A state parole board member resigned after recommending the release of a man who a day later attacked a pregnant Chicago woman with a knife and fatally stabbed her 11-year-old son while trying to protect her.
The Illinois Prisoner Review Board’s handling of the case led Governor JB Pritzker to order that procedures be revamped for dealing with situations involving domestic violence.
Pritzker announced Monday that LeAnn Miller, 63, of Junction, had submitted her resignation.
The board member had prepared a report recommending Crosetti Brand’s release from prison. She had served on the board since September 2021 and had spent 20 years working in the Illinois Department of Corrections and 35 years in education at School District 428.
The 37-year-old offender had repeatedly violated protective orders and threatened Laterria Smith of Chicago, police said.
Jayden Perkins, 11, was stabbed to death trying to protect his pregnant mother
Crosetti Brand, 37, had been released on parole just a day before the deadly attack. He is back in prison and charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Miller made “the right decision by resigning” from the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
On March 13, investigators said Brand went to Smith’s apartment armed with a knife and assaulted her.
When his son, Jayden Perkins, intervened, Brand stabbed him to death, police said.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said Brand had been released on parole just a day before the attack.
Smith, 33, remains hospitalized in critical condition, but doctors hope she and her unborn child will survive.
His six-year-old son was also present during the attack, but was unharmed.
A message seeking comment was left at a number associated with Miller’s home and the Prisoner Review Board.
Pritzker said in a news release that he made “the right decision by resigning.”
“It is clear that the evidence in this case did not receive the careful consideration that victims of domestic violence deserve, and I am committed to ensuring that additional safeguards and training are in place to prevent tragedies like this from happening again,” Pritzker said in a statement.
Jayden Perkins, 11, was stabbed to death after intervening to try to protect his mother.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said Brand was released on parole the day before carrying out the attack.
A photo of Jayden Perkins, an 11-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in his home, seen at a memorial in front of Perkin’s home in Chicago.
Following board procedure, two other board members, Ken Tupy and Krystal Tison, agreed with Miller’s draft order.
Pritzker directed the Prisoner Review Board to “engage experts and advocates to design and implement expanded training” on domestic violence cases for the 15-member board.
The board and the Department of Corrections will also review procedures for sharing information about domestic violence cases. Pritzker said the case could also raise issues requiring legislation to expand officials’ legal authority in such cases.
Brand, who police say had a relationship with Smith 20 years ago, is charged in Cook County with first-degree murder and a half-dozen other violent crimes related to the attack.
Smith had a protective order against the suspect 15 years before this month’s attack for repeatedly threatening and attacking her and her mother in an unrelated case.
His abuse began in September 2006 after Smith broke up with the suspect. Brand arrived at her house and threatened her with a gun, shooting her in the hallway before leaving.
Alicia Perkins, center, aunt of Jayden Perkins’ father, holds balloons outside Perkin’s Chicago home in a tribute to Jayden, who was murdered.
Neighbors embraced each other earlier this month in mourning the death of Jayden Perkins.
Police officers seen outside the family’s apartment complex, seen earlier this month, investigating the crime scene.
Brand continued to harass the family, throwing rocks at the window and calling out to them obsessively. Two years after the breakup, he allegedly hit her mother at a bus stop for dating someone else.
He had served half of a 16-year sentence for assaulting another ex-partner in 2015 when he was paroled last October.
Brand was sent back to prison in February after being accused of repeatedly contacting Smith, who has a protective order against him.
He turned himself in after Smith reported he was at his apartment door on Feb. 1, repeatedly ringing the doorbell and pulling the handle.
But when Brand appeared before the Prisoner Review Board on Feb. 26, he denied going to his apartment and his attorney provided evidence that his electronic monitoring bracelet did not indicate violations of his movement restrictions, according to a copy of the warrant. board.
He responded to other reported probation violations by saying he sometimes worked late at a Red Lobster restaurant.
The board determined there was insufficient evidence to verify Smith’s claims, although she was not called to testify.
The attack occurred at this apartment complex earlier this month.
‘No one can replace him. No one can take his place,” said Alexis Pérez, a friend of Perkins.
Fundraising has been held to support the Perkins family during this time.
In addition to murder, Brand has also been charged with three counts of home invasion with a dangerous weapon, one count of armed robbery with a dangerous weapon, one count of aggravated domestic assault, one count of unlawful use of a weapon by of a felon, one count of violation of a prior protective order, and one issuance of a probation violation order.
Neighbors held a vigil for 11-year-old Perkins outside the apartment complex days after the March 13 attack.
‘No one can replace him. No one can take his place,” Perkins’ friend Alexis Perez told the local ABC affiliate. WL S.’
“He’s the kindest, most trustworthy friend you could probably ask for,” Perkins’ friend Nathaniel Vodak, 12, told WLS.
TO fundraising It has been held to support the victim’s family and more than $27,000 was raised.