ST. LOUIS - The mother of a deceased teenager called on 16 different defendants to answer for the death of her son, which she says was the fault of the Bruce Normile Juvenile Justice Center and multiple others.
According to a lengthy wrongful death lawsuit filed on March 31 in St. Louis federal court, plaintiff Jennifer Harmon is suing as the survivor of her deceased son, NJ. NJ was struggling with suicidal thoughts in early 2018, and stayed at the St. Anthony's Medical Center psychiatric unit, followed by admittance to the Bruce Normile Juvenile Justice Center where he was in the custody of the Second Judicial Court and the Missouri Department of Social Services.
The lawsuit says that NJ indicated to multiple individuals that he wanted to hang himself and that the Juvenile Justice Center did not offer him the proper psychological services, attention and treatment that someone in his state of mental distress needed.
The Justice Center staff is accused of failing to notice the boy's preparation for suicide, including days of refusing medication and not allowing staff into his room. The staff alllegedly failed to enter the teen's room and check on him every 15 minutes as was protocol.
He attempted suicide on April 11 with a white cloth belt, something that the suit says he should not have been permitted to have as someone with suicidal tendencies who verbally stated an intent to hang himself.
The defendants are charged with self-created danger, multiple 14th Amendment violations, wrongful death and negligence. Harmon is represented by Holman Schiavone LLC of Kansas City. To see the entire list of 16 defendants and more details on the suit, visit the link above.