July 11, 2021- 10:26 a.m.
Jennifer Keim, 34, was arrested in March and charged with first-degree murder in relation to the death of her son, Joseph “J.J” Hammond, who was born with cerebral palsy. Hammond died on Nov. 3 in a local hospital.
Emergency room staff contacted police after the teen died because he was “extremely dehydrated, emaciated and had severe open wounds that had not been properly treated,” according to the Moline Police Department.
Keim’s husband, Justin Keim, was also arrested and charged with criminal neglect of a disabled person. Justin was released in April after posting 10% of a $250,000 bond.
Rock Island County Public Defender Matthew Durbin requested in a motion hearing Friday that Jennifer Keim’s bond be reduced to $250,000. He called Keim to the stand and asked her about her financial situation and community ties. He said that Keim does not pose a flight risk because she has very few family members outside of the Quad-Cities area, and she doesn’t have the means to leave even if she wanted to.
“She has no ability to go anywhere else than where she has always been,” Durbin said.
Durbin also said that because discovery and evidence collection for the case requires going through 15 years worth of medical records, it would be much easier to work with her to build her defense if she weren’t under lock and key.
Keim has no criminal history, and Durbin argued that she does not pose a risk to the community.
State’s attorney Sean Williams argued against any reduction in the bond because of the seriousness of the crime. Judge Frank R. Fuhr said he doesn’t believe Keim is a threat to the community, but because of the nature of the charges there is still a flight risk, which is why he decided to reduce the bond to $1 million.
Keim’s next court date is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 30.
