Slain girl's mother files lawsuit against state


08/23/03


SARAH HUNSBERGER


The mother of Miranda Gaddis sued the state's child welfare agency Friday for its alleged role in her daughter's death, one year after authoritiesdiscovered the bodies of Miranda and her classmate Ashley Pond in Oregon City.



Authorities found Miranda's body in a shed at the rental property of Ward Weaver, a neighbor and father of one of the girls' classmates, on Aug. 24, 2002. The next day, they found Ashley's body buried under a concrete slab on the property.

The wrongful death complaint Michelle Duffey filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court alleges that the state Department of Human Services knew or should have known that Weaver was potentially dangerous to Ashley, 12, and Miranda, 13.

In 2001, the Oregon Department of Human Services received several complaints about Weaver alleging that he had sexually abused Ashley. She disappeared in January 2002, and Miranda disappeared two months later.

Weaver has been charged with aggravated murder in the girls' deaths. His trial is scheduled for next summer.

State law limits the liability of a public agency to $100,000 in general damages and $100,000 in special damages per claimant in such a lawsuit, said Kevin Neely, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Justice.

But the lawsuit seeks $1 million for Miranda's estate as compensation for pain and suffering she would have experienced before her death. It also seeks $500,000 in economic damages for funeral expenses, burial expenses and future income that Miranda would have earned.

Duffey's lawyer, Michael Wise of Portland, acknowledged the liability limit but said Duffey asked for those sums to send a message to the state that its handling of the Weaver case is unacceptable to her.

At a news conference announcing the suit, Duffey said, "I know that my daughter would still be here" if the state had handled the complaints about Weaver differently.

"I want to stop any other child from having to go through this."

The suit accuses the state of being negligent in mishandling the reports of abuse involving Weaver, failing to pass along reports of alleged abuse by Weaver to "the proper authorities" and failing to warn the public that Weaver was a potential threat.

The lawsuit also accuses the state of negligence in failing to prevent Weaver from associating with young girls, failing to investigate or ensure proper follow-up on the allegations of abuse, failing to follow its own guidelines for follow-up on abuse cases and failing to make sure that police investigating Ashley's disappearance were "fully apprised" of the abuse allegations against Weaver.

"As a direct result of the defendant's negligence, Ward Weaver continued his unlawful conduct, becoming an increasingly dangerous individual, and ultimately kidnapped and murdered Miranda Diane Gaddis," the lawsuit said.

Jean Thorne, director of the Department of Human Services, declined to comment on the lawsuit because the department had not received a copy and hadn't had a chance to review it with lawyers.

Since the girls' deaths, the Department of Human Services has made several changes as a result of Ashley's case, Thorne said. Field offices now send abuse reports to police the same day they are received and confirm that they were received by police. Supervisors review the abuse reports the same day they come into the office.

The agency has restored 18 supervisor positions in child welfare and 24 office manager positions. The agency also is requiring specific training of new child welfare caseworkers. Caseworkers now are required to meet with children and parents each month, rather than every 90 days.

"We simply hope to ensure that those changes are made," Wise said of the lawsuit.

Wise said he has been discussing the possibility of a settlement with Department of Human Services officials "for quite some time" but no agreement has been reached.

Duffey said she's going to counseling and is still struggling to accept her daughter's death. She declined to say where she is living but said her three surviving children are living with her.

"I'm doing pretty good, and every day is hard," Duffey said. "The 24th is almost like every other day to me." Sarah Hunsberger: 503-294-5922; shunsberger@news.oregonian.com



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