Kerrigan Rutherford remembered at Boulder Hill Elementary School

While Kerrigan Rutherford attended Boulder Hill Elementary School in the unincorporated Boulder Hill subdivision, Brianna McKinley used to do the kindergartner’s hair. McKinley, the school’s psychologist, did daily checkups with Rutherford, often providing her with basic needs. All was not well at home for the 6-year-old, but McKinley and other staff prioritized the earliest moments of Rutherford’s education.

“I tend to work with our most high-needs kids and she was definitely on my radar,” McKinley said in an interview. “It was really hard, because you knew a lot of things were going on.”

But the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Rutherford stopped going to school, and was stuck at home with her mother, younger sister and stepfather.

“My heart sank because she was one [student] I saw daily,” McKinley recounted. “I was really upset that I wasn’t going to be able to do home visits or anything like that. ... Our hands were tied in a lot of situations. We did the very best that we could and made phone calls and tried to support family and tried to support her and her little sister.”

Then, on July 2, last year, Rutherford was found dead at her family’s residence in the Boulder Hill subdivision. Authorities discovered the girl and her family had been living in horrendous, unsanitary conditions. Her death was ruled a homicide, caused by an overdose of olanzapine, a medication used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adolescents and adults.

Her mother, Courtny Davidson, a diagnosed schizophrenic, and stepfather, James Davidson, were arrested and now face charges of involuntary manslaughter and endangering the life or health of a child.

But McKinley has chosen to commemorate Rutherford’s life, going beyond the sad details of her family and home.

Thanks to a $250 grant from the Illinois Education Association, McKinley installed a bench at Boulder Hill Elementary in honor of Rutherford.

“IEA is humbled and proud to support efforts like these from teachers, faculty and staff,” the organization wrote in a Facebook post. “We love you, Kerrigan. May you forever live on in our hearts.”

Rutherford’s memorial bench and memorial now sit in the foyer of her former school.

“Those we have held in our arms for a little while, we hold in our hearts forever,” is etched into the stone of the bench.

Above it, the silhouette of a young girl and a heart made of green papered butterflies hangs from the wall. A white blanket outstretches on the floor, covered with candles, flowers and photos of Rutherford.

“Even though she was at our building for a short period of time, she loved school so much,” McKinley said. “Instead of thinking about what had happened her, I wanted to have her memory in a positive way.”