WINNIPEG –
The mom of a 17-year-old sufferer in a mass slaying in Manitoba is suing a toddler welfare company for allegedly failing to guard the woman.
Juliette Hastings claims within the lawsuit that Winnipeg Little one and Household Companies, the Basic Little one and Household Companies Authority and the director of Little one and Household Companies have been “reckless, careless and negligent of their statutory obligation” to her daughter, Myah-Lee Gratton.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Courtroom of King’s Bench. An announcement of defence has not but been filed and the allegations haven’t been examined in courtroom.
The assertion of declare alleges that the house the teenager was staying in was not correctly vetted and investigated after Myah-Lee expressed considerations for her security.
Myah-Lee was staying on the house in Carman, Man. On Feb. 11, police discovered the teenager and 4 others, useless on the home and within the surrounding space.
Ryan Manoakeesick faces 5 counts of first-degree homicide within the deaths of Myah-Lee, his common-law companion, Amanda Clearwater, 30, and the couple’s three youngsters: Bethany, 6, Jayven, 4, and two-month-old Isabella Manoakeesick.
A trial date has but to be set.
Courtroom data present Manoakeesick struggled with a methamphetamine habit and had nervousness and melancholy, in addition to different underlying mental-health points. He was beforehand convicted of mischief and sentenced to 18 months probation in 2019.
The lawsuit says Manoakeesick had a identified historical past of bodily violence and instability.
“It was foreseeable that every one residents of the house have been susceptible to egregious hurt or loss of life,” the doc says.
Myah-Lee had been staying with the household since April 2023, after she instructed her mom she needed to maneuver out of their Winnipeg house, the lawsuit says. The teenager obtained providers from the kid welfare company.
The lawsuit says Hastings disapproved of the location and instructed the company, and it instructed the lady to not have any communication along with her daughter.
The house in Carman was too small for the couple, their youngsters and the teenager, the declare says.
“The house was in a chaotic state. It was unsanitary. It was an unsafe placement for Myah-Lee,” the doc alleges.
In October 2023, there was a violent bodily altercation with Myah-Lee and Manoakeesick, the declare says. Little one and Household Companies was notified.
“Myah-Lee particularly requested (Little one and Household Companies) transfer her from that house for her security. Little one and Household Companies refused and uncared for to take concrete steps to correctly examine and guarantee Myah-Lee was secure,” the lawsuit alleges.
“(Little one and Household Companies) didn’t help Myah-Lee to find a secure house.”
The Basic Little one and Household Companies Authority, which oversees Winnipeg Little one and Household Companies, mentioned Tuesday it had not been served the lawsuit and was unable to supply remark.
The lawsuit says Hastings made a number of calls to the authority between April 2023 and February, asking that her daughter be positioned in a special house.
She additionally requested the authority to rearrange for RCMP to do a wellness examine on the house and take away her daughter, says the swimsuit.
It says the RCMP referred the request to the company and the mom additionally referred to as police.
Manitoba RCMP mentioned it was not capable of remark due to the lawsuit.
Myah-Lee additionally spoke with a faculty counsellor in Carman and requested for assist, says the lawsuit. It is believed the counsellor reached out to the authority however nothing occurred, the doc says.
The lawsuit says Myah-Lee’s loss of life was “a direct results of gross negligence and inaction by the defendants,” because the authority failed to finish a correct house examine and ignored warning indicators that the teenager was in peril.
The lawsuit asks for normal, aggravated and punitive damages, saying Hastings has suffered “emotional, bodily and psychological hardship because of the defendants’ failure to supply security, safety and the requirements of life for Myah-Lee.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Oct. 30, 2024.
