REMEMBERING SAILOR

Sailor Serenity Raine Kuhn was only six months old. She was born on April 21, 2011, in Cortez, Colorado, to Dylan Alan Kuhn and April Lynn Coleman. Sailor had barely begun experiencing the world. At six months old, she should have been learning the familiar faces and voices around her, reaching for toys, discovering new sounds, smiling, laughing and changing almost every day. She had an older brother, Asher, and a family that should have had years to watch the two children grow up together. Her obituary shows that Sailor was surrounded by an extended family of grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles who would be left to mourn a life that had only just begun. Six months is such a small beginning to a life that should have lasted for decades. Her name was Sailor Serenity Raine Kuhn. She was a daughter.

A little sister. A baby whose entire future was still ahead of her.

SAILOR'S STORY

On November 1, 2011, emergency responders were called to a home in Cortez, Colorado, after six month old Sailor was found unresponsive. Sailor was taken to Southwest Memorial Hospital, where she died. Her father, Dylan Kuhn, initially gave an explanation that did not account for the severity of Sailor's injuries. The investigation eventually revealed that Sailor had suffered fatal head trauma. Authorities determined that Dylan had slammed his infant daughter onto a bed.

The impact caused the injuries that resulted in her death. Sailor was six months old. She could not defend herself. She could not escape. She could not understand why the person responsible for protecting her was hurting her. She depended completely upon the adults around her for her safety.

And on November 1, 2011, that protection failed her.

JUSTICE FOR SAILOR

Dylan Kuhn was initially charged with manslaughter and child abuse in connection with Sailor's death. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter. The sentence became one of the most controversial aspects of Sailor's case. Despite the death of his six-month-old daughter, Kuhn was sentenced to only 90 days in jail and four years of probation. The sentence drew significant public criticism, including national media attention, because many believed the punishment was extraordinarily lenient for conduct that resulted in the death of an infant. Kuhn later violated the terms of his probation. Among the violations documented by authorities were missed probation appointments, positive drug tests, failure to complete required testing and failure to participate in ordered counseling. He also failed to appear for a probation-revocation hearing, resulting in a warrant for his arrest. After being apprehended, Kuhn admitted to probation violations.

Dylan Alan Kuhn
Relationship to Sailor: Father
Conviction: Reckless manslaughter
Original sentence: 90 days in jail and four years of probation

FOREVER REMEMBERED

Sailor Serenity Raine Kuhn lived for six months and eleven days. There should have been so much more. A first birthday. First words.First steps. Preschool. Kindergarten. School pictures. Friends. Teenage years. Graduation. Adulthood. There should have been years for Sailor and her older brother to grow up together. There should have been enough time for her family to discover who this tiny baby would become. Instead, Sailor's life ended before she could even celebrate her first birthday. The court records tell us how Sailor died. They tell us about charges, a plea agreement, a controversial sentence and probation violations. But none of those things tell us who Sailor should have had the opportunity to become. She was more than the crime committed against her. She was Sailor. A daughter. A little sister. A six month old baby whose life had barely begun. Her name was Sailor Serenity Raine Kuhn. Abuse Angels remembers Sailor Serenity Raine Kuhn the six month old baby girl who deserved a lifetime beyond those first precious months and whose name deserves to be remembered for far more than the violence that ended her life. We remember Sailor. We speak her name. And Sailor Serenity Raine Kuhn will not be forgotten.