Former DeBrodie guardians want part of federal lawsuit
The former guardians of Carl DeBrodie claim they should be a part of the federal lawsuit related to his death.
Mary and Bryan Martin filed the motion on Friday to intervene in the lawsuit. DeBrodie’s mother, Carolyn Summers, sued the assisted-living facility, Callaway County and the state of Missouri in January after DeBrodie’s mysterious death last year.
The Martins were appointed as DeBrodie’s guardians in 1999 when he was 12 years old and had that role until he was 21. The couple “developed familial bonds of love with him, and during this time became his psychological and de facto parents,” according to the motion.
State law on wrongful death suits allows only the natural or adoptive parents or children to file suit. Dan Dunham, attorney for the Martins, said case law has allowed the children of non-biological, non-adoptive “parents” to file wrongful death lawsuits, but no case has been decided regarding the Martins’ situation.
“He was like a child to them, and they were his parents, for all intents and purposes,” Dunham said. “They’re just as harmed, psychologically, as the [biological] mother is.”
Rudy Veit, attorney for DeBrodie’s mother, said he had only ever seen natural or adopted children or parents take part in a wrongful death suit.
DeBrodie became a ward of the Callaway County public administrator, and he began staying at Second Chance Homes of Fulton. The Martins tried to adopt DeBrodie in 2011, raising concerns with state authorities about injuries and behavioral changes they noticed. Two different courts denied the adoption request, which Dunham said led to “grievously harmful injuries for Carl.”
DeBrodie’s body was found encased in concrete inside a Fulton storage unit on April 24, 2017. Owners of the assisted-living facility, sold by Second Chance Homes of Fulton a week prior, reported DeBrodie missing. Investigators believe DeBrodie had been missing, and possibly died, before he was reported missing.
