Ryder Belisle: When Custody Became a Medical Crisis

Ryder was a medically fragile child living with Sanfilippo Syndrome Type IIIB, a rare and terminal neurological disease that required constant specialized care. For years, his survival depended on strict medical routines, equipment management, and a caregiver trained to respond to emergencies. Then a custody battle moved his case from hospital rooms into courtrooms, where legal procedure began to outweigh medical warnings. In this episode, we examine the timeline of court decisions, ignored medical directives, and the devastating consequences that followed. This is not a mystery of who did it. It is a case that raises difficult questions about how family courts handle medically fragile children, what happens when expert medical advice is sidelined, and whether systems meant to protect can sometimes fail the very people they are designed to serve. This episode contains discussion of severe childhood illness and death. Listener discretion is advised. Links to support the family: Facebook: Justice For Ryder - We The People Demand Accountability NOW GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/709193ee9 Support Crime Salad: Merch: Check out the merch on our website, crimesaladpodcast.com Be sure to tag us on social media when you get something. And also, thanks to our supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon. You truly keep this show going! If you’d like to get ad-free episodes and bonus content, you can join for as little as one dollar at patreon.com/crimesaladpodcast Keywords/Topics: rare childhood disease, medical dependency cases, caregiver continuity, child welfare systems, family court custody battles, medical advocacy, legal responsibility, true crime podcast, child protection Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices