Raffy's Death-Lawsuit,445

Foster mom sues DSHS worker, parents of abused toddler who died

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The foster mother of a 2-year-old boy who died after being returned to his biological parents has filed suit on his behalf in U.S. District Court here.

Denise Griffith of Royal City, who cared for Rafael ”Raffy” Gomez for 14 of his 25 months, alleges in her civil rights lawsuit that his wrongful death was caused by breaches of duty and negligence by the parents and a social worker.

Griffith, the court-appointed representative of the boy's estate, is seeking unspecified general, punitive and special damages to be determined at trial.

In documents filed Monday in federal court, Griffith alleges Maribel Gomez and Jose Ramon Soltero Arechiga are responsible for their son's death ”as either the slayer or an accessory to the slaying.”

Maribel Gomez, 29, of Ephrata, was charged last week in Grant County with first-degree manslaughter. She remains free pending arraignment May 25. Arechiga was not present when the child was fatally injured and has not been charged.

Murray Twelves, the state Department of Social and Health Services social worker who returned the toddler to his biological parents despite Griffith's concerns about ongoing physical abuse, is named in the suit, as are 10 ”John Doe's” in the DSHS.

Timothy Farris, a Bellingham lawyer who filed the suit on behalf of Griffiths and Raffy's estate, said pretrial discovery will tell whether others within DSHS, or the agency itself, will be sued.

Calls to Twelves's office in Moses Lake were referred to DSHS spokeswoman Kathy Spears, who was not in her Olympia office Monday and unavailable for comment.

Raffy Gomez was in and out of foster care several times before Twelves returned him to his birth parents for a third time in the spring of 2003 over the foster family's objections.

He died Sept. 10 while in the care of his mother. She told doctors he had choked on food.

Gomez's other four children remain in state custody.

Raffy Gomez had traces of cocaine and amphetamine in his blood when he was born on Aug. 7, 2001. By the time he died, he had been treated for numerous broken bones, burns and bruises suffered while in his natural parents' care.

Authorities investigated after his right shin bone was broken in September 2002, and again when his left femur was broken three months later, but decided there was not enough evidence to file charges.

The DSHS is expected to release a fatality review early next month.