Menard inmate death not considered suspicious

<span>A Sept. 26 death of a Menard Correctional Center inmate is not being treated as suspicious.</span>

<span>Randolph County Coroner Randy Dudenbostel told the Herald Tribune on Thursday that 23-year-old Desean J. "Baby" Larue, of Cook County, was pronounced dead on Sept. 26 at 11:08 a.m. at Chester Memorial Hospital.</span>

<span>Menard is on partial lockdown with limited visits while the investigation is ongoing.</span>

<span>"We're doing an autopsy today," Dudenbostel said. "We're looking at it and it appears to be nothing suspicious."</span>

<span>Dudenbostel said it could take between six and eight weeks to get autopsy and toxicology results back.</span>

<span>"It's under investigation by the Illinois Department of Corrections, Randolph County Coroner's Office and the Illinois State Police," Dudenbostel said.</span>

<span>A GoFundMe account for Larue appears to have been set up by his mother, Lawanda Walker, to bring her son back home. The account was set up on Tuesday.</span>

<span>"It would mean the world to me if I could give my son a proper homecoming," Walker wrote on the website. "So, I'm asking for support to bring Desean back home to Chicago so his family could see him one last time."</span>

<span>The GoFundMe account is seeking $10,000 and had $395 from 12 donors as of Thursday morning.</span>

<span>An email sent to IDOC spokeswoman Nicole Wilson seeking comment was not immediately returned. A search of online IDOC inmate records did not turn up any information regarding why Larue was in Menard.</span>

<span>"As a mother, I'm struggling with this situation because I haven't seen my son in two years," Walker wrote. "If I don't come up with the money, the correctional center will take it into their own hands and send me his ashes."</span>