Thursday, March 4, 2010

Two social service administrators found guilty in death of Philly teen with CP

From NBC-TV Philadelphia:


Two administrators of the social service agency that claimed it made regular visits to Danieal Kelly’s house after the 14-year-old with cerebral palsy died of starvation, and covered in maggot-infested bed sores in 2006, were found guilty of fraud and conspiracy March 3.

Mickal Kamuvaka, 60, co-founder of MultiEthnic Behavior Health Inc., and Solomon Manadela, 52, an administrator, were found guilty of health care fraud and conspiracy, reports the Inquirer.

The two caseworkers from the now-closed agency, Julius Juma Murray and Mariam Coulibaly, were also tried in the case and received mixed verdicts from the jury Wednesday, reports the Inquirer.

The social service agency administrators and workers were accused of billing the city for work they never provided and then attempting to cover it up by falsifying documents.

An involuntary manslaughter trial against Kamuvaka is still to come.

The young teen with cerebral palsy weighed only 46 pounds when she was found dead in her mother’s squalid Parkside home. She had deep bed sores, many of which were infected and filled with living maggots.

Danieal’s mother later admitted to third-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The city of Philadelphia paid MultiEthnic $3.7 million for services it was supposed to provide more than 500 families from July 200 through December 2006.

Upon FBI investigation into Danieal’s death, prosecutors accused the social service agency of destroying documents and falsifying records. The jury agreed.