We’ve explored McCaul’s criminal history, and that of his brothers. The woman who begat all these criminals is Phyllis McCaul. Why didn’t grandma take Sonya in?
In September of 2008, Grandma McCaul took in six of her great nieces and nephews when their father abandoned them after his wife died of a cerebral aneurism. She had trouble getting approval for those children, since her home was too small. She tried moving into a two bedroom place with more than one child per bed, but the Department of Children's Services said each child had to have their own bed. She got a bigger place, through donations and the $995,000 in government money (as of six years ago) that the children have received over the course of their lives.
Space wasn’t the only issue. Whatever Phyllis has told her son and others, she wasn’t really even trying to care for Sonya. Court records show that, although Phyllis was home study approved in August, 2006 to care for Sonya, Phyllis rarely tried to contact Sonya while she was in the Hodgins' care. If you don't believe me, ask DCS.
But it’s not just the lack of space and lack of effort that likely kept Grandma Phyllis from caring for Sonya while Junior was in prison.
In September of 2008, Grandma McCaul took in six of her great nieces and nephews when their father abandoned them after his wife died of a cerebral aneurism. She had trouble getting approval for those children, since her home was too small. She tried moving into a two bedroom place with more than one child per bed, but the Department of Children's Services said each child had to have their own bed. She got a bigger place, through donations and the $995,000 in government money (as of six years ago) that the children have received over the course of their lives.
Space wasn’t the only issue. Whatever Phyllis has told her son and others, she wasn’t really even trying to care for Sonya. Court records show that, although Phyllis was home study approved in August, 2006 to care for Sonya, Phyllis rarely tried to contact Sonya while she was in the Hodgins' care. If you don't believe me, ask DCS.
But it’s not just the lack of space and lack of effort that likely kept Grandma Phyllis from caring for Sonya while Junior was in prison.
First, Phyllis isn’t exactly stable. According to her own social media posts, Grandma carried a .22 caliber bullet in her pocket for years, so that if, at any time, she felt suicidal, she could go to a pawn shop, ask to see a gun, and then shoot herself in the head. Right there in the store. Can you imagine how witnessing that would affect, probably for a lifetime, the pawn shop employees and the other customers who would be there on the day she splattered her brains all over the store? Violence against innocents seems to run in the family. Perhaps someone should inquire of Phyllis as to whether she still carries that bullet in her pocket.
Second, Grandma McCaul has a decades-long history of child neglect. In 1989 Phyllis McCaul pled guilty to two counts of child neglect and her son Steve was deemed a ward of the state. In May, 2013, Kennedy Staton was also removed from Phyllis’ care due to neglect.
Even worse than neglecting two of her children, she exposed her children and grandchildren to her ex-husband, John E. McCaul, Sr., who was, as we previously read, accused of raping his young grandchild. Now, he wasn’t convicted of pedophilia, but, if you have any sense, an accusation is enough to protect the children you love. We don’t know how many times she allowed him access to her children and grandchildren, but in 2011, while John Jr. was in prison, they attended the Davis-Lovewell family reunion together in Superior, Nebraska, about two hours from Lincoln. The kids who attended with Phyllis and Senior? Devon, Shawnee, Justice, Dylan, Megan, Lindsey, and Melissa. Her sons Brandon and Dan attended too, but they were adults at the time.
DCS had custody of Sonya except for the about a year in November, 2008 to October, 2009, when the Hodgins had legally adopted her. At any time, DCS could have given Phyllis custody. But whatever the reasons, neither the courts nor Department of Children's Services ever saw fit to give Grandma McCaul custody of Sonya. Had she been truthful about her history of child neglect, it's likely Grandma Phyllis would not have been approved. It appears the only way she was approved was to lie. [Perhaps John took a lesson from his mother? Stay tuned for that.]
But in any case there was no one in Nebraska who was able to care for Sonya from 2006 until McCaul was out on supervised release in October, 2012. And I doubt anyone, DCS or the courts, was really was that alarmed about it, since the Hodgins provided a stable, loving home for Sonya.
Second, Grandma McCaul has a decades-long history of child neglect. In 1989 Phyllis McCaul pled guilty to two counts of child neglect and her son Steve was deemed a ward of the state. In May, 2013, Kennedy Staton was also removed from Phyllis’ care due to neglect.
Even worse than neglecting two of her children, she exposed her children and grandchildren to her ex-husband, John E. McCaul, Sr., who was, as we previously read, accused of raping his young grandchild. Now, he wasn’t convicted of pedophilia, but, if you have any sense, an accusation is enough to protect the children you love. We don’t know how many times she allowed him access to her children and grandchildren, but in 2011, while John Jr. was in prison, they attended the Davis-Lovewell family reunion together in Superior, Nebraska, about two hours from Lincoln. The kids who attended with Phyllis and Senior? Devon, Shawnee, Justice, Dylan, Megan, Lindsey, and Melissa. Her sons Brandon and Dan attended too, but they were adults at the time.
DCS had custody of Sonya except for the about a year in November, 2008 to October, 2009, when the Hodgins had legally adopted her. At any time, DCS could have given Phyllis custody. But whatever the reasons, neither the courts nor Department of Children's Services ever saw fit to give Grandma McCaul custody of Sonya. Had she been truthful about her history of child neglect, it's likely Grandma Phyllis would not have been approved. It appears the only way she was approved was to lie. [Perhaps John took a lesson from his mother? Stay tuned for that.]
But in any case there was no one in Nebraska who was able to care for Sonya from 2006 until McCaul was out on supervised release in October, 2012. And I doubt anyone, DCS or the courts, was really was that alarmed about it, since the Hodgins provided a stable, loving home for Sonya.