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Washington, Evergreen schools to pay $49 million over Vancouver teen’s death
The state and Evergreen Public Schools will each pay half of a $49 million wrongful-death settlement tied to the 2020 death of Karreon Adams-Franks. His estate and surviving siblings alleged that reports of abuse and severe neglect were not acted on.
Washington state and Evergreen Public Schools have agreed to pay $49 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit over the death of Karreon Adams-Franks, a 15-year-old Vancouver boy who died in November 2020 weighing 61 pounds, according to the lawsuit.
The settlement will be divided equally between the state and the school district, with the money going to Karreon’s estate and his surviving siblings. The lawsuit alleged that officials and school employees had opportunities to intervene in abuse and starvation but failed to do so.
Karreon was autistic, nonverbal and blind. His adoptive parents, Felicia Adams-Franks and Jesse Franks, were convicted of second-degree murder in 2023. They were sentenced to 35 years and 30 years in prison, respectively.
The lawsuit said a therapist reported concerns about Karreon and his two younger brothers in 2017, and that state officials were repeatedly notified of alleged starvation and beatings. It also alleged that Evergreen School District employees observed signs of abuse but did not report them. The district disputes that claim.
Days before Karreon died, a Washington Child Protective Services worker visited the family’s home, according to the complaint. The children told the worker they had been hit and beaten with an extension cord, leaving marks and causing bleeding; the lawsuit said one child needed a cane to walk. A relative had also reported that Karreon looked like a “walking skeleton.”
A state fatality review, as described in the lawsuit, found that the caseworker did not adequately document the reported abuse or follow up, and should have called 911 to obtain immediate medical care for Karreon.
“No amount of money will ever make up for what happened to Karreon and what his brothers lived through,” said Chris Davis, a lawyer for the family’s estate. He said the boys endured years of abuse and were forced to watch their brother die.
The Washington Department of Children, Youth and Families declined to comment on the settlement. Evergreen Public Schools said its employees did not fail to make mandatory reports and described staff as caring educators who had the boys’ best interests at heart. The district said its insurer agreed to settle to avoid the risk of a jury award exceeding available insurance coverage; the insurer will make the district’s payment.