Attorneys for DeBrodie family claim “additional information” in case

Attorneys for the family of Carl DeBrodie claim they have “additional information” related to his death.

The disclosure was made in a motion to change their federal lawsuit against nearly two dozen people that they claim had a part in DeBrodie’s death last year. DeBrodie, 31, was found encased in concrete inside of a Fulton storage unit one week after he was reported missing from Second Chance Homes of Fulton.

ABC 17 News reported on Friday that a former employee of Second Chance Homes, the assisted-living facility that DeBrodie went missing from, filed a workers’ compensation claim against the business. The worker said a client of the home confessed to murdering someone there, and that the business asked them to spend time with that client. Sources close to the case confirm that the claim is in reference to DeBrodie’s death.

The motion filed by Gabriel Harris does not mention the workers compensation claim, but said the information “will allow [them] to narrowly and more specifically refine their cause of action against the varying defendants.”

Rudy Veit, one of the attorneys for the family, said the anticipated criminal charges from state and federal prosecutors would also play a part in their amended lawsuit.

“By that time, we will be very definite and certain, and be able to narrow it down to which defendants we are wanting to remain in the lawsuit,” Veit said.

Attorneys for Callaway County, the state of Missouri and Second Chance Homes all agreed to give Harris 45 days to file a new lawsuit, according to emails attached to the motion.

The workers’ compensation claim said the injuries suffered from Second Chance Homes’ actions happened on Feb. 28, 2017, nearly two months before DeBrodie was reported missing. Investigators have said they believed DeBrodie was missing for some time before it was reported on April 17 of last year, when Finck & Associates took over the facility.

Lawyers for both Second Chance Homes and Finck & Associates have denied any claims made in the workers’ compensation petition.

Veit said the team would investigate the claims further.

“”Claims are claims,” Veit said. “I want a little more clarification in that before I rely upon those being factual.”

The three groups of defendants have all responded to the federal lawsuit in the last 10 days, claiming that they had nothing to do with DeBrodie’s death. Second Chance Homes claimed that the injuries DeBrodie suffered were from his or his mom’s own negligence. The Department of Mental Health, who tasked Callaway County Special Services to conduct monthly in-person visits with DeBrodie, said they could not be held responsible since Second Chance Homes is private property.

According to the lawsuit, DeBrodie’s cause of death was ruled “unknown” on his death certificate. State and federal prosecutors have been reviewing the case for charges since November of last year.

No arrests have been made in the case.

One defendant in the lawsuit, former Second Chance Homes manager Sherry Paulo, has not yet been served with the lawsuit. Harris wrote in his motion that they were still trying to serve Paulo with the lawsuit.