State Officials Dropped from Suit Over Man Found in Concrete

State employees have been dropped from a lawsuit over the death of a developmentally disabled man.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a federal judge Friday agreed to cut the Missouri Department of Mental Health and its leaders from the lawsuit filed by the mother and sister-in-law of Carl DeBrodie.

DeBrodie’s body was found encased in concrete in April 2017 after he went missing from the Second Chance Homes in Fulton. The lawsuit claims the state employees, along with the Callaway County public administrator and the home’s employees, didn’t properly oversee DeBrodie’s care.

The Missouri attorney general office argued that the state had no role in DeBrodie’s death and wasn’t responsible because DeBrodie was in private care. A mental health department spokeswoman says the agency won’t comment on pending litigation.