Suffer The Children

The state of Oregon is overflowing with life and beauty, almost too beautiful to be real. Oregon is a photographer's dream with forests, waterfalls, mountains, and beaches. The sunsets are absolutely stunning and the fog of the morning in the coastal region is awe-inspiring. As beautiful as Oregon is, there is evil that lurks within its borders.

Nothing is more valuable than the connection between a mother and her babies. Nothing is more important in the life of a child than loving parents that desire more for their children than they ever dreamed of having as a child. The desire to nurture your children is ingrained and comes naturally to most of the population. For some though, a connection never develops. The desire to nurture is replaced by a desire to injure or murder the child, and do it in the evilest way possible.

Zachary Dutro-Boggess

Zachary Dutro-Boggess was born to Jessica Analani Dutro and Zachary Boggess on August 13, 2008, in Hawaii. The next four years and three days would be a living and breathing hell for the innocent little boy. Jessica and the senior Zachary were living troubled lives before the birth of their son and did nothing to alter their lifestyle after his birth. Records show that while Jessica lived in Hawaii, Zachary and his sister were removed from her custody for a period of one year and placed into foster care. Zachary's foster mother at the time found him to be a sweet little boy that loved cuddles, hiding, giggling, and toy trucks. She lovingly nicknamed the bright-eyed little boy "Kissing Bandit" due to his habit of stopping whatever he was doing to run across the room for kisses and hugs before returning to whatever he had been doing.

Zachary turned four while living in the Good Neighbor Center homeless shelter in Tigard, Oregon with his mother, Jessica Dutro; her boyfriend, Brian Canady; Jessica's three children with Zachary's father; and the child Jessica and Brian shared. The shelter provides housing for nine families for up to six weeks at a time. Each family is assigned their own room and meals are provided. There are various resources offered in an effort to help families get back on their feet and stay on their feet for the long term. The staff would tell investigators that the family was quiet and that they saw very little of the children. When staff did have the opportunity to interact with the children everyone agreed that the children were well-behaved. Staff did note the almost military manner in which Jessica ran her family unit. It was noted that when the children were finished eating, they would put their heads down until their parents were finished. Once finished eating, the family would all file out and go to their rooms in a highly structured manner.

Just two days before Little Zachary collapsed in the hallway of the shelter, Brian Canady instructed the young boy to go watch television. When Zachary tried to take off his shoes before he sat down instead of going straight to the television, Brian threw him on the ground and stomped on his stomach. When Brian stomped on the young boy, it led to a laceration to the intestines of Zachary. For the following two days, Zachary's intestines leaked feces and urine into his abdominal cavity, poisoning him. His little body got weaker and weaker and he refused to eat supper just moments before his collapse in the hallway. Staff immediately attempted to tend to little Zachary and called for medical services and law enforcement. Upon arrival, the paramedics knew something was wrong with the situation due to the injury his mother had inflicted on his lip just the day before. Zachary's lip had been busted open to the point that a large chunk of his lip was hanging below his mouth. Neither had ever seen an injury to the lip that severe in a child, not even in the car accidents they had previously worked. Both wondered to each other and then to law enforcement why the medical team hadn't been called earlier. Zachary was taken to Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel where the medical team did everything they could to save the little boy's life. Zachary was placed on life support and taken off the following day, forever just four years and three days old.

Jessica Dutro and Brian Canady were promptly arrested on various charges related to the death of young Zachary. Law enforcement didn't stop with Zachary and charged the couple for the abuse of the other children in the home as well. Upon the couple's arrest, the remaining children were placed into the custody of the state, and then the children's grandparents and aunts took custody. All three children were examined by a doctor and only the baby, the infant child of Jessica Dutro and Brian Canady, was free from harm. Zachary's older sister, just seven years old at the time, was covered in bruises on her back. buttocks, chest, and legs. His three-year-old brother was found to have bruises and cuts over his chest, back, buttocks, and legs, as well as five broken ribs in varying stages of healing.

During the course of the investigation, Facebook messages between Jessica Dutro and Brian Canady revealed the motive for the murder of the four-year-old little boy. In the messages, Jessica complained to Brian that Zachary "walks and talks like a homosexual", using a three-letter slur when describing the actions of her son. She went on to tell Brian that he was going to have to "work on the boy" because she could not tolerate him being gay.

Though the state of Oregon had what most would consider an airtight case against Jessica Dutro and Brian Canady, both insisted on a trial. Unfortunately for them, their very brave daughter, just a tender eight years old at the time of the trial, testified against the couple. In a heartbreaking statement that sealed the fate of the killer couple, the little girl would tell the court, "They beat my brother up, and then he died. I seen them."

With the testimony of Zachary's sister, a final nail was driven into the coffins of Jessica Dutro and Brian Canady. After her testimony, Canady quickly took a plea agreement. In exchange for his guilty plea to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault, he would be made to serve a twelve-and-one-half-year prison sentence. He will be eligible for parole as early as 2025.

Jessica Dutro held onto her plea of innocent and went to trial, forcing her young daughter to testify against her. It took one hour for a jury to find Jessica guilty of murder, second-degree assault, and five counts of murder by abuse. Dutro was sentenced to life in prison. Inmate 19633506 will serve twenty-five years within the walls of the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, Oregon.