GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Kent County mother is turning her pain into purpose after her son was killed by his own father in the late summer of 2021.
Katie Hall has never talked on camera about her loss until now.
Dylan Thebo was just three years old when his father, Derek, shot and killed him, before turning the gun on himself. Ever since, Katie Hall has been on a mission to create change in the family court system.
Katie Hall remembers Dylan as a kid who loved Paw Patrol and to ride his bike.
“Dylan, he was a spirited kid. He loved to sing. Loved to dance. Loved his mom and his big sister. Loved to ride his bike and play soccer. He was full of life, and unfortunately that was cut short way too soon,” Dylan's mom, Katie Hall, said.
Dylan's life was cut short inside a Lowell Township home. He was found dead from a gunshot in September of 2021.
“Derek picked Dylan up Tuesday, Aug. 31 of 2021 that night, and Dylan never came home. It looks like he killed him that night,” Hall said.
Katie believes her immeasurable loss shows failures in the family court system.
She says she left her abusive relationship with Derek in 2021 and had sole physical custody of Dylan, which is what she knew was safest for him. In a protective order taken out against Derek Thebo, Katie described Derek as being mentally unstable, having serious concerns for his mental health.
“He knew how to speak, how to send messages— text messages— and things to look good in front of other people. But he knew what to do behind closed doors,” Hall said.
Ultimately, according to documents shared with FOX 17, a judge decided to start phasing in unsupervised visits for Derek with Dylan. Katie says that decision was made on Aug. 13. Weeks later, Dylan was dead.
“I just remember that sinking feeling when she said she was going to take away supervised parenting time. I remember walking out after that motion and looking at my sister and saying that the judge had just sentenced Dylan to death,” Hall said.
Katie's taken her story of what happened to Dylan to Washington D.C., working with a national nonprofit called The Center for Judicial Excellence, which is focused on reforming the family court system.
“I remember when I first read the story of Dylan and Katie and it just broke my heart. We are tracking these cases all over the country. Every six days on average, a child is being murdered by a parent,” Executive Director of the Center for Judicial Excellence Kathleen Russell said.
The Center for Judicial Excellence believes Dylan's death was a preventable one.
“We are trying to make changes in the system so nobody else has to go through this,” Katie said.
Those changes are coming to Kent County, says Prosecutor Chris Becker. Kent County's first domestic violence court is in the works, using Dylan's case as a foundation. A review of the little boy's death brought forth multiple suggestions for the new court, like adding in a lethality assessment.
The hope is with a specialized court for domestic violence victims, fewer families will slip through the cracks.
“It’s moving a little slower than I thought, but we’re making progress. I think we’re making progress," Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said.
It's just one small step forward for Katie.
“I never in a million years thought we’d be here or there,” she said.
Her mission is to make sure her son's memory lives on.
“I absolutely do it for Dylan; I do it for Dylan, and I do it for every child who has gone through the system and lost their life because they weren’t protected,” Katie said.
