Parents of Groton Child Who Nearly Died in Foster Care Attempting to Sue the State

GROTON, CT - After their child nearly died of starvation and broken bones in foster care, his biological parents are seeking permission to sue the Department of Children and Families, according to media reports..

Kirsten Fauquet and John Stratzman are requesting permission from the claims commissioner to sue the DCF for $20 million on the grounds of negligence, according to the Hartford Courant. The child, Dallas, was under the foster care of his biological mother’s cousin, Crystal Magee.

The claim said the child suffered due to many oversights by the department, who failed to thoroughly investigate the child’s well-being even when significant red flags arose, the Hartford Courant reported. The child was with the Magee’s from June to November 2015.

In their backgrounds, Magee and her husband, Donald, either had prior criminal records or child protective violations, according to a scathing 73-page report on the case from the state Office of the Child Advocate.

Dallas had originally been placed with the Magees in the summer of 2015 "due to concerns about chronic and escalating neglect" in his biological parents household.

After the child’s removal in November 2015, his condition was described by doctors as "significantly emaciated.” He was so undernourished that he had
poor muscle tone and head control. Health care providers told the DCF Careline that at nineteen months old, the child was “unable to walk, talk or feed himself.”

The child also had swelling in his face and hands. His left elbow was swollen, and he could not extend his arm completely. His right wrist was swollen, and he had an old scar that appeared to be from a burn.

The report further indicated that, at nineteen months of age, he weighed only
seventeen pounds, less than he weighed when he was last seen by his pediatrician seven months earlier. Records note that while in the hospital he would rest his head on whoever would hold him.

Read Patch’s previous coverage of the incident here.

Read the full Hartford Courant story here.

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