According to the police report, Kathia Casseus, who had been in the detention facility for two weeks for non-violent offenses collapsed Saturday morning around 11:40 outside an area of the center where juveniles are allowed to gather. She began rolling around on the floor and screaming that she couldn’t breathe.

Attorneys for the Casseus family said Casseus had a thyroid condition and required medication.

“With a thyroid condition that regulates the body’s temperature, that indicates to us she was having a thyroid issue or she wasn’t receiving her medicine,” said Brian Costello, the family attorney. “But obviously reading that report screams there’s something wrong with this child and she needs help. And the system failed.”

Casseus, the daughter of a Haitian immigrant, was in the detention center for reportedly going on a joyride.

“She was not there for any drugs, alcohol or violent crime,”said Costello. “She was basically a teenager that was misbehaving. She was in the system that was designed to correct that behavior and provide for her safe being and return her back to the family which is what they wanted.”

Family attorneys say the biggest discrepancy is with detention center officials claiming to have checked on Casseus six times in a near two-hour window following the time Casseus first claimed to not be feeling well. The police report states the detention center supervisor only checked on Casseus after she stopped yelling.

According to the police report, the detention center supervisor, whom police have not identified, said after Casseus fell to the ground complaining she couldn’t breathe she appeared to be hyperventilating and was visibly upset. When the supervisor tried to escort Casseus to a holding cell, Casseus told her she was dizzy and hot.

“Obviously she was in severe medical distress because between 11:40 when she was on the floor and needed help up to 1 pm, is the best time we can determine she passed away, obviously she was not well provided for,” said Costello.

The supervisor called for assistance and two other staff members helped carry Casseus to the room. On the way there, the supervisor said Casseus began using her own feet to walk, went to the water fountain for a drink, then walked without assistance or difficulty into the holding cell.

The police report indicates Casseus then took off her shirt and repeated that she was hot. She shouted out to staff members that she was not feeling well. The supervisor said she called for the on-call nurse of the facility, but received only her voicemail and left a message.

At about one p.m., the supervisor told police she noticed Casseus had stopped yelling. She went to check on her and observed that she was lying on the bed, on her side, and wasn’t breathing.

The supervisor said she then asked another staff member to accompany her into the cell to check on Casseus. When they realized she wasn’t breathing, the supervisor said they put her on the floor and began performing CPR while another staff member called 911. Casseus was taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Upon learning that the juvenile had died, the Detention Center immediately contacted the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department to allow them to conduct a thorough and independent investigation.

“I’ve been here 13 years, and this is the first time that we’ve had this type of situation,” said Jeff Eisenbeis, Deputy Court Administrator of Family Court. “The entire staff is saddened and stunned by this young girl’s death.”

The court awaits information from the medical examiner, who conducted an autopsy Monday.

>via: http://fox4kc.com/2012/02/28/mother-of-teen-waits-for-her-daughters-autopsy-r...