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Suit blames careless home placement in girl's death
By DAVID KARP © St. Petersburg Times, published May 25, 2001 TAMPA -- On her first and only visit to the temporary home where her 12-year-old daughter lived, Patricia Murtha noticed a man washing a car outside. She asked about the man, and complained that an adult male would be staying at the same house as a mentally disabled girl. But, Murtha said, she was assured by officials with the state Department of Children and Families that everything was okay. A few weeks later, on Oct. 20 last year, Murtha's daughter was one of five people killed inside the tidy Seffner home. Police charged Dexter Levingston, who was living at the home, with the killings. On Thursday, Michele Murthas' parents sued the DCF and two companies, claiming they failed to protect their mentally disabled girl. Filed in Hillsborough Circuit Court, the lawsuit says the DCF, the Human Services Foundation Inc. and the Family Preservation Services of Florida Inc. should have better monitored the home run by caretaker Nancy Marlins. It seeks millions in damages for pain and suffering. "Something went wrong here," attorney Richard Hirsch said. "Common sense tells you you don't place a handicapped 12-year-old in a private home without any support and with family members coming and going at will, one of whom has a criminal record." The DCF contracted through the companies to have Marlins, a 57-year-old school bus aide, care for the girl. But the state failed to inform the Murthas that Marlins wasn't licensed as a caretaker and failed to perform criminal background checks on the people staying in the home, Hirsch said. Levingston had a criminal record and a history of mental instability, according to the suit. Levingston faces trial in circuit court on five counts of first-degree murder. A spokeswoman for the Department of Children and Families said Thursday it would be inappropriate to comment. The executive director of Human Services Foundation Inc. also declined to comment. A representative from the other company couldn't be reached. -- Times staff writer David Karp can be reached at (813) 226-3376.
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