The father of three children allegedly killed by their mother last year in Reseda alleges social workers and police repeatedly ignored warning signs about the woman’s deteriorating mental state and failed to share information that could have prevented the slayings.
Erik Denton filed a 77-page wrongful death lawsuit Thursday, April 21, naming the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County as defendants. He is seeking unspecified damages.
Denton’s partner, Liliana Carrillo, 30, has been charged with three counts of murder in the April 10, 2021, drowning deaths of Joanna Denton Carrillo, 3; Terry Denton Carrillo, 2; and 6-month old Sierra Denton Carrillo.
Carrillo, who moved to L.A. from Porterville, has admitted to killing her children.
The lawsuit alleges the killings could have been prevented if Los Angeles police and the county Department of Child and Family Services had fulfilled their duties to report and investigate allegations that Carrillo posed a danger to her children.
“They had ample notice that Liliana was suffering from severe mental illness, and ample opportunities to take protective action,” the suit says. “Instead, they repeatedly engaged in grossly negligent and reckless conduct and ignored their legally mandated duties in the months before the children’s deaths.”
The LAPD did not respond to requests for comment. DCFS officials declined to specifically address the lawsuit.
“State law protects the confidentiality of records for all children and families who may have come to the attention of child protective services and prohibits confirming or commenting on whether a child or family has been involved with the department,” the agency said Friday. “The highest priority for the department is the safety and well-being of the county’s two million children and youth. Our mission to protect children is one we share with our partners in law enforcement and the community. We remain fiercely committed to strengthening our community partnerships to enhance the safety net for children and families.”
Postpartum depression
In January 2019, following the birth of her second child, Carrillo began expressing “random invasive feelings of despair and pain,” making statements such as “I wish I never had kids,” according to the suit.
Her postpartum depression worsened in October 2020, following the birth of her third child. She became fixated on a belief that a pedophilia and sex trafficking ring was operating in Porterville and targeting her children, the lawsuit says.
Carrillo’s accusations soon turned toward Denton, whom she falsely accused of sexually assaulting their children following an incident at a park where Joanna fell and hurt her groin area, the suit states.
“Liliana was unable to rid herself of her paranoia about the sex abuse and took Joanna, Terry, and Sierra from their home in Porterville to Los Angeles,” the complaint alleges. “Erik was under the impression Liliana was only taking them for a day or two in order to have them examined at the hospital, but she did not return and subsequently refused to disclose her or the children’s location to Erik.”
Custody order
On Feb 26, 2021, Tulare County social worker Rosana Robles spoke with Carrillo, who was at an undisclosed location in Los Angeles, and became concerned about her mental state.
Robles encouraged Denton to seek an emergency custody order for his children, which he did on March 1 in Tulare County. Robles was forced to close out her file on Carrillo and transfer the case to Los Angeles County DCFS.
“At that time, the County of Los Angeles had ample evidence to recognize a substantial risk to the safety of Joanna, Terry, and Sierra,” the complaint alleges.
On March 2, Dr. Teri Miller, a UCLA-trained emergency physician who is also Denton’s cousin, phoned a DCFS child abuse hotline at least twice to share specific details of Carrillo’s deteriorating mental health.
Warning ignored
However, DCFS never responded to the allegations and, in violation of the agency’s required duties, failed to conduct an in-person investigation, the suit alleges.
On March 4, Denton and Miller met with Los Angeles police officers from the West Valley precinct in a parking lot near the location where they believed Carrillo was keeping the children, according to the suit. Miller reportedly identified herself as a physician and told the officers that Carrillo might kill the children and herself and needed to be placed on a psychiatric hold.
The suit alleges that the only DCFS follow-up occurred on March 9, when social worker Lauren Stanley visited the home where Carrillo was keeping the children.
“DCFS documented Liliana’s unfounded allegations that her kids had been sexually abused by unknown persons in Porterville, California, as well as by their father, Plaintiff Erik Denton,” the suit states. “Following this visit, no further action was taken and DCFS failed to cross-report any of this information to law enforcement in violation of its mandatory duties.”
LAPD asked to intervene
On March 12, Carrillo was finally served with the Tulare County emergency custody order and agreed to bring the children to the West Valley LAPD station later that day to turn them over to Denton. But when she arrived, she didn’t have the children and refused to relinquish custody of them, the suit states.
“At that time, Erik and Dr. Miller met with additional LAPD officers who they asked to intervene for fear that Liliana might harm the children or worse,” the complaint alleges.
However, the officers allegedly ignored the pleas of Denton and Miller and failed to cross-report the allegations to DCFS.
Additionally, the lawsuit says that Stanley reported in a Los Angeles County Health Services database on March 26 that Carrillo appears to be “having some type of mental health episode,” and documented her alarming behavior during a home visit three days before the children died.
David S. Casey, Jr., a San Diego attorney representing Denton, said the missteps and inaction by police and social workers has had a devastating impact.
“That failure resulted in the tragic death of three young children,” he said Friday. “There is no greater loss for a parent than to lose a child. It is unimaginable for Erik to have lost all of his children.”
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