Losing a child is something no parent should have to go through, especially when the death could have been prevented. Depending on the circumstances, some parents often feel compelled to file lawsuits as a result, such as a woman in South Pasadena who recently filed a lawsuit against LA County alleging “negligence, wrongful death, and violation of the state Penal Code.” The woman, Ana Estevez, alleges in her lawsuit that the city's Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is partly to blame for the death of her 5-year-old son.The boy died back in April 2017 shortly after arriving in Santa Barbara County with his father. Tragically, his father drove him “to the Lake Cachuma area, then smothered him with his own clothes,” according to Los Angeles County Sheriff detectives. Afterward, the boy's father sat in the car with his body “for eight hours before burying him.”According to the lawsuit, the couple was in the “process of a divorce before their son was killed.” Additionally, the lawsuit alleges the DCFS was aware that the “boy was being abused by his father before the child's death and that a video existed in which the boy stated that his father wanted to hurt Estevez and send her to the hospital.” The department also knew the boy was “afraid of his father and that sole custody needed to be granted to his mother to ensure his safety,” according to the suit.

Los Angeles Superior Court House; image courtesy of
jjron via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org

Instead of protecting the child, though, the DCFS “granted his father unmonitored partial physical custody of the child, putting him in immediate danger,” the suit argues.When commenting on the lawsuit and loss of her son, Piqui, Estevez said, “The system failed my son and it was this injustice that ultimately led to Piqui's death.” She said her estranged husband, Aramazd Andressian Sr., “was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for killing Aramazd 'Piqui' Andressian Jr., and added:“The evil man that committed this heinous act will receive justice in this life and the next, I have no doubt about that...However, true justice has yet to be served. The system that failed my son will be addressed and held accountable for their incompetent actions, their horrific and uninformed decision-making when presented with undeniable evidence and their belief that they can make decisions that destroy lives and not be held accountable for such injustices.”Additionally, the suit states:“Ultimately, the actions of all the named defendants can be described as both gross negligence and a complete disregard of their legal duty to protect a 5-year-old from obvious and immediate physical harm.”So far representatives for the county have yet to respond to requests for comment.

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