After O.Y. was born in February 2021 with methamphetamine in her system, Contra Costa County Child Protective Services took custody of her and an older sibling considered at risk of abuse the following month, according to the lawsuit.
The children’s parents repeatedly failed to comply with the terms of their case plan, including missing required drug tests, but were granted unsupervised overnight visits and eventually regained custody, the complaint reads, adding that county social workers misled the juvenile court about the parents’ compliance with their case plan.
According to the complaint, defendants, including the city and county, a doctor and the owner of a daycare center, “turned a blind eye to unexplained bruises and injuries, domestic violence calls, and misconduct” by the parents, Jessika Fulcher and Warren Young Sr.
“As a result of catastrophic and pervasive failures by Defendants to protect O.Y. and W.Y., O.Y. was tortured and killed by her biological parents,” the suit continues.
Neither parent is facing criminal charges related to the death, and the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office has not received a referral or a request for prosecution from police, a DA spokesperson said.
Young is currently serving a two-year sentence at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla after pleading guilty to a mayhem charge. Fulcher, reached Tuesday on Facebook, indicated she didn’t know about the lawsuit.
According to court records, Antioch police, in August 2022, responded to a 911 call from O.Y.’s mother stating the child was having difficulty breathing. When O.Y. arrived at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, doctors observed she had two dozen bruises on her head, a brain injury with hemorrhaging and a pancreas torn in two from external trauma, the suit alleges.
“When her pancreas burst, enzymes poured into the rest of her body, ‘eating away’ at her internally,” the lawsuit reads. “Blood pooled into her stomach. O.Y. suffered numerous cranial injuries with extensive brain bleeds. None of her injuries were normal. All of her injuries were inflicted as a result of tremendous force and volitional conduct.”
O.Y.’s parents allegedly left the hospital to smoke cigarettes and never returned. According to the doctor who later testified in juvenile court.
“Someone had chosen to ignore the bruising, head trauma, and stomach injury,” the complaint reads, adding that O.Y. would have survived had her mother or father brought her to the hospital earlier.
“Far too often, the kids who die within the system in situations like this are often forgotten,” Schreiber told KQED. “But this is an opportunity to shine a light on these issues and to hopefully not only hold these entities to account but also be a catalyst for change going forward.”
In addition to O.Y.’s parents, Contra Costa County and the city of Antioch, the lawsuit names Pittsburg Health Center pediatrician Dr. Flynne Lewis, county social worker Colleen Sullivan and daycare owner Raji Ponnaluri as defendants.
The complaint alleges that both Lewis and Ponnaluri noticed bruising and scratching on O.Y. but did not report the information to CPS or law enforcement and accuses Sullivan of failing to notify the juvenile court of signs of abuse.
A spokesperson for Contra Costa County Employment and Human Services, which includes the county’s Child Protective Services, told KQED the county had not been served with the lawsuit and declined to comment.
The Antioch Police Department, city attorney’s office, Lewis, Sullivan and Ponnaluri did not immediately respond to KQED’s request for comment.
KQED’s Sara Hossaini contributed to this report.
