REMEMBERING TIMOTHY

Timothy Boss was born on June 30, 1989. He was a special needs child who was adopted in Michigan by Donald and Lisa Boss before the family eventually moved to Remsen, Iowa. Timothy lived in a large household with both adopted and biological children. He was dependent upon the adults who had chosen to become his parents to provide the additional patience, protection and care he needed. Despite what Timothy endured, there were moments that showed the kind of child he was. Years later, Lisa recalled an incident in which Timothy saw her injured and brought her a washcloth to wipe away the blood. She also remembered Timothy saying that when he grew up, he wanted to become a police officer so he could protect his family from being hurt. Timothy never got the opportunity to grow up and discover what his future might have held. He was ten years old when his life ended.

TIMOTHY’S STORY

Inside the Boss home, Timothy and other children were subjected to severe and degrading punishment. Evidence later presented in court showed that Timothy was physically abused by his adoptive father. During the period before Timothy’s death, he was being homeschooled and had become increasingly isolated from adults outside the family. The abuse ultimately escalated into the events that ended his life. Timothy had attempted to escape from a locked room in the basement by making a hole in a wall. He was punished for trying to get out. Timothy was tied to an orange folding chair with plastic ties. Another plastic tie was placed around his neck and attached to a shelf. While restrained, Timothy was beaten with a wooden paddle or board. He was then left tied to the chair for hours. When Donald eventually cut Timothy free, the ten year old collapsed onto the floor. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. Timothy was taken upstairs and placed into a bathtub filled with cold water. No emergency call was made that could save him. Rather than report Timothy’s death, Donald concealed it. He rented a cement saw, cut through the basement floor and buried Timothy’s body beneath the house. Concrete was poured over the burial site and the floor was covered with carpet. The family then told others that Timothy had gone back to Michigan. Timothy remained beneath the basement floor while life continued above him. His disappearance went undetected for approximately a year and a half. In January 2002, Michigan authorities asked the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department in Iowa to check on Timothy’s welfare. When deputies arrived at the Boss home, Lisa told them Timothy was living in Kentucky with her sister. Her sister told authorities that was not true and that she had not seen Timothy in approximately a year and a half. Deputies returned to the home. Donald initially offered another false explanation, claiming Lisa had taken Timothy back to Michigan. He eventually admitted that Timothy was dead. Donald told authorities that Timothy’s death had not been accidental, admitted beating him and said he believed he may also have given Timothy an overdose of medication. Even then, Timothy’s body had not yet been found. In February 2002, Donald disclosed that Timothy was buried beneath the basement floor.

 

Investigators broke through the concrete.

 

Wrapped in a blanket beneath the floor, they finally found Timothy.

 

Because his body had been concealed for so long, decomposition prevented the medical examiner from determining a specific cause of death.

 

His remains nevertheless showed evidence of previous injuries, including injuries to his arms, teeth and a broken bone in his hand.

 

Nearly two years after Timothy died, the truth about what happened to him was finally exposed.

 

SYSTEM FAILURES & WARNING SIGNS

 

Timothy’s isolation played an important role in allowing both his abuse and his disappearance to remain hidden.

 

He had been adopted in Michigan and was a special needs child for whom Donald and Lisa received state adoption subsidies.

 

After the family moved to Iowa, Timothy was homeschooled during the 1999 to 2000 school year.

 

When school officials later contacted the family regarding an end of year assessment, the family reportedly claimed Timothy had returned to Michigan to live with relatives.

 

He had not.

 

Timothy was already dead.

 

Because he was no longer attending a traditional school, there was no teacher seeing him each morning, no classroom noticing his prolonged absence and no ordinary school environment in which his injuries or deteriorating circumstances might have been observed.

 

The family continued concealing what had happened.

 

Donald also continued reporting information to Michigan that allowed the family to receive adoption subsidies associated with Timothy’s care even though Timothy was dead.

 

It was not until relatives who had not seen Timothy became concerned that authorities in Michigan requested a welfare check in January 2002.

 

By then, Timothy had been dead for nearly two years.

 

His case demonstrates the danger created when a vulnerable child becomes isolated from the people and institutions outside an abusive home who might otherwise notice that something is wrong.

 

JUSTICE FOR TIMOTHY

 

Donald Boss was charged with first degree murder.

 

At his trial, two of Timothy’s brothers described what had happened inside the home. They testified about Timothy being restrained to the chair, beaten and left tied there before collapsing when he was finally released.

The physical evidence recovered from Timothy’s remains and Donald’s own statements to authorities also became part of the case against him.

On December 12, 2002, Donald was convicted of first degree murder.

He received the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

His conviction was subsequently upheld on appeal.

Lisa Boss was also eventually criminally charged in connection with Timothy’s death.

She was charged with first degree murder, first degree kidnapping and felony child endangerment.

In November 2003, Lisa pleaded guilty to reduced charges of attempted murder, voluntary manslaughter, felony child endangerment and willful injury.

She was sentenced the following month to a combined fifty years in prison.

 

Donald Lynn Boss Jr.

Relationship to Timothy: Adoptive Father

Conviction(s): First degree murder

Sentence: Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole

 

Lisa Marie Boss

Relationship to Timothy: Adoptive Mother

Conviction(s): Attempted murder; Voluntary manslaughter; Felony child endangerment; Willful injury

Sentence: 50 years in prison

FOREVER REMEMBERED

 

For nearly two years, Timothy was hidden beneath the floor of the house where he had lived.

 

The adults responsible for him created false explanations for his absence while the world outside that home continued without knowing where he was.

 

But Timothy cannot be reduced to the place where his body was hidden.

 

He was a ten year old boy.

 

He was a child with additional needs who deserved additional care, not cruelty.

 

And even amid the violence surrounding him, there were glimpses of a boy who cared about other people.

 

Timothy once brought a washcloth to someone he saw hurting.

 

He spoke about wanting to become a police officer when he grew up.

 

He never got that chance.

 

What was hidden beneath that basement floor was not a secret to be forgotten.

 

It was a child.

 

Abuse Angels remembers Timothy Boss.

 

Remembered. Honored. Never Forgotten.