were completed on Carrie Lynn's remains in December, and Fiduccia had all the reports by mid-January.
Soon after that, she started pressing the prosecution and defense to release the child for burial.
The prosecution has all the evidence it needs, but the body is being held at Public Defender Gary Pumilia's request. He said Tuesday he wants to be sure the defense doesn't need more tests before he gives the OK for burial. Pumilia said he couldn't guarantee he'd be ready to release the body by the scheduled trial date in September.
I understand Howard's right to a fair defense and all that, but I can't help agreeing with Fiduccia that it's a darn shame Carrie Lynn can't be laid to rest.
Not this time, though. The little box in the morgue reminds everyone of Carrie Lynn's tragedy and what's left to be done.
Not long ago, someone slipped a teddy bear inside the box. And every few days, there's a fresh flower on top.

Judge releases tot's remains for funeral
Friday, Oct. 25, 1996 written by Scott Williams
Carrie Lynn Gaines: The family plans a private service for the child, whose body was found in a shallow grave.
Rockford----Carrie Lynn Gaines finally will rest in peace.
One year after police found the toddler buried behind a house on Arthur Avenue, a judge Thursday ordered her remains released for a funeral.
Prosecution and defense attorneys preparing for the trial of Carrie's alleged killer dropped their request to hold the remains.
"It's just time," said Winnebago County coroner Sue Fiduccia.
The coroner said Carrie's mother, Sherri, had asked the States attorney's office to release the remains.
A spokesman at Delehanty Funeral Home said Gaines and her family are planning a private funeral.
Sherri has not spoken publicly about her daughter's death since police, acting on an anonymous tip, found the girl buried in a box in the 1300 block of Arthur Avenue on the night of Oct 25 1995.
Before the discovery, Carrie's mother and her ex-boyfriend had concealed the death for 5 and a half years. Relatives and neighbors say they wondered where she was, but the couple always explained away the child's absence.
Two days after the body was found, the ex-boyfriend Richard L. Howard, 41, was charged with murder. Howard is accused of beating 22 month old Carrie to death in March 1990 and then burying the body in the shallow grave. He is expected to go on trial next year.
Rollie Wysong, who lives in the neighborhood where the remains were located, expressed relief that a funeral is near.
He said it would help residents put the episode behind them.
"This is with us all the time," he said.
Residents collected $1,700 to help pay for the funeral. If the money is not needed, Wysong said, it might be donated to a child advocacy center planned by county authorities in Carrie's memory.
Delahanty spokesman Steve Cooter said all expenses are being donated by the funeral home and cemetery.
Fiduccia called it unusual for prosecutors to order a victim's remains held for so long. But she attributed it to the circumstances involved.
"When's the last time we had a case like this?" she said. "There was something very unusual-----and very sad---about this one."

Funding in works for center to care for abused children
Saturday Nov 9 1996 written by Scott Williams
Summer opening?:
The emergency shelter would be named for toddler Carrie Lynn Gaines, who was beaten to death in 1990.
Rockford-----Supporters of a new center to prevent child abuse have launched a fund drive that Winnebago County State's Attorney Paul Logli calls "maybe the most important campaign for the children of this community."
The goal is $375,000 to convert a house on North Main Street into the Carrie Lynn Children's Center---where organizers hope to unite law enforcement and social services into a more responsive operation.
The facility is named for Carrie Lynn Gaines, a Rockford toddler who was beaten to death in 1990 but not discovered missing until authorities unearthed her remains from a shallow grave on Arthur Avenue last fall.
Logli and other backers announced the drive Friday, saying they hope the new center will prevent other abused or missing children from falling through the cracks of the welfare system.
"They won't be in somebody's car, and they won't be in a police station," he said. "They'll have a place where they can be cared for."
The house, 826 N. Main St., will be converted into an emergency shelter for abused children, with facilities for law enforcement officials to interview victims and offices for coounselors to help victims and their families.
Organizers have raised nearly $150,000 and purchased the building for $125,000. They hope to complete renovation and open the center next summer. (It has been opened as I write this story)
Bob McLauglin, a board member for the Children's Advocacy Project counseling referral service, said the tragedy of Carrie Lynn might have been avoided if such a facility had existed.
He said the abused toddler might have become one of the 300 odd cases the Children's Advocacy Project handles each year.
If that happened, "she wouldn't have just disappeared out of the system," he said.

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