‘Years of horrific abuse’: 13 Michigan CPS workers sued in death 3-year-old found in Detroit freezer
Detroit dad sues Michigan CPS after son's death
A Detroit father whose 3-year-old son died after several years of abuse is suing Michigan's Child Protective Services, saying not enough was done to save his life.
A federal lawsuit has been filed against Michigan's health department in connection with the death of 3-year-old Chayce Allen, a boy who was found dead in a freezer in 2022.
Juwan Allen has retained civil rights law firms Moss & Colella, P.C. and Marko Law, PLLC to file the suit against 13 employees of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Protective Services Division.
Allen is the father of 3-year-old Chayce, who died in 2022 and was later found in a freezer in his mother's home.
According to the lawsuit, the employees repeatedly failed to protect Chayce despite multiple documented instances of abuse and neglect.
"This case involves egregious failure to protect a vulnerable child," said attorney A. Vince Colella of Moss & Colella. "Despite multiple interventions where CPS workers personally observed severe injuries to Chayce, including bruised ribs, burns, and trauma that left him permanently blind, they repeatedly returned him to an environment where they knew he was in danger."
The backstory:
Chayce Allen was discovered dead around 1 a.m. on June 24, 2022, when Detroit Police responded to a wellness check on a child. When police arrived at the home on Monte Vista that morning, they found the young boy's body in the freezer. The little boy died from a hit to the head.
In 2024, his mother, Azuradee France was sentenced to 35 to 60 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
During her sentencing, the prosecution and defense attorneys agreed that the little boy had been failed multiple times.
"Not only did two of the siblings of Chayce Allen witness Ms. France putting their deceased brother in the freezer – one of the children, who was nine years old at the time, at Ms. France's direction, went and got the laundry bag that she eventually put him in," Assistant Prosecutor Erin Wilmoth said during the sentencing.
Azuradee France; mom of 3-year-old found in freezer (Detroit police photo)
The prosecution added that there were at least seven CPS rejected complaints and at least six CPS investigations against France.
"The one thing we can agree upon is that this child was failed (by) every single adult that could have helped him," said Defense Attorney Lillian Diallo.
Who is named in the lawsuit?:
A total of 13 CPS employees were named for what the attorneys call a ‘failure to uphold their legal and ethical responsibilities'.
Among those named are two CPS Investigators and 11 specialists:
- Randall T. Fields-Davis (CPS Investigator)
- April L. Shakoor (CPS Investigator)
- Tracie Fields
- Dominic Fox
- Jasmine Gatling
- Tresa Simmons
- Candace Anderson
- Alyson Dorsey
- LaShawnda McCoy
- Larry Christ
- Steven M. Brott
- Joshelle Shelby
- Kejuana McCants
Timeline:
In the 32-page lawsuit filed this week, attorneys described in detail what they said is a pattern of neglect that dated back to when Chayce was just 2-months-old – including "multiple investigations that were closed despite clear evidence of ongoing abuse."
Nov. 17, 2018: Simmons filed a CPS investigation report that noted allegations of physical abuse and neglect committed by Azuradee France against her three children and a nephew. At the time, Chayce was one of the victims of abuse and was just two months old. During that visit, Chayce had a black eye, swollen lip, cut on his forehead, and other cuts and bruises on his body. The investigation noted that he was ‘malnourished’ and wearing solid clothes that smelled of urine.
Simmons also noted that the children didn't have beds and there was a rat infestation – with a rat hole in a child's pack n play.
France was arrested and Simmons later filed a petition for removal of France's children and the lawsuit says the defendants believed that France overall did not fully understand the seriousness of her actions.
The children were removed from her custody for two years – until November 17, 2020.
Two months later, on Jan. 8, 2021, CPS was again called to investigation neglect. During that visit, they said Chayce had 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his hand.
Jan. 11, 2021: CPS Investigator Fields-Davis visited the home and said Chayce's burn was beginning to peel. The report notes that four children shared one bunk bed, the home was cluttered with an open bottle of bleach sitting on the floor.
France said she took her son to urge care after the burn but there was no evidence, leading CPS to suspect medical neglect. France ultimately called Fields-Davis and admitted to lying about urgent care because she was afraid of losing her children.
She said she took Chayce to the hospital after the visit from CPS. There, doctors discovered an abscess on his ankle that needed immediate surgery.
France was placed on the Central Registry again but her children were not taken away from her. CPS conducted check-ins through April of that year. The lawsuit says CPS workers believed France was improving.
Sept. 1, 2021: France admitted to spanking Chayce in an excessive way and she called a relative to pick him up. The little boy had a black eye, a cut near his eyebrow, and bruised ribs.
CPS specialist Fox interviewed France, who was staying at a hotel with four of her children. The report didn't say why she was staying there – but did say the hotel was "not adequate or safe" for all of her children.
France said Chayce was staying at the boy's father's home and CPS specialist Brott visited him there.
Brott interviewed Chayces's father and grandfather, who said that the boy needed to be seen by a doctor.
The lawsuit also says that the final incident where Chayce was reported to the 13 defendants involved him becoming permanently blind.
"He spent his final days of torment and abuse in complete darkness," the lawsuit says.
Oct. 14: 2021: CPS closed the investigation, despite "obvious signs of abuse and neglect".
March/April 2022: Chayce died and was later put into the freezer of the home. France admitted her son died in March or April of that year. His body was found stuffed in a laundry bag on the shelf of a broken freezer in her home.
"His small body was barely recognizable, and had clearly been there for months, decomposing in the basement while his other siblings lived upstairs," the lawsuit said.
France was ultimately sentenced in 2024 with attorneys from both sides agreeing in court that more should have been done to protect the young boy.
"This is sickening. The defendants shirked their legal obligations as guardians of our State’s children. They had multiple opportunities to save this child's life. Instead, they chose to ignore clear signs of neglect and abuse of this helpless child that directly resulted in his death," Jonathan Marko said.
The other side:
FOX 2 has reached out to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for comment.
The Source: Information in this story was provided by Marko Law Firm as well as details from previous FOX 2 reports.