The daughters of a foster mother who was strangled in her Pasadena home in 2018 have settled their lawsuit against Los Angeles County in which they said the convicted killer was able to locate the victim through confidential information negligently provided by employees of the Department of Children and Family Services, the plaintiffs’ attorney told a judge.
Lorie Hope and Tanya Juhasz filed the long-running wrongful death suit in December 2019. Their mother, 75-year-old Jeri Douglas, was found dead inside her condominium on the 200 block of South Madison Avenue by police performing a welfare check on Dec. 17, 2018.
According to an order issued after a Tuesday status conference by the clerk for Alhambra Superior Court Judge Joel Lofton, the plaintiffs’ attorney informed the court that the case was resolved, but no terms were divulged. Another status conference is scheduled for July 9.
Mary Jean O’Connor, now 46, was arrested in North Hollywood in late December 2018 in connection with Douglas’ death and was convicted of first-degree murder by a Pasadena Superior Court jury in November. A month later she was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
In their court papers, attorneys for the county wrote that it is “an axiom” of California law that government entities are not liable in such cases unless provided for by law, and that the county had no liability.
“Plaintiffs contend … that the DCFS provided unspecified contact information for Jeri Douglas to O’Connor, who used that information to murder Douglas … but Douglas’ name, telephone number and address are available to the public by means of a free Google search and multiple paid directories,” the county lawyers maintained.
According to the suit, aside from Douglas’ “premature, tragic, and unnecessary death, DCFS’ apparent failure to protect its foster parents is a violation of the public trust and unreasonably puts some of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable children and most selfless citizens at risk.”
Douglas became certified to provide foster care in March 2010, the suit stated. She was assured by the DCFS that her telephone number and home address would be kept confidential, according to the complaint.
O’Connor gave birth to a boy in July 2009 who was placed in foster care with Douglas in April 2010, the suit states. Five months later, Juhasz and her husband undertook the foster care of the child, and they adopted the boy in October 2011, according to the suit.
Meanwhile, O’Connor had another child, a girl, in September 2010, who was placed with Douglas late that year, according to the suit. The child was later transferred by a judge to the care of O’Connor’s grandparents. During the period in which the DCFS interacted with O’Connor, their employees or agents provided her confidential information that allowed her to make contact with Douglas, the suit alleged.
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From 2011-18, O’Connor gave birth to three more children, all three of whom were removed from her by the DCFS, the suit stated.
On Dec. 14, 2018, O’Connor called Douglas, saying she was a DCFS agent who needed to have some paperwork signed, the suit states. Douglas did not recognize O’Connor’s voice or phone number, thought she was a genuine DCFS employee and agreed to meet with her at the foster mother’s home three days later, the suit stated.
Douglas was slain during the visit, the suit alleged.