The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has agreed to pay $10 million to the estate of David Almond, the 14-year-old Fall River boy who starved to death in 2020 while under the care of the Department of Children and Families. The proposed settlement would resolve claims brought by Almond’s estate and his two surviving triplet brothers, though it still requires court approval.
Almond was found in October 2020 in a filthy Fall River apartment, emaciated, covered in filth and unresponsive, according to WCVB. His two surviving brothers, who are adults with autism, will each receive a special-needs trust under the terms of the deal, and $750,000 will go to the SouthCoast Community Foundation to establish two funds in David’s memory.
Kimberly Dougherty of Justice Law Collaborative, which represents Almond’s estate, said the settlement carries meaning beyond the dollar figure. “This settlement ensures David’s brothers have the resources they need to build a full and productive life, and it creates a lasting legacy in David’s name for other children like him who depend on the state to keep them safe,” she said, per the station’s report.
A Reunification That Preceded Tragedy
The Juvenile Court found Almond’s father unfit to care for the triplets on July 10, 2019, making DCF their legal custodian, according to court records reviewed by CourtListener. Despite that history, DCF reunified David and his brothers with their father in early 2020, a decision that WBUR reported came even as the agency knew of the boys’ disabilities and the family’s prior neglect findings.
Accounts of DCF’s contact with the family after reunification diverge. WBUR reported that DCF officials never visited the boys in person between March and David’s death in October 2020. A separate account from Child Welfare Monitor states that, between March and September 2020, the agency’s case management team conducted monthly virtual visits with the family and received communications from providers and schools. The two descriptions point to a gap in in-person contact even as some remote check-ins reportedly took place.
The medical examiner determined Almond’s death was a homicide caused by malnutrition due to starvation and neglect in an adolescent with autism spectrum disorder, according to WWLP. The Office of the Child Advocate characterized the death as a “multi-system failure” spanning DCF, the juvenile court and its attorneys, and Fall River schools, the outlet’s reporting noted.
Criminal Convictions and a Dismissed School Claim
John Almond and Jaclyn Marie Coleman each pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2023 and were sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years, according to the Fall River Reporter. In the related federal civil case, the court granted Fall River Public Schools’ motion to dismiss while granting the Commonwealth defendants’ motion to dismiss only in part, per CourtListener’s review of the docket.
Policy Changes Since 2021
The Office of the Child Advocate issued 26 recommendations spanning DCF and several other state and local agencies following its investigation into Almond’s death, WBUR reported in 2021. Those recommendations called on DCF to strengthen safety assessments, evaluate parental capacity during reunification, review services for people with disabilities, and coordinate with education officials on attendance information, according to WWLP.
State officials later announced plans to hire a statewide disabilities director and additional specialists within DCF, WBUR reported, and the agency has since said it implemented revised supervision, protective case practice, family assessment, education and disability policies, along with hiring its first director of disability services, per WWLP’s reporting. The Office of the Child Advocate has said the great bulk of its recommendations have been implemented and that sweeping changes followed across state government. Separately, CommonWealth Beacon reported more than $200 million in new funding flowed into the state’s child welfare system following the deaths of children under state oversight.
Massachusetts is not alone in facing a costly reckoning over a child’s starvation death while under state-connected supervision. In Washington state, Evergreen Public Schools and the state agreed to pay a $49.34 million settlement to the family of 15-year-old Karreon Adams-Franks, who was starved to death by his adoptive parents in 2020, according to The Columbian.
The $10 million Massachusetts settlement still needs court approval before it can take effect, and the dollar figure would close out the civil claims tied to a case that has already reshaped how the state says it protects children in its custody.
