A parent’s job is to put their child’s needs above their own at all times. For some parents, that means giving away their child to someone who can care for them better.
In their older age, a couple struggled to provide the care their adult son with a developmental disability needed. So the parents sent their son to a care home, where they were promised he would be well cared for. Tragically, however, the very people who promised to protect him ended up putting him in danger.
New Parents
Over three decades ago, a couple from Missouri gave birth to a healthy baby boy. However, in the months that followed, it became apparent to the parents that something wasn’t right with their son. He didn’t seem to be hitting normal milestones like other babies his age.
The Diagnosis
Eventually, the couple went to the doctors to figure out if they were just being paranoid new parents or if something was wrong. After examining baby Carl, the doctor agreed that he seemed to be delayed developmentally. Carl was ultimately diagnosed with a developmental disability.
Only Time Will Tell
The doctors explained to the couple that as Carl got older, the limitations to his development would become more apparent. He would likely need more care than other children. However, because developmental disabilities manifest differently in everyone, there was no way of knowing how severe the disability would be.
Hope For the Future
The couple did everything they could to give Carl a childhood full of happiness and love. They also hoped that he would have some measure of independence as an adult. Yet as Carl got older, the couple realized that Carl would always need constant care and attention.
A Painful Realization
The couple always imagined that they would be there to provide that care for Carl. But as they got older, it became harder and harder for them to physically help their adult son do the things he couldn’t do on his own. At that point, they started looking into their options for getting Carl the care he needed.
A Ward of the State
Ultimately, the parents decided that the best place for Carl would be in a care home for the disabled. In order to get him the best care, however, Carl had to become a ward of the state. The decision wasn’t an easy one to make, but it was in Carl’s best interest.
In Good Hands
Carl was then sent to live at the Second Chance Group Home in Fulton, Missouri. The staff at the facility promised that Carl was in good hands and that he would be happy there. Carl’s family hated to send him away but they truly believed that the staff would be able to better care for Carl.
No Visitors
“They entrusted his care to a state agency, who they thought they could trust,” Rudy Veit, the attorney for Carl’s family, told Fox News. At some point, however, the staff at Second Chance Group Home asked Carl’s family to stop visiting him. According to the staff, the family’s visits were making it difficult for Carl to get accustomed to his new home.
A Difficult Decision
“They were instructed not to contact him because it agitated him and created other problems,” Veit explained. Carl’s parents were crushed. Yet they were willing to stay away from their son if it meant he was happy and having an easier time getting used to the care home.
Monthly Check-Ins
Since they could no longer go in to check on Carl themselves, Carl’s family made sure that either a nurse or a special services representative went in to check up on Carl. Their job was to check in on Carl, make sure he was happy and well cared for, and write up a monthly report on Carl and his status.
A Missing Persons Report
For months, the reports claimed Carl was doing well in the group home. His family finally felt more at ease about the situation. However, that ease was quickly replaced with fear and stress when Carl was reported missing on April 17, 2017. According to the staff at the home, the 31-year-old walked off the property.
The Search Begins
Police immediately went out in search of the 31-year-old. With the help of police canines and drones, the cops left no stone unturned. Yet they found no trace of Carl. “Carl means no harm to nobody,” Carl’s dad, Larry Summers, told KRCG TV during the search. “He can’t talk that well, but he means no harm to anybody. He’s just a good little boy.”
The Trash Can
Police worked tirelessly in their search for Carl. In their attempt to find Carl and bring him home alive, the cops were granted 12 search warrants. One of those search warrants was for a storage unit in Fulton, which they started searching a week after Carl disappeared. During their search, cops discovered a trash can mysteriously full of concrete.
The Search is Over
Detectives discovered Carl’s body inside the concrete-filled trash can. However, after Carl’s body was examined, it was determined that he had really been dead for six months before he was reported missing. As a result of the alarming discovery, both local and federal authorities started investigating the matter.
Six Months Earlier
Investigators determined that Carl died sometime between October 25, 2016, and November 24, 2016. Leading up to the night he died, Carl had been sleeping at the home of Sherry Paulo, the manager of the assisted living home where Carl was a resident. According to the police, they believe Carl and another resident from the home were being forced to sleep on the hard basement floor.
A Medical Emergency
At some point on the night Carl died, he started screaming. Paulo’s husband, Anthony R. Flores, who was also an employee at the home, went to see what was going on and found Carl convulsing on the ground. Carl clearly needed medical attention, but the couple never called for help.
Hiding the Body
Instead, Carl was placed in a bathtub, where he started bleeding from the nose and mouth. Carl eventually died in that bathtub. His body was left in the same spot for about two to three days before Paulo and Flores put Carl’s body in the trash can, filled it with cement, and hid it in a storage container.
The Lawsuits
In the wake of the investigation, police charged Paulo and Flores with involuntary manslaughter. The couple “recklessly caused the death of Carl DeBrodie by failing to obtain medical services for DeBrodie while DeBrodie was suffering a medical emergency.” A federal wrongful death lawsuit was also filed on behalf of Carl’s family.
The Verdict
The civil suit claims that in the days leading to Carl’s death, he was forced to perform manual, unpaid labor around Paulo and Flores’ home. Paulo and Flores have since been found guilty of six to seven charges each including a class D felony of client neglect, class C felony of involuntary manslaughter in the first degree, class D felony of abandonment of a corpse, and a class A misdemeanor of making a false report of a missing person.
Justice Prevails
Others involved with Carl’s death and its cover-up, including the nurse who made fake monthly reports about Carl’s progress after he died, are also facing jail time. “We are thrilled, because it is the beginning of the other charges that would be coming down,” Mary Martin, a family friend, told KOMU. “We’ve waited over a year.”
Search for Missing Disabled Man Leads to Grisly Discovery About His Care Home is an article from: LifeDaily