Three Michigan Youth Center Staff Members Charged In Teen's Death

Three staff members at a youth center in Kalamazoo, Michigan, were charged in the death of a Black teenager who went into cardiac arrest while being restrained. Michael Mosley, Zachary Solis and Heather McLogan were formally charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse in the May 1 death of Cornelius Fredericks, 16.

Fredericks’ family is seeking $100 million in its separate lawsuit against Lakeside Academy, which is owned and operated by Sequel Youth & Family Services.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said surveillance footage showed “six to seven” staff members were involved in restraining Fredericks, but did not release the identities of the other individuals.

Lakeside Academy is described as a center where staff “focuses on the confrontation and redirection of negative behavior while recognizing desired, positive behavior” in youths ages 12 to 18. Most residents are placed there by Michigan’s foster system or by parents.

The altercation between Fredericks and the facility’s staff occurred on April 29 as the teen was eating lunch. Fredericks allegedly threw his sandwich at another resident, prompting at least six staff members to restrain him, allegedly pinning him in a manner where all their weight was on Fredericks’ chest for nearly 12 minutes. As they continued holding him down, Fredericks began to scream, “I can’t breathe,” and passed out.

Fredericks was taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital where he remained unconscious for two days before dying on May 1. The Kalamazoo County Medical Examiner’s office said he suffered from cardiac arrest brought on by asphyxiation while being restrained, ruling the death a homicide.

“In my opinion, the complications of him being restrained, on the ground in a supine position by multiple people, is ultimately what led to his death,” Kalamazoo Medical Examiner Ted Brown told reporters.

While at the hospital, doctors also diagnosed Fredericks with coronavirus. Lakeside Academy said it wasn’t aware the teen had coronavirus before the altercation. However, Fredericks’ family alleges in the lawsuit the facility made no effort to check if any residents or staff had contracted the infection. Since then, around 12 residents and staff members have tested positive.

Sequel Youth & Family Services issued a public statement, saying it was cooperating with authorities and fired the facility’s director.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Cornelius and acted quickly to terminate all staff involved. Additionally, we have removed the former executive director of Lakeside from the organization. We have been in regular contact with law enforcement and state officials to help ensure justice is served and have accelerated the work that was already underway across our organization to move to a restraint-free model of care. We take our obligation to meet the significant behavioral health needs of all our students incredibly seriously and remain focused on our mission of providing the absolute best care and treatment possible for our clients.”