A dark path: How Carl DeBrodie came to Second Chance

According to search coordinator Kimmy Bodle, the Fulton Police Department was at Moore EZ Storage in Fulton when they uncovered a concrete-filled container holding what later was proven to be Carl DeBrodie's body.
According to search coordinator Kimmy Bodle, the Fulton Police Department was at Moore EZ Storage in Fulton when they uncovered a concrete-filled container holding what later was proven to be Carl DeBrodie's body.

How did Carl DeBrodie's life end the way it did?

That's what law enforcement officials want to know.

Before DeBrodie was reported missing from a Second Chance Homes facility in Fulton on April 17, before his body was found in a storage unit last week, his life was shadowed by legal conflict and allegations of neglect.

"It's a long story," Mary Martin, Carl's former legal guardian, said earlier this week.

Early life

DeBrodie was born to Carolyn Summers, a woman the Cole County Circuit Court described as "severely intellectually, psychologically, socially and occupationally impaired."

According to a 2013 opinion written by Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District Judge Lisa Hardwick, the Cole County court found "grounds existed to terminate the parental rights of DeBrodie's mother to DeBrodie," but it wouldn't be in his best interest.

Carl's sibling Nathan Clark confirmed he said his parents were abusive in a Facebook post last week.

"Carl, I am sorry that the parents that we were born to started our lives off in the most horrendous way," he said.

Clark stated he and two of his siblings were adopted out, and he never really reconnected with DeBrodie.

"I didn't want to be a part of our biological parents' lives," he said.

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NWA Media/MICHAEL WOODS --11/29/13-- University of Arkansas receiver Javontee Herndon tries to shake LSU defender Tre'Davious White as he runs for a gain in the 3rd quarter of Friday afternoons game at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

Carl's cousin, Patrick DeBrodie, confirmed Carl's home life was far from ideal.

"To be honest, his mother and father weren't good parents," Patrick said.

He found Clark's claims credible.

"The only times I really saw Carl was at family reunions, which, to be honest, I avoided," Patrick said. "I feel sorry for Carl, and I wish he had a better situation when he was alive."

In September 1999, when Carl was 13, the court made a guardianship judgment and placed him in Martin's care. She had been his "big sister" in the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program, she said.

Cousin Danielle Jo Jacobs said Carl found a home with Martin.

She and Carl's aunt, Carol Samson, both said Martin made sure Carl was able to see his family often.

Ward of the county

When Carl turned 18, he became his own legal guardian, 2013 court documents stated. Martin continued caring for him until he was 21, according to a 2014 opinion written by Missouri Court of Appeals Judge Anthony Gabbert.

"Then he went into independent living at Brady House," Martin said.

From there, he worked at Kingdom Projects, Inc. However, according to the 2014 opinion, he moved back in with his mother less than a year later.

Court documents hint this still wasn't a healthy environment for Carl.

Jana Oestreich served as Carl's guardian ad litem (a court-appointed, temporary guardian) during a probate case. She testified when she met Carl at his mother's house in 2008, he was chain smoking and "just pacing and pacing and pacing," the 2014 opinion stated.

In 2008, the Circuit Court of Callaway County appointed Public Administrator Karen Digh Allen as Carl's legal guardian. He became one of the approximately 150 court-appointed guardianships her 2016 campaign page claimed she managed.

Allen could not be immediately reached for a comment.

Martin applied for his guardianship and was rejected in 2009. By 2010, Carl was living at a Second Chance Homes facility in Millersburg.

Oestreich painted a bucolic picture in her testimony, saying Second Chance was a "normal-looking family home" where Carl kicked his smoking habit and learned to feed cows.

But Martin had doubts.

"He was at my house for Christmas one year and he had bruised ears, bruised body, a bruised eye, and that wasn't the end of his bruises," Martin said.

Martin claimed she called a hotline to report potential abuse at Second Chance in 2010.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has not yet responded to a Sunshine Law request for documentation of that report, though a representative for the Missouri Department of Social Services stated "the Missouri Medicaid Audit and Compliance Unit has no referrals, hotline calls, complaints, or investigations with (Second Chance)."

"After my hotline call and me taking this to the guardianship, I wasn't allowed to talk to him on the phone," Martin said. "(Second Chance) would hang up on me or they wouldn't answer."

She photographed the bruises and later showed the photos to Oestreich, who testified she thought the bruising in the photographs was "more likely caused by Carl bumping into things outdoors."

The 2014 court documents mentioned her other concerns: Carl wore adult diapers at the home - which he previously hadn't - and seemed heavily medicated. Second Chance contended Carl chose to wear the diapers.

Legal battles

In 2011, when Carl was 25, Martin and her husband Bryan petitioned the Circuit Court of Cole County to adopt him. She was rejected and appealed twice, continuing into 2014.

"The first visit that I had with him (during the adoption court proceedings), which was a supervised visit with my lawyer, we did at Second Chance home and he would not speak to me; he would not make eye contact with me," Martin said. "When he was around certain employees, he would not have anything to do with me."

This was a far cry from the Carl she described as "warm" and always trying to be in on the conversation.

Carl's guardian ad litem for the adoption hearing, Mary Beck, recommended granting the adoption, according to the 2014 opinion.

"She believes that Carl really values the role of his biological mother and the Martins in his life," the opinion stated. "She indicated that if the adoption occurred Mary (Martin) could bring Carl back to visit his mother."

However, Second Chance, Allen, Oestreich and Callaway County Special Services employee Cynthia Smith argued against granting the adoption.

Oestreich felt Carl needed a highly structured environment and constant care.

"There is a lot of traffic inside of Mary's home and I'm not sure that type of environment is the secure and stable environment that someone with Carl's needs is best suited," she said, according to the 2014 opinion.

Allen cited "strange or distressful behaviors" whenever Carl returned from visiting the Martins, and a Second Chance employee claimed to have found a cigarette and lighter in his pocket after one visit.

In the end, the Court of Appeals ruled the Cole County Circuit Court made the correct decision in denying the adoption, for a variety of legal reasons.

Carl continued to reside at Second Chance, eventually arriving at their Fulton facility. According to Martin, she never saw him again after the court proceedings.

"The last visit we had was at my house with his attorney and mine," she said.

Who saw DeBrodie last?

Fulton Police Chief Steve Myers said he believes Carl DeBrodie may have been missing for months before his absence was reported.

DeBrodie's stepfather Larry Summers said earlier this month Second Chance restricted his and his wife's access to Carl for at least a year.

However, documents from the Missouri Department of Mental Health showed multiple agencies and individuals should have been watching over DeBrodie.

The DMH carries out licensing and certification reviews of facilities like Second Chance every two years.

DeBrodie's case manager at Callaway County Special Services should have checked in monthly.

Each resident should have monthly face-to-face visits with a community registered nurse.

The service provider - Second Chance - should have been maintaining monthly documentation of DeBrodie's treatment and progress.

"When it became evident that Carl had been missing long before it was reported, the Department (of Mental Health) took immediate action and terminated all remaining contracted services with Second Chance," DMH Director Mark Stringer said in a statement.