A federal judge in Denver will allow a wrongful-death lawsuit to go forward against two Denver social-service workers for failing to prevent the starvation death of a 7-year-old boy in 2007.
Chandler Grafner was sealed in a closet and left to starve in his own urine and feces by his foster parents, Jon Phillips, 26, and his 22-year-old girlfriend, Sarah Berry.
Both were convicted in Chandler’s death and are in prison.
Two months before Chandler died, a school aide alerted authorities to suspected abuse. But an ensuing investigation by the Denver Department of Human Services found the allegation unfounded.
U.S. District Judge William J. Martínez stated in a ruling Tuesday that while the agencies are entitled to legal immunity, the two employees — Margaret Booker, the head of investigations for the Denver County Department of Human Services, and case supervisor Mary Peagler — were not entitled to immunity because their failure to take action “shocked the conscience” and abused the child’s civil rights.
Martínez stated the lawyers for Chand ler’s family had proved a link between the failure by defendants and the child’s death.
“Chandler died from starvation and dehydration and, at the time of his death, was twenty pounds underweight for his age,” the judge stated in his ruling.
“These injuries, by their nature, occur over a period of time. Had Defendants properly exercised their professional judgment in response to the April 17, 2007 referral, these injuries may well have been avoided.”
The Jefferson County Department of Human Services had placed Chandler in Phillips’ custody. The Denver agency had been tasked with investigating the allegation after Phillips and Berry moved the boy there.
The lawsuit was filed by Chandler’s mother, Christina Grafner, and his father, Joshua Norris. Christina Grafner lost custody of the boy after she was charged with neglect one year before his death. Phillips was Grafner’s former boyfriend, and Chandler was the half brother of Phillips’ son, Dominick.
Joey Bunch, The Denver Post
