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Mother Sues DCF, Other Agencies Over Foster Child's Death

Family photo (2007)

Rikka Pinckney, who had Down syndrome, allegedly was smothered by another foster child in the same home.

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By RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 30, 2008

TAMPA - The biological mother of an 11-year-old girl who died in foster care is suing the Department of Children & Families and other agencies for negligence, according to a complaint filed Friday in civil court.

Vernette Pritchett alleges that her daughter, Rikka Pinckney, was "repeatedly abused" and "eventually died when another foster child or children in the same home smothered her and suffocated her to death," according to the lawsuit.

Rikka also suffered bites on her body and other signs of abuse, the complaint said.

"It's sad, it's really sad," said Adam Brum, the Tampa attorney representing Rikka's family. "It's a tragedy. This is something that never should have happened."

DCF officials could not be reached Monday for comment.

Rikka, who had Down syndrome, died in June 2006 when she was under the care of foster parent Delores Wilson. Rikka was lying on a bare mattress in Wilson's Town 'N Country mobile home when she stopped breathing.

A 13-year-old foster child sharing the bedroom told authorities she used a pillow to smother Rikka, according to a Tampa Tribune story published Dec. 13.

The teen, and a 16-year-old girl in the home, were diagnosed as mentally challenged and had histories of violent behavior, Brum said.

The state attorney's office cleared Wilson of any criminal wrongdoing in June 2007. Prosecutors also declined to pursue charges against the 13-year-old and the 16-year-old.

The initial autopsy on Rikka concluded that she died from congenital heart failure associated with Down syndrome, according to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office. After the 13-year-old girl told authorities she smothered Rikka, the findings were amended and the official cause of death is listed as "undetermined."

Brum disputes the findings and said a jury trial would "shed some light on the system."

"Hopefully, we're going to get to the bottom of this," he said.

Other than DCF and Wilson, eight other agencies — including Hillsborough Kids Inc. and Florida Mentor — are being sued by Pritchett, who is seeking damages for Rikka's medical expenses, the loss of her daughter's companionship and "mental pain and suffering," according to the 42-page complaint.

"She doesn't want to see this happen to anyone else," Brum said. "She's really broken up."

Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

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