Parmadale workers indicted in death of Faith Finley

Posted by rdissell [at] plaind [dot] comSeptember 02, 2009 10:14AM

CLEVELAND, OHIO — Three former Parmadale child-care workers are charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 17-year-old girl.

A grand jury heard testimony for several weeks before reaching the decision against the women -- Cynthia King of Warrensville Heights, Lazarita Menendez of Bedford Heights and Ebony Ray of Broadview Heights. Menendez also was charged with felonious assault.

Faith Finley died on Dec. 13 in a cottage on the Parmadale Family Services campus in Parma after being restrained by the women, who said she was combative toward them.

Assistant County Prosecutor Maureen Clancy said the standard for an involuntary manslaughter charge is that a person knows their actions could lead to death.

"They were reckless in the way the whole procedure went from beginning to end," Clancy said.

She said that when the restraint ends, workers are supposed to get the person up and make sure he or she is breathing. Instead, they just left her there, Clancy said.

"We're not talking five to 10 minutes. We're talking about 1½ to 2 hours," she said.

The women could not be reached for comment this morning.
 

Cuyahoga Coroner Frank Miller ruled Finley's death a homicide in January and determined the restraint and the pressure on her abdomen caused her to suffocate.

Parmadale houses children and teens with emotional, behavioral and mental health problems. Faith had been at Parmadale for several months and was being treated for depression.

Faith's mother, Antoinette Finley, in July sued the women, Parmadale and Catholic Charities, which operates the center.

The suit alleges that Parmadale didn't properly screen, train or supervise its employees. It also says that Faith suffered "severe conscious physical pain and suffering" before she died.

Antoinette Finley said she believes the prosecutors did their best, but that the law is limited and doesn't address what was done to her daughter.

She said she knows the workers didn't plan to kill Faith but that they didn't help her, either. "She was dying on the floor as they were doing this to her. She was gasping for breath. And then they left her on the floor struggling. That is not a mistake. A puppy would have been treated better than that."

Coroner's investigative reports question inconsistent versions of that day recounted by the Parmadale staff. Specifically, the office's investigators said they could not pinpoint when Faith was last seen alive.

Parmadale staff told a 9-1-1 dispatcher that Faith had been breathing shallowly for about 20 minutes before becoming unresponsive. But when an ambulance arrived within minutes of the call, emergency workers noted Faith was already cool to the touch.

Stories about how Faith was restrained before dying also differ. Staff told the coroner's office that they held Faith down by her legs, arms and shoulders. Miller determined that Faith died from "near traumatic asphyxia," which means there was compression on her abdomen. He also said she was choking on her vomit while being restrained.

Parmadale fired the three women in February after a state review found that they did not follow Parmadale's own policies.

Faith's rights were violated when staff members restrained her because she had the right to be free of "physical abuse and inhumane treatment," according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services review

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/09/parmadale_workers_indicted_for.html [11]

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