KOMO 4 News Investigation: Death And Denial

KOMO 4 News Investigation: Death And Denial

November 4, 2005

By Tracy Vedder

[link to www.komotv.com]


BREMERTON - There is, in Bremerton, a home to care for some of the most vulnerable among us: young adults with autism. The state-run facility is supposed to be a safe place; a place to live and get treatment.

But a KOMO 4 News exclusive investigation found that, for the first time in its history, four residents at the Frances Haddon Morgan Center have died, and another was raped. This is their story.

Priceless photographs show the faces of children who are loved and adored. They are children with special needs; autistic, developmentally delayed.

Their families turned to the state for help. Through tears, one mother explains the grief of giving her son into the state´s care, "And when I let him go, I let him go because I loved him."

The parents found a special place, the Frances Haddon Morgan Center in Bremerton. It´s a home-like institution specializing in autism. But for each of these children we looked at, their time at the Morgan Center ended in tragedy.

6 a.m. Saturday, July 2, 2005: Krissy Shannon collapses in the common room at a Morgan Center duplex. Paramedics and Krissy´s family believe the 29 year-old had a heart attack or seizure.

Her father Denny Shannon recalls, "special star that´s been dimmed, except in my heart."

´We Had No Idea She Was Sick´

6:30 .a.m. Sunday, Sept. 4, 2005: 27-year-old Jenny Jessup collapses in a bathroom at the Center. She dies of septic shock from a perforated bowel.

"We had no idea that she was even sick," says Jenny´s sister and guardian Marjorie Aust. "And it was so sudden."

Both families thought their children died natural deaths. But, six weeks after Krissy Shannon´s death, Pathologist Dr. Emmanuel Lacsina ruled Krissy died of acute drug intoxication.

Dr. Lacsina was Pierce County´s Chief Medical Examiner for 13 years and now performs all of Kitsap County´s autopsies. He says the drug in Krissy´s blood stream is a common, over the counter allergy medication: Chlortrimeton.

"I looked at it and it was high," says Dr. Lacsina referring to the level of Chlortrimeton in Krissy´s toxicology report. "I looked at it again - it was high."

Dr. Lacsina says he´s certain, the allergy drug killed Krissy. "Yes, I am."

But, at the Morgan Center, all drugs are supposed to be locked up. Krissy´s dad Denny Shannon fights tears and anger: "I´m just so angry. If the drug intoxication was done intentionally, we need to find out who it is, if it was accidental and somebody left the drugs out unsupervised, we need to find out what the story is here."

Anita Delight oversees the Morgan Center for the state´s Division of Developmental Disabilities. When asked if the report raises questions in her mind about where Krissy got the drugs she responds, "We have reservations about the interpretation of the information."

In other words, the state is challenging the pathologist´s report. Shannon´s response? "I think the state´s having to cover their rear end."

´You Don´t Ignore Abdominal Pain´

What about Jenny Jessup? The night before she died, Jenny complained of a stomachache and began vomiting.

Dr. Lacsina says, "to me, abdominal pain is a very serious symptom because many things can happen when somebody has abdominal pain."

The pathologist reviewed the Morgan Center´s nursing notes. He says less than 12 hours after Jenny started feeling sick, she died of a perforated bowel.

"All of this what we call ´catastrophic abdominal catastrophe´ can occur so you don´t ignore abdominal - as far as I´m concerned I will not ignore abdominal pain."

But at the Morgan Center, no one called a doctor or took Jenny to the emergency room or did more than give her Pepto Bismol -- until she collapsed.

"And for it to rupture, that is a painful, painful way to die," says Aust, "and that is how my baby sister died - her intestines blew up."

Delight responds, "What I know so far leads me to believe that the staff responded appropriately and timely." But, two weeks after KOMO 4 News requested Krissy and Jenny´s records, the state hired an outside investigator.

Critics insist their deaths are the latest tragedies at a state facility that is disintegrating.

"The center of expertise that the Morgan Center used to be no longer exists," says a state health care professional who knows the operations at the Morgan Center intimately. He asked us to protect his identity because he fears retaliation.

And he believes residents are still at risk.

"There needs to be an administrative change otherwise, unfortunately there will probably be more deaths."

´They Did Not Protect Brandon´

In its first 26 years, no one at the Morgan Center died. That changed in August of 1998 starting with Arvid Arden. Counselors were supposed to watch Arvid constantly -- he had a problem stealing food. But he got away from them, snuck into the kitchen and stuffed so many pancakes in his mouth, he choked to death.

Two years later, Bob Elder also died. Bob choked during a seizure. He had a seizure disorder. Yet in the weeks before his death, Center doctors changed his medication to one that increased his risk of seizures. Both deaths were ruled accidental.

Then there´s the case of Brandon Newman. His mother, Linda Carter, compares photos of Brandon at age 11, to one at 12 shortly after the autistic youngster moved into the Morgan Center.

"Something is going on in his face when I look at this," she said.

Carter reported that Brandon had bruises, burns, a black eye and a cauliflower ear to Child Protective Services at least three times. Each time, the state ruled the complaints unfounded.

"A light bulb should have went on in somebody´s head; here´s another mother, the same mother, calling about the same Frances Haddon Morgan Center," Carter said.

Then, in February 2000, when Brandon was now 16, his caretaker at the center, Bill Wilson, confessed to raping the boy, repeatedly, for a year.

"Sixteen years old, innocent, haven´t done nothing, and a grown man is penetrating him?" says Carter. "That eats me up."

Wilson had been taking Brandon to his home and molesting him. No one at the center ever reported Brandon´s absences.

And no one said anything about Bill Wilson´s record. He´d done three years for armed robbery and burglary.

"They did not protect Brandon," says Carter, "they let a criminal work with him -- a rapist."

"For one thing," explains the state´s Anita Delight, "nobody, his background check did not reveal concerns about him as a person of potential risk." At the time Wilson was hired, the state only checked back 10 years. His conviction pre-dated that.

But at least one person, a nurse at the center, knew Wilson´s criminal background intimately. KOMO 4 asked Delight about Wilson´s wife, a registered nurse who knew her husband´s background and worked at the Center and who still works at the Center.

"She might have known that," answers Delight. "I am not aware that at that point in time, management at Morgan Center knew what Bill´s background was."

The state health care professional has a different explanation.

"What I´m aware of, even going back to Arvid´s death, something happens and it becomes a liability issue and the cover-up begins."

But Delight insists, "I believe that we have more oversight now than what we have had in the past."

Federal Investigation

In the last seven years, there have been four deaths, and a brutal rape at the Morgan Center. The Federal Justice Department is investigating the facility.

In preliminary reports, the feds found evidence of staff abuse and neglect and determined the Center does not fully investigate suspicious injuries. The Justice Department concluded patients continue to be at risk.

Carter believes it´s obvious: "The deaths, four deaths? Five deaths? Brandon´s rape? Come on. What is the state of Washington doing with all these deaths in one spot, right at the Morgan Center?"

But again, Delight is confident in the program: "I think that the Morgan Center provides an extraordinary level of care to the residents who live here."

But, the parents believe their children deserve something more.

"They´re our special babies," says Krissy´s dad. It´s too late for his daughter, but he wants to speak out for the other people still living at the facility. "They are our special babies and somebody needs to watch out for them."

And Linda Carter vows, "I´ll fight for Brandon ´til the end, ´til the end."

The state disagrees with the Department of Justice report and, in response, gave KOMO 4 News reports it commissioned. Those reports both found minor problems at the Morgan Center but, in general they concluded the level of care was within accepted standards.

But all those reports were written before Krissy Shannon and Jenny Jessup died. We are still waiting for the results of investigations into those deaths.