The slaying of a 17-year-old girl in a quintuple homicide in southern Manitoba was a direct result of gross negligence and inaction by Child and Family Services, her mother claims in a lawsuit.
Juliette Hastings accused CFS of ignoring “obvious” warning signs and failing to act on pleas to remove her daughter, Myah-Lee Gratton, from the home of a Carman man charged with killing her, his three children and his partner.
“Ryan Howard Manoakeesick had a known history of physical violence and instability. He had a criminal record,” Hastings’ statement of claim said of the suspect. “It was foreseeable that all residents of the home were at risk of egregious harm or death.”
“It was foreseeable that all residents of the home were at risk of egregious harm or death.”–Statement of claim
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press files
Juliette Hastings, mother of Myah-Lee Gratton, is suing Winnipeg Child and Family Services, the general CFS authority and the CFS director after her 17-year-old daughter’s death. Myah-Lee, her cousin Amanda Clearwater and Clearwater’s three children — Bethany, six, Jayven, four, and Isabella, two months — were found dead Feb. 11.
Hastings claims CFS “wrongfully” left the high school student at the home despite being aware of an earlier “violent physical altercation” between Myah-Lee and the suspect.
In addition to pleas for help from Myah-Lee and Hastings, a counsellor at Carman Collegiate reported the teen’s safety concerns to CFS, the lawsuit said.
“The child-welfare world is fraught with difficulties. It’s difficult for them to manage all of the responsibilities and get it right with every child,” Hastings’ lawyer, Victor Bargen, told the Free Press.
“In this case, they failed in a fundamental obligation to this child. Child and Family Services have to be absolutely diligent in responding to claims for help, especially when they know the child’s circumstances have a violent component.”
The bodies of Myah-Lee, her cousin Amanda Clearwater, 30, and Clearwater’s three children — Bethany, six, Jayven, four, and Isabella, two months — were found Feb. 11.
RCMP found Myah-Lee in the Clearwater family’s home, after Clearwater was discovered in a ditch south of Carman. The children’s bodies were found near a burning vehicle near Elie.
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press files
Victor Bargen, lawyer for Juliette Hastings, says CFS must be dilligent in dealing with claims for help, especially ones that have a ‘violent component.’
Manoakeesick, arrested at the Elie-area scene, is charged with five counts of first-degree murder.
Hastings’ lawsuit, filed in the Court of King’s Bench on Monday, names Winnipeg Child and Family Services, the general CFS authority and the CFS director as defendants.
Statements of defence have not yet been filed. The allegations have not been tested in court.
The province declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
“The plaintiff states the defendants, their servants, agents, employees or appointees of Child and Family Services were reckless, careless and negligent in their statutory duty to Myah-Lee,” the lawsuit said.
Myah-Lee, who was Indigenous, had been in CFS care by way of a temporary guardianship order.
While she was not under a formal guardianship order when she died, the defendants were responsible for ensuring her safety, the statement of claim said.
She moved in with Clearwater and Manoakeesick, after leaving her mother’s Winnipeg home in April 2023.
Hastings previously told the Free Press her daughter didn’t like boundaries she had set to keep the teen safe.
The lawsuit said Hastings immediately told the defendants of her disapproval of the Carman house, but a CFS “representative” instructed her not to contact Myah-Lee.
“The defendants had prior knowledge and ongoing concerns regarding the safety of the three young children related to (Manoakeesick),” the lawsuit said.
CFS is accused of failing to complete a proper home study and failing to make a proper transitional plan for Myah-Lee after she left her mother’s home.
At about 600 square feet, the Carman house was too small for two adults and four children, Hastings alleges.
“The home was in a chaotic state. It was unsanitary. It was an unsafe placement for Myah-Lee,” the lawsuit said.
“In this case, they failed in a fundamental obligation to this child.”–Lawyer Victor Bargen
The document claims Myah-Lee asked the defendants to move her out of the house, after a violent altercation with Manoakeesick on or about Oct. 31, 2023.
“(CFS) refused and neglected to take concrete steps to properly investigate and ensure Myah-Lee was safe,” the suit alleges.
“They did not assist Myah-Lee in finding a safe home. Myah-Lee was wrongfully left at the home.”
Hastings claims she called the defendants several times between April 5, 2023 and Feb. 10, the day before the victims were found, to insist Myah-Lee immediately be moved to a different home for her safety.
The mother “consistently” pleaded with the defendants to carry out a wellness check with the RCMP, and remove Myah-Lee from the house, according to the lawsuit, which claims Hastings called police due to inaction by CFS.
The RCMP allegedly referred a call and request to the defendants.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS files
Juliette Hastings says in the lawsuit the Carman home Myah-Lee lived in was an unsafe place for her.
The lawsuit claims the defendants failed to adequately notify the RCMP about safety concerns and Myah-Lee’s “high level of vulnerability and danger” in the house.
The RCMP declined to comment.
Myah-Lee raised safety concerns about Manoakeesick when she sought help from a school counsellor, according to her mother.
“The school counsellor asked the defendants to thoroughly and properly investigate the home in which Myah-Lee resided. No assistance was forthcoming,” the lawsuit said.
“The defendants disregarded the obvious warning signs that Myah-Lee was in danger (and) vulnerable to violence, egregious bodily harm and death.”
Prairie Rose School Division Supt. and CEO Kevin Clace declined to comment on the allegations. He told the Free Press the division will continue to fully co-operate with the investigation and any related court proceedings.
Hastings is seeking general damages, aggravated and punitive, and special damages.
The lawsuit said she will continue to suffer emotional, physical and mental hardship over her daughter’s death. It said she has incurred financial losses and medical and other expenses.
Hastings herself is a product of Manitoba’s child-welfare system, which has “impeded her ability to enjoy a normal life and happiness,” the lawsuit said.
Manoakeesick’s criminal case remains before the court.
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching
Reporter
Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
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