Civil Case claims officials knew of killer's temper
HEATHER CHAPIN-FOWLER
However, attorneys for the department and the county commissioners, who are all named as defendants in the civil lawsuit, want visiting Judge Judith Cross to dismiss the case against them claiming, they have no responsibility in the foster child Connre Dixon's death.
The county commissioners named in the suit are Terry Boose and Ardeth Chupp, who left office at the end of 2004, and current Commissioner Mike Adelman.
"Defendants had complaints in their very own files regarding Paul Efaw over a period of 1985 to 1997. Defendants even found that Mr. Efaw had committed physical abuse and emotional maltreatment of his own children," stated documents filed by James Martin, a Willard attorney who represents the administrator of Dixon's estate.
The 11-year-old Dixon died from stab wounds inflicted during an altercation with Efaw in his barn in October 2004. She was placed in the Efaw home approximately one year prior to her death, according to court records.
Dixon's estate urged the court to hold the county responsible for her death. "Any one of the facts would be sufficient to support a finding of negligence. Taken together, they certainly present a jury question on the issue of wanton or reckless misconduct," according to the court documents.
Efaw was sentenced to three years in prison in 2005 for voluntary manslaughter. He is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit that was filed in December 2004 and asks for more than $25,000.
The Department of Job and Family Services' records and deposition testimony "show that (the department) never investigated allegations of bizarre conduct by Mr. Efaw, including defecating in his stepdaughter's face. Defendants found an allegation of sexual abuse to be unsubstantiated despite letters written by his own children and their confirmation of the truth of the allegations during a personal interview. Defendants never questioned any of the children regarding their letters or the topic of sexual abuse when they conducted a perfunctory telephone interview prior to approving Mr. Efaw as a foster parent," court records stated.
A portion of an interview with social worker Suzie Sidell that was included in the documents states she believed Efaw's children were afraid of him, according to the records.
Records also indicate the Department of Job and Family Services was aware that Efaw was being counseled, but the reason for the counseling is disputed.
"In conjunction with the finding of physical abuse, Mr. Efaw was ordered to attend counseling sessions at the Linn Center, a psychological counseling facility, yet Sidell did nothing to access those records," said the documents filed by Martin.
Dixon's estate maintains Efaw was sent to counseling for anger management while the county claims he was being counseled, along with his son, to deal with the child's difficulties that resulted from "a messy divorce," the records stated.
The same child, in 1988, accused Efaw of making him kill two cats, throwing a litter pan at him and causing him to fall against a cement trough where he hit his head, the documents stated.
The county also disputes that the claims against Efaw weren't investigated properly and maintains that the Efaws were an appropriate choice for a foster placement, according to the documents.
"(A social worker) found no evidence to substantiate any allegations of sexual abuse. One allegation of physical abuse was substantiated. This was obviously because Mr. Efaw had spanked his children ... it is erroneous to assert that the department (of Job and Family Services) found emotional abuse. Moreover, and, of much greater relevance, the psychologist who examined Diane (Efaw's wife) and Paul Efaw in 2003 found Mr. Efaw to be suitable candidates for foster or adoptive parents," the county's documents stated.
Cross has not ruled yet on the county's request to dismiss them from the lawsuit.
Martin and the Toledo attorneys representing the county, Teresa Grigsby and Joan Szuberla, didn't return calls for comment yesterday.