State legislator asks appellate court prosecutor to step up case review into Carroll County teen’s death

FREEPORT — An Illinois state senator has formally requested that the Illinois State’s Attorney Appellate Prosecutor’s Office step up its case review into the death of a Carroll County teen whose body was found on a highway near Mount Carroll last summer.

State Sen. Andrew Chesney, R-Freeport, is making the request concerning the July 2024 death of 18-year-old Jackson Kradle in an effort to get an update to the public, determine whether charges will be filed and bring closure to the affected families, Chesney said. He represents the 45th Senate District that includes all of Carroll County,

“I understand the burden of heavy caseloads faced by the ILSAAP but the families involved and the broader community are still waiting for an update,” Chesney said. “The hope is to see progress toward closure in this tragic incident. In that spirit, I’ve respectfully asked Director Patrick Delfino and the ILSAAP team to review the case evidence, determine whether charges will be filed, and provide an update to the public regarding next steps.”

The case details

Carroll County Sheriff Ryan Kloepping broke his silence about the case in a Nov. 7 social media post on the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, using it to explain how his office handled the case after two sheriff’s office employees found Kradle’s body on the road and reported it via a non-emergency call to the sheriff’s office.

Kloepping said Kradle’s death was reported about 3:30 a.m. July 28. That’s when the Carroll County dispatch center received a nonemergency call from an off-duty employee reporting a body in the road on Route 78, south of Lowden Road. That location is less than 1 mile north of Mount Carroll’s city limits.

“At that time, an off-duty deputy sheriff and off-duty dispatcher, who is also a paramedic, were on scene,” Kloepping said. “Dispatch personnel then dispatched the on-duty deputy sheriff as well as a local city officer, as that officer was closer to the reported location.”

At 3:45 a.m., Illinois State Police said, two troopers were responding to the scene. At 3:50 a.m., the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services unit was contacted to respond to the scene, Kloepping said.

“It is common practice for Crime Scene Services to respond to all unattended or suspicious deaths within Carroll County,” he said. “Their staff has proper training, knowledge and equipment to handle these types of cases.”

The sheriff said that when the on-duty deputy arrived, they were told that the reporting party already had been released from the scene.

“Our department command staff was also contacted to respond to the scene,” Kloepping said. That team includes the sheriff, chief deputy and detective. The Carroll County coroner was contacted at 5:14 a.m. to respond to the scene. At that time, Crime Scene Services was still processing the scene, which is a lengthy process, to ensure the scene is properly documented and any possible evidence can be recovered, Kloepping said.

He said there was no identification on the body and that staff members at the scene were not aware of the teen’s identity. On-scene personnel suggested a possible identity, Kloepping said, adding that the sheriff’s office followed up on the possible lead and determined it was inaccurate. At that time, the victim was removed from the scene by the coroner’s office, and Crime Scene Services completed its duties.

Kloepping said he contacted the Mount Carroll fire chief, who responded to the scene to wash down the road. At that time, the road was opened to traffic. Sheriff’s office staff members went to the funeral home to meet with the coroner. The main focus at that time was to determine who the victim was so proper notification could be made to the family, Kloepping said.

Additional law enforcement resources responded from Rockford with equipment that could assist with identifying the victim. While at the funeral home, a call was received reporting a motor vehicle accident, Kloepping said. He said sheriff’s office staff members responded to the incident to determine whether it had any possible connection to the Kradle investigation. It eventually was determined that the new incident was not related, Kloepping said.

“Shortly thereafter, our office was able to make a positive identification of Jackson,” Kloepping said. “At that time, | personally went to the residence of his father and the residence of his mother and made notification. My staff did ask questions of others present to hopefully assist with the investigation. After departing the families’ residences, our command staff met back at the initial scene on Illinois Route 78 to discuss how we would proceed with this investigation.

“Due to the possible conflict of interest, I then made a call to the Illinois State Police and requested that their investigation unit handle this case,” Kloepping said. “Within one hour, they had multiple investigators at our office. We provided them with the details of the case and asked for them to handle this incident throughout the remainder of the investigation.”

On July 29, sheriff’s office command staff met with the two sheriff’s office employees who had reported finding the body. They were placed on administrative leave and given their notice of an internal investigation, Kloepping said, further explaining that as members of the Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council, they “are afforded certain rights” and were given a meeting time in 48 hours for an interrogation.

On July 31, just prior to the interrogation, both employees resigned from their positions with the agency.

Chesney said that on the morning of the death, upon learning of potential involvement by Carroll County Sheriff’s Office employees, Kloepping recused himself. The investigation was then passed on to the Carroll County state’s attorney, who also recused himself.

“Sheriff Kloepping turned the investigation over to the Illinois State Police, and the Carroll County State’s Attorney also correctly recused themselves and forwarded the case to the Office of the State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor,” Chesney wrote to Delfino. “A coroner’s inquest was held, and on January 14, 2025, Kradle’s death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt trauma to the head from a motor vehicle-pedestrian crash.

“We have been informed that the Illinois State Police have concluded their investigation and that you and/or your team possess the evidence and findings related to the case. I understand and respect that this office faces a heavy workload. However, on behalf of the families affected by this tragic incident in Carroll County, I respectfully request that the Office of the State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor expedite the review of the evidence and findings.”

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Kloepping said he also is awaiting word from the appellate prosecutor.

“Our office is working closely with our local state officials in hopes of receiving a response from the Appellate Prosecutor regarding the status of this case,” he wrote.