Member-only story
Patrick Alford Jr. was a typical 7-year-old boy in 2010. He was kind-hearted, loved to play video games, and loved playing basketball.
But Patrick’s life wasn’t all fun and games.
His mom, Jennifer, was a teenager when she had him, and she would go on to have a little girl three years later. She had her hands full. Jennifer also battled with some depression and had a rough home life herself. She wanted to give her children a better life than what she had, but she was struggling.
Their father, although he was in the picture somewhat, also found himself mixed up in some of the New York City gang life.
Patrick’s childhood didn’t start in the best way.
At age 7, after some intense family drama, Patrick and his little sister were taken from Jennifer and put into foster care.
Shortly after going to a new foster home, Patrick started to rebel and developed behavioral problems. He threatened to hurt the other kids in the home, threatened to hurt himself, and continued to say he was going to run away and go back to his real mom.
On January 22, 2010, Patrick was taking the trash to the trash chute of their 11th-floor apartment. His foster mom was supposed to be following him, but she got a phone call…
