As you know, we're trying to get this podcast out to as many listeners as humanly possible and thanks to Anchor we've been able to do that by just submitting it to Anchor and then they take care of getting it on all the other podcast site. So if you're trying to find a podcast platform to use anchor as a great one, there's creation tools that allow you to record and edit your podcast right from your phone or computer. You can make money from your podcast with no minimum listenership and it's really everything you need to make a podcast in one.Please download the free anchor app or go to Anchor dot. F m-- to get started a child's death that has haunted the town of Pekin for the past year. I November 18 13 year old Robert B was reported as a runaway by his mother. However, we have been in touch with the Illinois State Police and are in the process of entering information of a missing or Endangered Person Advisory. What happened to Robert B brought people in Pekin out to search for answers themselves weekend after weekend thousands of Of leaves Port into the Pekin Police Department the search for the teenager come to a halt on a hot July day. When his skeletal remains were found. this is ashes to ashes The Disappearance of Robert be you are currently listening to the audio podcast version that is taken directly from the video docu-series episode. The video version is available to watch on YouTube at ashes to ashes TV or on Facebook at ashes to ashes True Crime. We recommend watching the video version if possible as there are a lot of Rich visuals that enhance the episodes I got messages sent me yesterday that are actually starting to chip away at the information we have and I think it's helping me and hopefully us Define. What's that? What happened? Yeah, and I think one of the things That was incredibly chilling as I got photos of the jaw bone and the spinal cord and the are the vertebrae excuse me, and the tote lid. I got the photo of sock t-shirt. I got all these photos. and the crazy thing and I need to have a forensics expert look at these photos, but the photo of the teeth, you know, how his teeth were missing has those I mean, it's just a picture of them on the ground, but you can see that those teeth are missing. So it's really spooky. Prior to having the pictures of felt like speculation. And now that I have them I know there's validity to what was found by trucks for kids on the 23rd the day before bonsais skeletal remains were found out in Tazewell County these items were found the day before they were found under the four seven four bridge on the Bartonville side and that bridge goes from Bartonville to Peak in so I think that could be important if these items have anything to do with Bonsai my Dean is these items were found because a tip was given two trucks for kids and that tip LED them under that bridge to where they found these items. So it really seems like there's probably a tie between them. But I think we need to look into some things here. So we also have the tote lid and duct tape. So could those have had something to do with the case is the tote from maybe the lids from a tote that maybe bonsais body was kept in and then you know, where's the East of the tote they only found a lid. So I think for a moment we need to set the pictures aside until I can find an expert to talk to see if the bones are human to see what the chances are of them being bonsais. And then also I think we need to look at some of the other evidence like the shirt and see if that could have potentially been bonsais. I know I had read that he had gone missing in a red and gray sweater. So maybe this is the sweater. So I hopefully we can talk to Lisa about that to see what she believes the chances are that that's his so I think we're going Set those aside the pictures aside for a minute until we can get some of those expert interviews in but one thing I really wanted to look at is DCFS is role in this whole thing. And you know, how responsible are they for what happened to Banzai should he have been removed from the house earlier than he was and you know what it takes to get someone into foster care are remove them from a home. What what standards have to be met the person that we're talking to who works closely with DCFS here in Central, Illinois asked to remain anonymous. And so we have protected the person's identity work in foster care in we serve primarily Central Illinois. So there's a wide range of counties primarily in this area is Tazewell Peoria Woodford County. We have cases down and Bloomington Champaign Danville just really like I said all over Central, Illinois, so when children come in to care there. DCFS doesn't investigation. So there was an investigator we call DCP workers and they will conduct an investigation and they either there's enough evidence to substantiate whatever was called in when someone called a hotline to make a report of child abuse and neglect and sometimes it's unfounded and that happens a lot as well. So if there is enough Risk, the DCP worker word investigator will try just the parent needs to mitigate the risk factor themselves. So it can't necessarily be that DCFS says this what you need to do the parent needs to say. Okay, for example, if there is a paramour who is abusive or there's domestic violence the parent you say, he's leaving he's not going to stay here anymore that Negated the risk in so usually in those situations DCFS will kind of step out. Yeah, um, if it's not mitigated than DCFS will try to have intact Services where the children remain with the family, but they are offered services and provided Services maybe counseling substance abuse parenting there's a wide range of services if it rises to the level of This kid there can't be a safety plan put in place. This kid needs to come into foster care and placed in another setting maybe with a relative or traditional foster care. Then that becomes a placement case which is foster care and at that point DCFS really contracts with a lot of agencies. So there's not-for-profit agencies. There is actually one for profit agency in This area but then they are basically do a handoff with DCFS. So we would meet with the investigator and we would then take the case and at that point the job is for the caseworker caseworker supervisor team is to really kind of put the pieces back together and provide services to these families to the children to correct the conditions that brought the children into foster care. So that's what we do in the process. Last Illinois is terrible at keeping kids in foster care the were the worst in the United States for keeping them in the longest. So is almost always at least a year. So I just want to make sure I fully understand the so someone calls CPS. Okay, and then that call goes to a hotline. It's a hotline call. Yes all I'm okay, and then they decide if it goes to DCFS. Yes, they decide at that point if that call is going You two need an investigator to go out and investigate. Okay, and is it I'm assuming it's like trained professionals who take the call or who? Yes, okay. Mm-hmm. So then if they turn it over to DCFS and it seems reasonable enough to go out than DCFS might go out and then at that point if they feel like something's the child needs to be removed. That's when the foster care system comes in. Correct? Here's Tara bonsais old. Babysitter the several times that CPS were involved that were called. I don't recall any given moment CPS ever going over and investigating the house there on go, Moe. Well, I mean they don't live on going on but they're over there. I don't remember going over they should have that house was unlivable. It was unsanitary. They never went and I can tell you that 100% they didn't ya. Many of the residents is I don't recall them ever going over investigating that they did she got notice of it beforehand. So, I'm sure she got to pick it up or clean it up or whatever that's you know, maybe enough where it was. Okay, or she got noticed. Hey, you need to get this done this done this done this done. But yeah more should have been done. It's a disappointment to me. Yeah. I mean there's families out there who get CPS called on them for the silliest things and and they get their kids taking away for much much less. I'm sorry and it's ridiculous to have to call on somebody about their child because their house is on clean and sanitary or because you're worried about their child not eating were sleeping in an area that is filled with feces or urine. Yeah, that's disturbing and then to know that nothing was done. Yeah. It's a disappointment. Did it strike you as strange that Lisa first son had been removed from the home and that they were taking the second one more seriously. Yeah. Yeah those bothersome. I didn't understand how I know in a lot of cases was CPS just from working odd jobs that if your child is removed through CPS your if you get pregnant the second time CPS is on you like a hound that's typically how it Works there with you at the hospital there. They're doing monthly checks checking on the baby checking on the Infant. So I don't know if that was the case with Robert but they really didn't do enough when it came to Roberts case at all. I saw was Stephanie Bonsai sister and she showed me some pictures of Lisa's house around the time of The Disappearance. So describe to me what room in the house. This is when you walked in the front door, this was the door off to the left. That was Lee. This bedroom. That was the pathway right here would have been the bathroom Jack and Jill bathroom Okay, and then the front of the house was right here. Mmm-hmm. How did you even sleep all this? She'd probably pushed them aside or whatnot, I guess right. It's like piled up only four feet on the bed disgusting. Wow. That was the outside of the window. You show me trash see how it was piled up in the windows broken and I mean, that's how she relived that's how she lived this was taken actually the day that they did the news interview. So, you know how bad the house was and she never cleaned her house as anyway, it's God. It's like the trash all over the floor cat feces dog feces or as if they were part of her bedroom the Jack and Jill bathroom doors right there. Okay. That's just the little bitty living room. Well and his cock the go that's the is this the part of the cop just disgusting and that's normal for her. Yeah, we had when they lived in Peoria. There's the cot. My dad's Bears Jersey I hack was hanging on the wall over there was a chair and the way up. Oh my God. Well that goes in the kitchen goes into the kitchen, but you can see the cat litter on the floor. It's just gross feces. We're all over. Yeah, there's a shower. Well, I know when the poor landlord and I don't know if his he wants his name one, so I won't say it is super nice guy. So sweet when bonds I went missing he let her stay there knowing she wasn't paying rent and said, I'm going to let you do this because he may return home. He thought maybe he was just missing that he did just run away. Yeah, sweetheart of a guy what the conditions of somebody's home be a reason to possibly take a child out of that home and put them in foster care meaning like for instance like the cleanliness. Oh, absolutely. There's actually there's a different list of abuse allegations and a another list of neglect allegations and they all have different numbers, but But one is environmental neglect. And so kids do get taken from homes on due to cleanliness if there's not enough food if it's there's not electricity hot water things like that. They have kids will be removed from or the parent will offer to put that kid in another family members house and in tech services again could be be offered or it could be placed in it. It just it really depends so someone got let's just say for strictly. Environmental reasons someone's like a hoarder or something and there's stuff all over the house on the beds were you can tell people couldn't even possibly be sleeping on the bed stuff like that and I child is taken away. Did they usually give the parent opportunity to clean up the house in a certain amount of time or how does that work? Yes, my understanding is that the investigator will like so you need to get this clean and here's your timeline and sometimes it does order those say you need to find another home. I've seen that we're we've had to call because this house was a house. Recorders and it was just not appropriate for three year old to be in it. And so what that parent did was end up getting an apartment with moved out of his parents house again department. And so them that you know solve that problem when DCFS go back and inspected before they allowed the child to come back in or the parent just has to say it's clean now, so it would it would need to be inspected by the by the investigator to make sure that it met. It was it was actually done because they wouldn't be able to close the case out the investigation until that was it was proven clean. Here's Lisa talking about DCFS to DCFS ever come to your house. They did one time. And we stayed with we had to clean the house before we could move back in. They had condemned our house and we stayed with the lady on the corner. For a little while and I went in there and I cleaned the whole house. Got it. All spic and span. So we could go back to our home. So one of the people I got to talk to was James who lived basically a block down from where Bonsai lived at the time and he's really important to this because James and his girlfriend took them in but they barely knew these son Bonsai. So it kind of really surprises me that DCFS was okay with them going and staying with a family that they barely knew. So, can you tell me a little bit about how you met or What about Lisa are knew about her through my girlfriend. She you know, we'd see Bondi, you know, welcome back and forth. She entered the top and my girlfriend into talking with Lisa the day that DCFS was honored case big time because of the condition of her house which like I said, we should we should have never gotten involved. We should just you know, you needed a place to stay while she cleaned up the house she and clean up the house. She is his bond. And I feel sorry for the kids. All right, you know and then four days after he leaves our house, he's just, you know listed as missing when your girlfriend ended up have bringing them into the house for a couple days. Was it a request from Lisa or did they did she actually get involved with DCFS to make that happen? I'm not sure if my girlfriend taught the DCFS agent or not or casework, whatever to talk whatever they're called. Yeah. and I think they had a discussion clean cleared it. You know, it's the I think that's my understanding of how it went. How many would you say? How many nights were they stay with you guys? I'm thinking that from the 10th to the 13th somewhere in there. So are in there if you were a check being the leases non-emergency number and if they, you know go through and find out. When they dispatched officers to their house that we call Lisa said that she thought her ex-boyfriend was stalking her and while he was in the house. So the first night I went down there and went through the front door and it's wonder I could even get it open the entire house knee-deep garbage dirty clothes, you know, I'm surprised DCFS to Inject jerk him that day. Did you ever see any evidence that anyone was in the house? No, and then he had a counselor and she was at our house, but he was you know being a little but you know, and after the girls were left. I went back his head as a debts, but not being acting proper. Yeah, he was just being difficult with her. Basically, you know smartass it is. It's really they were living like that II can't even imagine the way people describe it. I mean, that's the common Missouri it is no wonder you get picked on at school, you know, you know haven't smelly clothes and all behind just can't be pleasant. No, it's like living in a pot of porta potty. Yeah. Did you notice that the house smelled also? Yeah. I also talked to a friend of Lisa's about the condition of the house. They too wanted to remain anonymous. So we have altered their voice most of the time you can't even find a place. Say unless you want to sit on a pile of clothes and boxes and plates and everything just in piles you can you can't even see this much of the floor. Yeah, it was really bad. And what would you from your opinion? What do you think it would ever be acceptable environment for a child to be living in? Oh, definitely. Not hmm. Definitely not nobody in their right mind would ever even think about Somebody living in there not only just a child, but anybody it was always hot. There was no air conditioner. The windows were so piled of that. You can barely see any light in there and not only that but you can't even open the windows to get air. It's really ridiculous. The dishes were so piled up in the sink that you couldn't even wash one to even. Like if you wanted to get a spoon of peanut butter, you can't even get to wash a spoon. Wow. Yeah. I met I went many days without eating over there. I didn't like being over there but in my little kid days that's where the drugs were a lot of times. I'd spend a few days there at a time. I would go home to shower and get new clothes. Those and eat and then I go right back over there. So you sometimes stay stay the night. You would actually stay the night there a few nights. Yeah. Okay. I remember one night. I was sleeping on the blue futon that was broken and I had to clear a bunch of stuff off of it and then a mouse ran across my hand and I just freaked out when it bonds I sleep when he slept a few notes you slept at least as I know you weren't there time. But um, I think he would sleep in her room. He says room sapiens. Okay, but I mean you couldn't even see the bad. It was just basically sleeping on a bunch of clothes or you know, whatever they had. I don't think I ever seen them go to the laundromat. They don't have washer and dryer. They're never went to a laundromat that I know of and who was in the other room during all that wasn't there another bedroom? I don't think they ever used that bedroom. I think it was just the futon in there in the living room was his okay, but when other people would stay he would sleep in there with her. Okay, and I feel that even if other people didn't stay that he would still sleep in there with her. He was a Mommy's boy. For some reason does DCFS ever work with parenting classes like up the parent just has to go through a parenting class and then they can potentially get their child back. Yes. That's a very Probably in the most common ones are there's different levels of parenting classes. Some are very general like how to change a diaper and things like that. And then there's some that are available. There are much more focus on how to trauma affect your child and has affected you in a the relationship of those Dynamics in parenting and so being really trauma-informed in the community. There's also parenting coaches at some agencies provide where it is someone who literally will go to go to visits or go to the home and help these parents that are struggling with parenting she got him back because she went through parenting classes. She did everything that she's supposed to do. So did the system fell him yesterday. yeah, I mean, what do you feel about your own behavior and how that house looked and was I feel bad because with me not being able to control Bonsai he was so out of hand. He would. Throw shit all over the house wouldn't pick up and then if you I'd go time pick it up it was. Nope, I won't hit mom today. And I called my husband. I told him. I can't I don't know what to do with him. I said I he's out of control. I can't handle him. I don't know what to do. My husband to go we'll just start taking a stuff away. I said I did that already. Well time that they were with us during the nights. She's like to go party, you know, and the first night that they were back at their house. This brunette comes knocks on the door to you. Monday was in the house lock the door had a bottle of alcohol his mom was down the street party. You hit her, you know if you get the key in it. Wow around that time. Did she go out and party every night would you say? First night Lisa called me after the first episode aired to let me know that she felt those photos did not accurately represent the condition of her house after Bonsai disappeared. Here's what he went missing in January. I was in a psychiatric hospital because I couldn't handle Bonsai being gone. So I had overdosed wind up in a psychiatric hospital. Straight from there. I ended up getting sent to Jacksonville and I like for Rehab my door is never locked so you could just walk in my house all the time because my front door. Only locks from the inside. They didn't lock from the outside. Yeah his Bonsai lost a key to the house. So you think that those photos were taken in January of 2017 when you were yeah, when they showed me that picture my friend penny I had gotten those pictures sent to her and she showed me that I said, that's not my house. Yeah, they found a turkey sitting on my kitchen counter like a like a one for you buy from the store or like a live turkey when you get from the store. Okay, they asked me if I'd ever had a turkey in my house. And I said no, I don't even like turkey. Why would I have a turkey mouth and they said oh sitting on your counter. I'm in Jacksonville, Illinois in rehab? So you think someone did it to stink up your house? Yes. Angela is a relative of leases and stayed at her house right after Bonsai went missing here is what she had to say about the state of the living conditions. I actually stayed the night at Lisa's one or two. I think it was two nights, but it might have been one. I can't remember. Okay details are foggy. It's been almost three years. Yeah, of course, absolutely. So what's happening three years. So when I went into Lisa's house the house has I mean even the day of the newscast I had to go in and use the bathroom. Yeah. She let me go in and use the bathroom, you know. No, and of course I didn't but I don't pass judgment on people very easily because I've been at the bottom of the Heap and I know what that's like. Yeah, of course, absolutely. But yeah, the house was a total mess. I actually slept on what they would call Bonsai Scott in the living room. Okay slept on that while I was there not very comfortable. Yeah. At the time the room that Andre would have been in should have been in secondary bedroom. There was another girl actually living then I think that she tried to kind of diverts some of the best I didn't because when I walked in there was cat feces that was food. There was just a mess of clothes. And everything everywhere. Yeah. and at the time I didn't really think anything of it because you know, I wouldn't expect nobody's has to be perfectly clean, of course not but II in my head I was thinking this could not have been a very healthy environment for a 13 year old boy DCFS literally pretty much failed him. If you get multiple calls in your house is literally always that nicely and it takes more than just jumping through parenting hoop.look parenting class blue. Some stuff to get these kids back. So they thinking that maybe DCFS didn't do their job very well. Yeah, absolutely. And here's some more from Lisa's Anonymous old friend followed by final Thoughts From The Foster worker and I feel that even if the house wasn't like that She still shouldn't have had custody and I don't know what DCFS I mean DCFS has came to the house. Oh, so you've been there when they've come? Yeah. Oh, wow, okay. And I don't think that like there are actually really interested in doing their job just as much as the cops are because I was only around when they came around once okay, and I hadn't seen him again after that. And I feel that you would keep doing check-ups. You know, like I feel like that's what should happen. I think so. I don't really know the system but that's make sense to me. Yeah, I feel like that's how a normal humans brain work and like I don't know if DCFS really was doing their job. They would have kept coming back realized that they were out of the house and I don't see why they didn't take him right then and there like why even give it a second chance and the time you were there when DCFS came, do you know around how innocent to be exact but you know around how long before there was Bonsai went missing. Do you think it was like a year or Thor 2 years I say probably at least a year at least you're okay. It was a while so they came and when they came did they walk around the house or what did they do? DCFS know they just stood at the door. They seen from the door that you know, it was not livable like they didn't even have to go in. Yeah, and that's how you do it. Like it's really bad. Like why don't you just take him like that? Yeah, like there's no reason to give me One Good Reason To let him stay I mean if you had a kid who there was a known paramour hmm that was being stalked had stalking behavior or was being violent if DCFS has been called 20 times if a house is in no condition to the point where they've been removed from the house and the has a juvenile record. Like how does it how does the kid that's got all that going. How do they not end up in foster care? So I think that one of the Easiest answers to that and I don't think this is really easy easy easy. Yeah, if this mother is continuously saying I'm not with him and there's no proof that they are is like if they're not caught together, then there's nothing the investigator can do. Okay, like their hands are really tied to and we see this all the time were like, we know that they're together, but you can't prove it until you do and there's evidence. I say one of the biggest ways that we find out is usually police reports. The state's attorney will say hey, did you know that so is no got arrested for this and then they will they will fax us please report. So we have evidence and the best the same with investigators to but until there is documented proof that they are together if that's the main problem then the investor can't do anything. Yeah. Amen. Fetus and they can't remove him just for being like the house if the house is it just depends on how dirty this. Yeah how environment like how severe that situation is, but They're not going to remove the kid just for that. They have no proof that the parent is still continues to be with that girl more. I kind of look at the case that we're working on and I'm like what in God's name. Do you have to do to get a child removed? I mean, I'm really kind of at a loss at like what how many times how many times do people have to call how many how disgusting does the house have to be how how many police reports have to be put out about someone stalking? How many juvenile offenses do you have to have before? I mean do you think That from what you know about our case in the show that maybe he slipped through the cracks or if you don't have an opinion on it. That's okay, too. I think the reality is that children do slips through the cracks and again, I think there's a lot of factors that go into that and why that happened and it's I've seen I've had cases where I said, how did this kid not get removed years and years ago and now he's 13 years old and here we are after a parent had been, you know beating this child and things like that like, It's some some kids do slip through the cracks. Unfortunately, and did you what did you think when a couple days later? You heard he was missing. Did you see it on the news or did your girlfriend Tire? How did you find out? I like it was Word of Mouth going through the neighborhood and then we saw it on TV on on the news, you know, and that's just one of them. It hurt. Did you immediately think something had happened? And he had wasn't a runaway you. And I know the condition of the house the day that my girlfriend said, you know, so they know they can stay with us. I would have put my foot down some now, you know what happens happens. It's none of our business. We shouldn't have gotten involved. So I'm thinking if we wouldn't have gotten involved that day DCFS what it took him. He might still be alive. The Disappearance of Robert B was created produced and directed by Ash Pitino. The production team is also made up of coal ehlers Michael Howard and Daniel Halloran ashes to ashes a video docu-series and audio podcast video versions will be released every other week and the audio podcast versions will be released every other alternating week. You can follow these So it's and get more information at facebook.com slash ashes to ashes True Crime. Please contact us on Facebook or Ashland 57 at gmail.com. If you have any information on the case, you can remain anonymous if you know of anything illegal with the case, please contact your local police department.
Welcome to Episode #5 as the case intensifies. 13 year old Robert Bee, AKA Bonzai's death is still shrouded in mystery as the crew of Ashes to Ash TV investigate this cold case in Pekin, Illinois. Pictures are sent to Ash of items that were found off a tip given to Trucks 4 Kids. These items include a pillow case, balaclava, a possible jaw bone, vertebrae, sock, gloves, tote lid, and a red/grey sweater. The team starts really looking into these items and the images, to see if they have a connection to the Bonzai case. The culpability of DCFS is also thrown into the mix. The team speaks to an individual who works with the Central Illinois DCFS and foster care system. We also hear from friends and acquaintances who have information regarding DCFS and how they allowed Bonzai to slip through the cracks. Koehl and Ash continue their investigation into a case that gets more confounding as they uncover more information. Twitter and Instagram:  AshesToAshTV  FaceBook:  Ashes to Ash True Crime  YouTube:  Ashes to Ash TV  Podcast (type this into the search of your favorite podcast player):  Ashes To Ash TV   If you know of illegal activity involving this case please reach out to your local police department. 