"Sleepover" at the Burkholders

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On April 12, 2007, Qadira Stephens was dropped off at the home of Todd Burkholder in Southwest Portland. At the time, Todd Burkholder, Aimee McQuiston, and their daughter, Sophie Burkholder, were all present. Qadira was expected to enjoy an innocent playdate and spend the night with Sophie Burkholder.

However, at 9:09 PM, Aimee McQuiston called the Stephens and left a message on their answering machine, stating that Qadira had sustained a burn and "thinks she wants to go home." What followed was a shocking turn of events.

To fully grasp the severity of the situation that Karellen Stephens was about to encounter, it is crucial to read her firsthand account from her 2020 book, "Justice For Qadira." As you read, imagine yourself in the shoes of a mother on the night of April 12, 2007.

"Aimee's voice had sounded calm that night when I called to ask to let Kamaya to speak to Qadira. "Did I get her message?" She asked. "Qadira got a burn" she said breathlessely. What? A burn? I didn't understand what she was saying. I thought to myself. She must mean like a little burn on her finger. Like the kind you get when you are baking cookies? It couldn't be too big of a deal because Qadira wasn't usually the type of kid to get upset over those types of things. "Do I need to come?" I asked and she replied, "Yes." (Pg. 34)

"When I got to their house Aimee met me at the door. Her face was flushed and red and she told me to come quickly leading me down the hallway down the stairs into their basement. Where was she taking me I wondered? Why was Aimee taking me to the basement? But when I got partway down the stairs I could see Qadira wrapped in a towel on the couch.

Why was she wrapped in a towel? Sophie was off to the side and Lilo and Stitch was playing on the television. When Qadira saw me she immediately burst into tears. Her face was already so swollen and I raced to her side to soothe her. 'Mommy I got a burn she cried." (Pg. 35)

"I pulled back the towel and she was naked. What? But why was she naked? I couldn't understand what was happening but I knew my daughter was injured, Todd was shaking a dirty tube of aloe vera at me exclaiming. "I was just gonna put some aloe vera on it." I pushed his hand away and removed the slightly warm bag of peas that was covering my daughter's thigh. I couldn't even begin to comprehend what I was looking at. Her skin looked wet where the bag had sat and it took me a moment to realize that I wasn't looking at her skin."  (Pg. 35) 

I was staring at her open flesh. Aimee was saying something faintly in the background about the girls playing in the bathtub and Qadira standing on the edge and slipping in and that she had burned Qadira with a tea kettle. Why had the kids been taking a bath? Why was there a teakettle in the bathroom? Weren't they supposed to be playing with Sophie's new kitten? What was going on? I didn't know these people well enough for it be okay for our children to bathe together. Besides, the girls were 8 years old" (Pg. 35)

"Everything was all wrong. I had to get out of there. I picked up Qadira and walked towards the basement stairs. They both started to follow me. Todd was asking me if I wanted to take the peas but I told him we had food at home. Why was this man trying to give me a bag of peas? Aimee and Todd were rushing up the stairs behind me insisting that Qadira didn't need to go the hospital but I kept telling them that I would take her anyway." (Pg. 35)

Though Karellen's initial instinct was to take Qadira to the hospital, she was in shock and quickly became uncertain about how to handle Qadira’s injury. She was taken aback by Todd and Aimee's assurances that the injury was minor and that a hospital visit was unnecessary. This conflicting information only added to Karellen's confusion and exacerbated her shock. When she returned home and showed her husband the injury, he too was immediately shocked and unsure of what he was seeing.

As young parents with limited experience in such dire circumstances—Karellen at 29 and Renee at 28—they found themselves at a loss. In her desperation, Karellen called her mother, Audrey Lloyd, for advice. Overwhelmed and hysterical, she explained that Qadira had suffered a severe burn. Audrey's immediate response was to insist that Qadira be taken to the emergency room without delay. Another excerpt from Karellen's book, "Justice For Qadira," provides further insight into the ordeal.

"I couldn’t think as I walked up my porch stairs. I had Qadira cradled in my arms wrapped in the towel I had found her in. When I got inside I called out to Renee to come. When your child is hurt you don’t want it to be serious and I just wanted Qadira to be okay. I wanted Renee to tell me that she was going to be okay. But when he walked into the room he just stared. He just stood there staring. Renee couldn’t help shed any light on the situation." (Pg 36).

"I laid Qadira on the sofa and he just kept staring down at her leg with a confused look on his face. Finally he asked me “What is that?” I tried to explain but it was like he couldn’t hear me or I wasn’t saying the right things.

At the present moment I was saying something about a bathtub and a teakettle and a bag of peas that I could barely understand. He just kept standing there speechless He wasn’t helping me assess the situation at all and Qadira didn’t look well. So I did what any kid would do, I called my mom. My mom would know what to do."  (Pg 36).

"I grabbed the phone and dialed up her number as fast as I could. It was ringing, ringing, and click. “Hello.” All my mom remembers is me screaming into the phone. “Mom!” I started sobbing relieved to hear her voice. “Mom Qadira got a burn!” I screamed. “Her leg is all burned up” Suddenly I was crying so hard I could barely talk. I was gasping for air. But my mom was calm.

“Okay.” She said “Is there any skin on her leg?” She asked. “No” I replied staring down at Qadira’s open flesh trying to understand what I was looking at. “Take her to the hospital right now.”  My mother’s voice was firm and it pierced through the fog that had enveloped me. I needed to go to the hospital right now. Finally somebody knew what to do." (Pg. 37)

"The seconds ticked by like hours. As I hung up the phone I realized that we needed someone to watch the kids. Renee and I felt scared and worried and Qadira looked miserable. Her eyes were practically glued shut from crying. I called my mom back and she said she would come right away but now it seemed like she was taking forever.

We obviously were not thinking clearly because we decided to call Todd and Aimee and ask them to come over and watch our other kids so we could leave right away. Shock is real and it can cloud your judgment immensely. I know it sounds bizarre us calling the very people who had just harmed our daughter to come watch our other kids but that is exactly what we did."  (Pg. 37)

"Todd arrived alone and we were a bit taken aback. He sauntered in looking relaxed and proclaimed loudly that we were overreacting “If it was my daughter I would just put some Aloe Vera on it” He bellowed. I felt a flash of anger as we walked out the door. We needed to get out of there. I didn’t have time to regret calling him or to wonder where Aimee was.

We loaded Qadira into the car and left in a hurry. I told Todd that as soon as my mom arrived he could leave and I meant it. He was irritating me and I didn’t want him in my house. I just wanted someone to tell me that my daughter was going to be okay. I decided to go to what I believed was the nearest hospital. Which was closer Legacy Emanuel or Providence St Vincent’s? Providence seemed closer so I headed in that direction." (Pg. 38)

As previously mentioned, once Karellen and Renee understood the necessary actions, another troubling incident occurred. Overwhelmed by the situation, the couple called Todd and Aimee to come and watch the other children.

According to Karellen, Todd once again insisted that Karellen and Renee should not take Qadira to the hospital. However, because of Audrey Lloyd's advice, Karellen decided to take Qadira to the emergency room. Regrettably, the hospital visit proved to be inadequate, leaving Qadira at risk of further complications from her injury.