PARMA, Ohio -
The case that forced major changes in the way children are treated at Ohio mental-health facilities has culminated in criminal charges against three people.
Faith Finley died after child care workers restrained her with her face down on the ground. The 17-year-old choked and suffocated.
Three former employees of a residential facility operated by Catholic Charities were indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday, approximately nine months after Finley's death. She was there being treated for behavioral problems.
Cynthia M. King, Lazarita Menendez and Ebony Ray were each charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering children for their role in the death.
The state of Ohio contends in its indictment that as a result of being restrained by the then-employees of Parmadale Institute, Finley died of what the coroner ruled "near traumatic asphyxia."
Menendez was also charged with felonious assault and inciting to violence. Investigators say that Menendez took away Finley's CD player despite the fact that she was allowed to keep it as a coping mechanism. That action is what they believe started the unfortunate series of events that would follow.
*Click here to read the official indictment. (PDF)
"She's placed in this situation where these people are taking care of her, and (she's) supposed to receive the type of education and training to make sure that she's safe," Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Maureen Clancy said. "And she dies at their hands? It's pretty outrageous."
A spokesperson for the facility says that the staff has and will continue to cooperate with the prosecutor's office and the courts.
Parmadale Institute is a facility where children who have suffered abuse or neglect can find help and healing. It started as an orphanage in 1925.
Catholic Diocese of Cleveland bishop, the Most Rev. Richard Lennon, told Fox 8 News last month that many of the employees at Parmadale have been there for decades and have made it their life's work to carry out a Christian mission of love toward children who are among the most vulnerable.
"That is what makes it so painful, is that the norm that has guided us somehow did not work that day," Lennon said. "That is a troublesome aspect for us to address as to why."
Finley's mother initiated a wrongful death lawsuit that claimed Parmadale did not appropriately screen, train or supervise its employees.
The state agencies that oversee treatment centers like Parmadale have also since recommended a ban on the type of restraint that was used.
Faith Finley died after child care workers restrained her with her face down on the ground. The 17-year-old choked and suffocated.
Three former employees of a residential facility operated by Catholic Charities were indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday, approximately nine months after Finley's death. She was there being treated for behavioral problems.
Cynthia M. King, Lazarita Menendez and Ebony Ray were each charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering children for their role in the death.
The state of Ohio contends in its indictment that as a result of being restrained by the then-employees of Parmadale Institute, Finley died of what the coroner ruled "near traumatic asphyxia."
Menendez was also charged with felonious assault and inciting to violence. Investigators say that Menendez took away Finley's CD player despite the fact that she was allowed to keep it as a coping mechanism. That action is what they believe started the unfortunate series of events that would follow.
*Click here to read the official indictment. (PDF)
"She's placed in this situation where these people are taking care of her, and (she's) supposed to receive the type of education and training to make sure that she's safe," Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Maureen Clancy said. "And she dies at their hands? It's pretty outrageous."
A spokesperson for the facility says that the staff has and will continue to cooperate with the prosecutor's office and the courts.
Parmadale Institute is a facility where children who have suffered abuse or neglect can find help and healing. It started as an orphanage in 1925.
Catholic Diocese of Cleveland bishop, the Most Rev. Richard Lennon, told Fox 8 News last month that many of the employees at Parmadale have been there for decades and have made it their life's work to carry out a Christian mission of love toward children who are among the most vulnerable.
"That is what makes it so painful, is that the norm that has guided us somehow did not work that day," Lennon said. "That is a troublesome aspect for us to address as to why."
Finley's mother initiated a wrongful death lawsuit that claimed Parmadale did not appropriately screen, train or supervise its employees.
The state agencies that oversee treatment centers like Parmadale have also since recommended a ban on the type of restraint that was used.
