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Lawsuit: State watchdog failed twin girls starved by mother

Published  March 15, 2019 11:38am PDT
Associated Press

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Two girls who were nearly starved to death by their mother are now suing the state of Washington and a for-profit substance-abuse treatment provider.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports that a lawsuit filed Monday in Thurston County Superior Court by attorneys Bryan G. Smith and Vito de la Cruz says the state Department of Children, Youth and Families and Triumph Treatment Services failed to properly supervise Kai Martinez when she was granted custody of her twin daughters.

The state Department of Children, Youth and Families declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Attempts to contact Triumph, which operated the halfway house in Yakima where the starvation is alleged to have taken place, were unsuccessful.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, as well as attorneys' fees and any other relief the court deems proper.