The father of a 3-year-old boy whose body was found in a freezer in Detroit is suing 13 Michigan child welfare employees, accusing them of repeatedly ignoring clear signs of abuse that led to the child’s death.
The federal civil rights lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division, alleges that workers in the state’s Child Protective Services division failed to protect Chayce Allen, despite documented injuries that included broken lips, burns, and trauma that left him permanently blind.
The suit was filed by local civil rights law firms Moss & Colella, P.C., and Marko Law, PLLC.
“This case involves egregious failure to protect a vulnerable child,” attorney A. Vince Colella, of Moss & Colella, said. “Despite multiple interventions where CPS workers personally observed severe injuries to Chayce, including bruised ribs, burns, and trauma that left him permanently blind, they repeatedly returned him to an environment where they knew he was in danger.”
Detroit police discovered Chayce’s body in a basement freezer on June 24, 2022, during a welfare check at a home on the city’s west side. Authorities later determined he had died months earlier from blunt force trauma to the head. The death was ruled a homicide.
His mother, Azuradee France, was arrested that day and charged with murder and child abuse. France had a prior child abuse conviction and was allowed to regain custody of her children after serving two years of probation. She later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced last year to 35 to 60 years in prison.
The lawsuit alleges that state workers ignored a pattern of escalating abuse dating back to when Chayce was just two months old and closed investigations, despite compelling evidence.
“This is sickening,” Jonathan R. Marko, of Marko Law, said. “The defendants shirked their legal obligations as guardians of our State’s children. They had multiple opportunities to save this child's life. Instead, they chose to ignore clear signs of neglect and abuse of this helpless child that directly resulted in his death.”
The lawsuit includes claims of civil rights violations, state-created danger, gross negligence, and wrongful death.
