All of the topics listed below are from the press, neighbors, friends of Kerr, relatives, community members and concerned citizens who had direct knowledge of Stephen Kerr and Jocelyn McDonald’s behavior over the past five years, going back to before Jaliek was placed with them to as recently as last week.

There is nothing here that has not been reported to the police.

Family Naked Time

About five years ago, before Kerr and McDonald were foster parents to Jaliek, three experienced foster parents heard Stephen Kerr state (and Jocelyn’s mother confirmed) that in their home, the family practiced “running around naked time” also known as “Nakey-time”.

Unusual Consequences

In their outhouses at the home where Jaliek lived, the toilet paper was kept in a container with a lid.  Jaliek was repeatedly reminded by his adopted mother, Jocelyn McDonald that he had to put the top back on the container.  One time after a series of ignored reminders, Jaliek’s mother banned him from using the outhouses for several days.  Jaliek's only option for the period of time he couldn't use the outhouse was to either use the woods & brush around the house or try and wait until they went on errands so he could use commercial restrooms.

Stephen Kerr learns his son is missing, but returns movies first

On the morning of November 2nd, after supposedly discovering pillows under his son's bedcovers, and finding a runaway note he claims was written by his son, Stephen Kerr took a shower and returned rented movies to the video store before contacting police about his missing son. 

The Bedroom

In their two-room house, the one bedroom was accessed by climbing a ladder. Stephen Kerr, Jocelyn McDonald, their 4 sons (one adopted) ranging in age from 8 to 14 years-old and their 12 year-old adopted daughter all slept in that one bedroom.

The Child Abuse Hotline

In a TV interview, Jocelyn was responding to a question about their being “Hot-lined” several years ago when they lived in another residence.  This means that a report was made to the NYS Child Abuse Hotline.  According to Stephen, the report was made by the social worker supervising their adoptive placement.  Jocelyn stated that Child Protective Services came to their home and found no locks on any of the bedroom doors.  Both Jaliek and Jocelyn told the Schoens (Jaliek’s former foster parents) that Jaliek was locked in his room at night.  They saw the locks on the doors when they visited Jaliek.  Jaliek’s grandmother also confirmed that the locks were there and used.

Jaliek’s lockable room also had no heat, so the small, portable heater was removed from the room if Jaliek was angry at the time he was locked in.

The Dunking

Three and a half years ago, Jaliek was doing an annoying behavior, tapping his fingers incessantly on a table without stopping.  Stephen asked Jaliek to stop and when he continued, Stephen dragged Jaliek by the scruff of his neck out of the house and dunked him underwater in the stream behind their house.  Jocelyn and the children screamed for him to stop.  When Jaliek came up out of the water, gasping for breath, he shouted, "I'm going to tell my therapist about this."  Jocelyn made Stephen write a letter of apology to Jaliek and do Jaliek's chores for a month.  Jaliek never told his therapist.

Jocelyn removes Stephen from their home in May 2007

In May 2007 Jocelyn had Stephen leave their home for over a month because he had become increasingly violent with the children, especially Jaliek.  On TV, she was asked if it was true that Stephen had left their home three months ago because he had become increasingly violent with the children.  She answered, “No”.  She didn’t lie…because it was SEVEN months ago.

Stephen goes to a birthday party hours after his son disappears

On November 2, 2007, 4 ½ hours after reporting to the police that his 12 year-old son had run away, Stephen Kerr went to his boss’s 50^th birthday party and never mentioned to anyone that his son was missing.  His boss is one of Stephen’s friends and had known Jaliek for years.  Stephen frequently took Jaliek to work with him.

Jaliek’s “Rape” Threat

Stephen and Jocelyn have both stated that Jaliek threatened to “rape” a four year-old at his home school. 

Here’s what happened, according to what was reported to the police:

Jaliek was lying on a couch during a break at his home school.  A four year-old brother of a student was playing with Jaliek’s shoelaces.  Jaliek calmly said, “Cut it out.” The child continued and once again, Jaliek calmly said, “Cut it out.”  The child continued.  Jaliek then said, in a non-threatening way, “Cut it out or I’ll put my dick up your butt.”  The comment went over the four year-old’s head, but was heard by the older kids.  There was no adult supervision in the room at the time. 

On the way home, one of Jaliek’s younger brothers told his mother what Jaliek said.  As soon as she got home, Jocelyn called Stephen at work and told him to come home and take care of Jaliek.  When Jaliek’s maternal grandmother offered to take Jaliek, she was told “No” because he would have too much fun there. This was very problematic for Stephen because Jaliek was home-schooled, but couldn’t go back to that home school during the day and Stephen had a two-week trip to Romania and his boss’s birthday party coming up.

The Runaway/Suicide Note

When they arrived at the Person home in Altamont on Saturday morning, October 27th, Stephen Kerr showed the Persons Jaliek’s clipboard which had his home school homework and schoolwork on it.  Stephen stated that, in addition to the printed worksheets on the clipboard, Jaliek had a writing assignment to “write letters of apology to the people he had hurt”.  Tom Person helped him with his homework, saw the lengthy book reports he wrote and confirmed that the apology notes were written. He didn’t ask to see them because he felt they were private. 

The note, given to police by Stephen Kerr as a “good-bye” note from Jaliek read: “Everybody, I’m sorry for everything.  I won’t be a bother to you anymore.  Goodbye, Jaliek”.  It was in his best handwriting. The Persons believe this was the letter of apology written at their home in Altamont to the home school group that he was no longer part of because of an inappropriate comment to a young child.

The Money

Stephen and Jocelyn were receiving monthly adoption subsidy checks of over $3,000.00, tax-free for Jaliek and their adopted daughter.  The money was provided to them for the care and medical and psychological care of the children.

Despite the fact that his adoptive parents described Jaliek as mentally ill, homicidal and suicidal, neither he, nor his adopted sister were on meds or had received any counseling in approximately a year.  If Jaliek’s behavior was so bad, so dangerous and so uncontrollable, why did they keep him so long?  However, both Stephen and Jocelyn are on medications and in therapy.

Gang Theory Logic

Stephen Kerr’s only knowledge of any children living in the Person home in Altamont was based on the fact that he saw ONE 14 year-old African American child walk through their living room during the ten minutes he was there to drop Jaliek off.  From that very brief encounter, Stephen Kerr derived that the Persons had “three highly dysfunctional 16 year-old African American teens that Jaliek ran off with to join a gang in Albany”.

Searching the Hill Street House 30 times

Jocelyn stated in her interview with Channel 10 that she searched the Hill Street House 30 times.  However, neither she nor Stephen EVER asked any of the Hill Street or Raven’s Way neighbors if they had seen Jaliek the day he disappeared.

Jaliek – a waste of resources?

On Saturday, November 10^th, Stephen’s family ordered Chinese for dinner.  Before eating, Stephen read the story on the Post-Star newspaper’s front page covering the vigil from the night before and search efforts.  He put the paper down, slapped his hand on it and said, “Look at this.  All these resources for one child.  There are hundreds of children in Egypt, Afghanistan and other parts of the world and all these resources are for just one child.”  The one child he was referring to was his son, Jaliek.

Selling eggs at Jaliek’s vigil

On Friday, November 16^th, after the vigil in Greenwich for Jaliek, John Allen from Channel 13 asked Stephen for a statement about his missing son.  Stephen replied, “I don’t have time to make a comment.  My children have an egg selling business and I have to go back in there (the church) and sell eggs.”

Too busy to look for a missing child

After notifying the media that Stephen and Jocelyn would be putting up reward posters in Albany, the media went to film Stephen that day in Albany.  Stephen is quoted as saying, “We have other things to do rather than look for our missing child.”

Tearing Down Vigil Posters

In the days before a planned “Light the Night” vigil for Jaliek, the police received and the media confirmed, that Stephen Kerr was going around Greenwich tearing down posters for the vigil because “There is a group of people going around putting up posters that say I killed my son.”  The posters never mentioned Stephen or anything he may or may not have done.  They only said,” Searching for Jaliek; Searching for Truth; Searching for Justice” and offered free cookies, coffee and hot chocolate.

Where was Stephen?

On the Sunday night after he reported Jaliek missing (until about 2:00am) and then again on the following Monday night (until around 5:00am), Stephen’s whereabouts was unknown.  He claimed to be passing out flyers in Albany and Troy.  He told his father-in-law that it was snowing where he was on Monday.  It was not snowing in Albany that night, but it was snowing in Greenwich and Vermont.

The Raven Way House

Stephen Kerr got a building permit to build a garage on his property. He built the two-room house that the family lived in without a Certificate of Occupancy until Child Protective Services forbade them from staying there.  The house has no electricity or indoor plumbing, a non-working well with undrinkable water and two dilapidated outhouses with no doors.  They did not move into this house until after the two children were adopted.  Social Services is not required to provide any oversight, once an adoption is finalized.

Front Seat Privilege

On the night Jaliek was returned to his father, Jaliek put his belongings in the back seat of the van and started to get into the back seat.  His father told him he could get into the front seat.  Jaliek’s parents had NEVER allowed Jaliek to sit in the front seat of any vehicle.  In their family, it was considered a place of honor and privilege and his parents felt that, because of Jaliek’s behaviors, that he did not deserve that privilege.

Jocelyn McDonald criticizes the Persons’ parenting style

In her Altamont Enterprise interview, it says, “Of the time Rainwalker spent at he Persons’ house, McDonald said that, while she tries to be tolerant of other parenting styles, she was troubled by their treatment of Rainwalker. ‘It is very hard for me…when a child is in crisis and they’ve done something terrible and dreadful, they’re treated as if it’s their birthday and taken out to their favorite dinners,’ she said.  The next paragraph in the article says, “On the way back to Greenwich from Guilderland on Nov. 1, Kerr stopped at a restaurant, the Red Robin, he said,  ‘He had already eaten, so I just got him a set of wings, which are his favorite food,’ Kerr said of his son.” 

During his time at the Persons, Jaliek did go to McDonald’s once and did get a couple “gifts”. The Persons gave Jaliek a beat-up skateboard that was older than Jaliek. It had been in their garage for years. They also gave him an inexpensive book bag that their college-aged son had gotten for free and some rattlesnake eggs, which is a joke they use when they’re clowning.

Drug Dealing and Stealing?

In the December 20 article in the Altamont Enterprise it says, “Confident that Rainwalker will be home again, McDonald is preparing for her son’s return, though she doesn’t think he will come back on his own. ‘I think that the way that Jaliek is going to come home is the police are going to pick him up – probably for shoplifting or selling crack, or something like that – and he’s going to be dragged home, kicking and screaming,’ she said.”

Jocelyn calls the Persons

On the morning of December 7th, Elaine Person received two calls from Jocelyn, Jaliek’s adopted mother. The first came to their home phone on call waiting and it was gone before she could answer it. Within five minutes, another call from Jocelyn’s cell phone came into Elaine’s cell phone. She answered with, “Hello”. The caller said, “May I ask who this is?” Elaine replied, “May I ask who THIS is?” She said, “This is Jocelyn. I’m just trying to figure out who these calls are on my bill.” Then she hung up. The calls she was checking were from Stephen’s cell phone. Why didn’t she just ask Stephen? 

The House

The Kerr-McDonald residence where Jaliek lived with his adoptive family.
Click on the image to enlarge.