MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Montgomery County has reached a settlement agreement with the Estate of Takoda Collins.
The estate will receive $3.25 million, with the largest portion going to Collins’ three siblings, half-brothers and sisters. Collins’ mother and grandmother will also receive a portion.
In a statement, Montgomery County commissioners said they hope the settlement is a way for Collins’ siblings to move forward in their lives following the tragic death of their brother.
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The settlement comes just a year after it was filed in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.
The lawsuit said “this action arises out of a failure by the Montgomery County Children Services to protect ten-year-old Takoda Collins from physical, sexual, and emotional harm, resulting in his needless, tragic death as proximate result of the wrongful acts and omissions of the Defendants.”
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“To be brief, he was tortured. He was starved, he was beaten, he was raped,” said Michael Wright, attorney for Takoda Collins’ estate In October of 2020. “Just the most horrific things a child could go through, Takoda went through and this was all preventable.”
In the statement, Montgomery County said they continue to work with the state to address the Child Welfare System changes, and at the county level, the following recommendations have been implimented:
- Updating local policies to include speaking with all members of the household
- Reaching back out to reporters of abuse and neglect as appropriate
- Scrutinizing all case history reports, whether or not that history resulted in an investigation
- Meeting at least monthly with the Child Protection Unit to review cases and share feedback
- Intensify staff training to include procedures to take for uncooperative parents and guardians when child safety is questioned, Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and understanding parental rights and actions caseworkers can take
According to a News Center 7 I-Team Investigation, Collins’ estate is made up of his surviving family members. There is also an administrator of his estate. That’s a person who has stepped in and taken Collins’ place since he died. The administrator of the estate is now a legal representation of Collins and filed lawsuits on his behalf since he can no longer do that himself since his death.
Last month, all three people convicted on charges connected to the death of Collins were sentenced to prison.
Collins’ father, Al McLean, was convicted on charges of murder, kidnapping, rape and child endangering and sentenced to 51 years to life in prison. McLean will be 83-years-old when he’s eligible for parole.
McLean’s fiancée Amanda Hinze also pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter and child endangering and was sentenced to 22 to 27.5 years in prison. Hinze’s sister, Jennifer Ebert, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other charges and was sentenced to eight to 12 years in prison.
Court documents showed Collins was kept in a dirty, locked, dark attic and was abused daily over the course of several years, often while naked.
The coroner determined Collins’ cause of death as blunt force trauma along with compressive asphyxia and water submersion.
Court documents also said that Collins was held underwater and gasping for breath prior to succumbing to his injuries.