**This episode was originally released in June of 2021. I am re-releasing it due to the recent arrest of Lisa Jo Vanderlinden, the woman who spent less than a year in jail for Lucas's murder, on charges of abusing another child.**

In 2017, Lucas Call and his baby sister were removed from their biological mother’s custody, in part because she had a learning disability and was unjustly deemed an unfit mother. They were placed in the care of a woman who had previously fostered upwards of 40 children. She was also a trained nurse who worked with the county government’s child abuse investigation team. Sixteen months later, in August of 2018, that woman called 911, reporting 2-year-old Lucas was unresponsive.

After Lucas’s death was deemed a homicide caused by blunt force trauma, his foster mother, Lisa Jo Vanderlinden, was charged with his murder. After accepting a plea agreement, Lisa, who claimed to accept responsibility for Lucas’s death but never confessed to causing his injuries, received a sentence so shockingly inadequate that many have called for the judge’s removal from his position.

In this episode, I’ll tell you Lucas’s story, and you’ll also hear my interview with Lucas’s great-grandma, Peggy Thompson, who shared with me her anger over the injustice of Lucas’s case, as well as some of her fondest memories of this sweet little boy.

This is the infuriating story of Lucas Call.

Photos related to today's episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.329617545279600&type=3

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/STLCpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@STLCpod

My Linktree is available here: https://linktr.ee/stlcpod

Visit the podcast's web page at https://www.sufferthelittlechildrenpod.com.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you'll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular weekly episodes. Pledges of $5 per month can listen to my weekly episodes ad free, while $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes! Visit www.patreon.com/STLCpod.

You can also support the podcast on www.Ko-Fi.com/STLCpod.

Merch is available at www.sufferthelittlechildrenpod.com/shop.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

Music for this episode is licensed from https://audiojungle.net.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/suffer-the-little-children/id1499010711
Google Podcasts: https://playmusic.app.goo.gl/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&apn=com.google.android.music&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/I5mx3lacxpdkhssmk2n22csf32u?t%3DSuffer_the_Little_Children%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/suffer-the-little-children
Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/suffer-the-little-children
Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/suffer-the-little-children/PC:61848?part=PC:61848&corr=podcast_organic_external_site&TID=Brand:POC:PC61848:podcast_organic_external_site
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0w98Tpd3710BZ0u036T1KE
iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/77891101/
...or on your favorite podcast listening platform.