INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — The KSHB 41 I-Team recently reported in-depth on the case of Remi, a baby boy who was severely abused in 2024.
Missouri authorities all agree he was abused, but no one has been charged.
KSHB 41 investigative reporter Sarah Plake recently received an update.
She learned the case is back open, and the Independence Police Department has "developed new information." However, police said they can't share any further details.
Remi’s family is hopeful this update will bring forth new evidence that will lead to justice and accountability.
They’re also hopeful a state-run agency that specializes in investigating child abuse can help.
When the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office declined charges in 1-year-old Remi’s child abuse case and IPD closed the case, his family was devastated but determined.
"We’ll be here fighting," said Remi's grandpa, Beau Alberson.
His great-grandmother, Connie Reed, said they'd do everything in their power to protect him.
"Remi didn't ask for this," she said. "And the people that done this shouldn't be able to walk the streets."
In June 2024, when Remi was 6 weeks old, he suffered brain damage, brain bleeding, skull fractures and rib fractures. The hospital and the Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) determined the injuries were the result of intentional child abuse.
Remi’s mom and her boyfriend are the main suspects, according to the Independence police file.
We’re not naming them because they haven’t been charged.
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"He’s not able to say what happened to him, and we’re here to do that," Alberson said. "We just want to be heard."
The family turned to the State Technical Assistance Team (STAT) for help. The entire focus of STAT, which operates under DSS, is to help law enforcement investigate child abuse and neglect cases.
"Usually, what we get involved in is the worst of the worst," said Matt Lindemeyer, STAT director.
Lindemeyer explained his team can only get involved in a case if asked — usually by the police, prosecutors, courts, the state or a medical examiner’s office.
STAT's help can range from a case consultation over the phone to agencies giving the team control of the investigation due to a lack of staffing or training.
Sometimes, STAT will check out a case because a family member isn’t happy with the way it turned out and asks for more investigation.
"We’ll sit down and talk to the multidisciplinary team players and look at what’s been done," Lindemeyer said. "And then talk that through all the way up to the prosecutorial level to see, is there anything we’re missing here?"
Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson’s spokesperson said there isn't enough evidence to charge in Remi's case, but Johnson's office “actively seek[s] alternative avenues,” such as STAT.
IPD told KSHB 41 the detective on Remi’s case shared the file with a senior STAT member earlier this year at a training event, and the senior member understood why the prosecutor couldn’t charge.
Police said they’re open to formally submitting Remi’s case to STAT, but they’re not going to use STAT just for the sake of doing so.
“The case is centered on identifying the perpetrator, and we cannot compel a confession or prosecution,” IPD said, in part. “Our team shares the frustration when a case remains unsolved, but we are bound by legal constraints.”
We know from the case file Det. Desiree Campbell narrowed her focus on Remi’s mother’s boyfriend after hearing people accuse him of abusing Remi and the mother of knowing about it.
Campbell's body camera captured a conversation with Remi’s mother last fall. Campbell was asking Remi's mother about a video she obtained that showed an argument between the boyfriend and his brother. During the argument, the brother accused the boyfriend of being the one who "beat that kid."
Remi's mother is in the background of that video.
"Having that video, what it makes it sound is that you’re covering for him and you’re just lying to me. And he did it, and you know he did it and you saw he did it," Campbell said.
"I know that's what it sounds like, but I haven't seen the video or anything," Remi's mother replied.
According to the case file and documents the I-Team obtained, no direct witnesses have come forward, and the abuse wasn’t recorded or caught on video.
Lindemeyer said for cases that have been closed from a "prosecutorial standpoint," meaning the prosecutor declined charges, "there would need to be some sort of extenuating circumstances" for STAT to get involved.
"And if there’s nothing there outwardly we can do as a unit, if it’s already been done, unfortunately, my heart goes out to the families that we serve because a lot of times, there are not answers to some of those questions, as horrible as it is," Lindemeyer said.
Remi's family said with the case being reopened, it seems it's going in a more positive direction.
They still urge every agency involved in Remi's case to use every tool they can.
"The people responsible for this are just going about their lives, and he’s going to be dealing with this forever," Alberson said.
The I-Team will continue to follow any updates in Remi's case closely.
More about STAT
STAT has been around since the early 1990s and was created through a Missouri state statute.
The team has 10 investigators for the whole state, and they are post-certified law enforcement officers.
In addition to investigating child abuse and neglect, STAT can help with cell phone and computer forensic examinations. STAT runs the Missouri Digital Forensic Center alongside the Missouri State Highway Patrol. In 2024, the forensic center conducted 421 examinations on digital evidence.
STAT even has a dog that can smell electronic devices that store memory, which helps the team find child sexual abuse material.
Last year, STAT worked on 251 criminal investigations and provided 763 technical assists to law enforcement. The organization also trained more than 4,000 agency members on how to better protect children.
Additionally, STAT manages the state's Child Fatality Review Program, which reviewed 857 child deaths in 2024, and the Safe System Program, which provides information about safe sleep for babies and works with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
"If we can give a child a voice and protect them, and hold someone accountable for what they’ve done, that’s the pinnacle of our daily existence," Lindemeyer said.
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