Carman slaying victim’s mother considering lawsuit against CFS, others

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/03/2024 (544 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The mother of one of five Carman residents found slain last month is scheduled to meet with a lawyer today to discuss a possible lawsuit against Child and Family Services and other defendants.

Juliette Hastings told the Free Press Thursday she is considering legal action in a bid to hold people accountable, get answers and seek justice for her 17-year-old daughter Myah-Lee Gratton.

“I want them to take responsibility for their actions,” said Hastings. “I’m going to fight until I get what I want, and if I don’t get what I want, I will keep fighting until I die.

“Myah will be heard and she will not be forgotten. We all matter. What makes the government any better? Nothing.”

Hastings said she has spoken to a lawyer and is scheduled to meet with him today.

Myah-Lee, her 30-year-old cousin Amanda Clearwater and Clearwater’s three children — two-month-old Isabella, four-year-old Jayven and six-year-old Bethany — were found dead Feb. 11.

Ryan Manoakeesick — the common-law partner of Clearwater and the father of her children — is charged with five counts of first-degree murder.

The 29-year-old man has been declared mentally fit to stand trial. He remains in custody.

Myah-Lee lived with Clearwater and Manoakeesick in their home in Carman, about 75 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg.

Hastings said she warned Child and Family Services her daughter wasn’t safe living with Manoakeesick. She claims her warnings were ignored and her daughter was failed by the system.

In the weeks before she was killed, Myah-Lee sent voice notes and text messages to family and friends, describing how she feared for her safety in the house and wanted to “get out.”

The high school student told friends she’d had dishes thrown at her, was angrily confronted by Manoakeesick in the middle of the night and had belongings stolen, according to recordings and messages shown to the Free Press.

In a Dec. 9 text message, Myah-Lee told a friend she left a voicemail for her case worker in which she pleaded “to be moved out of” the home, after she “hurt Ryan bad” and ran away.

Hastings said her daughter left their Winnipeg home after an argument in April 2023. She said CFS approved Myah-Lee’s living arrangement with Clearwater and Manoakeesick.

She claims safety or criminal record checks on Manoakeesick were not carried out.

Provincial regulations require background checks for potential foster parents. Officials have said legislation prevents them from discussing specific details of any prior involvement with CFS.

In February, Premier Wab Kinew said he is “open to hearing the questions around a potential inquiry.”

An inquiry — called for by the opposition Tories — would have to wait until court proceedings conclude.

An internal review of CFS contact is ongoing.

Hastings said the office of Sherry Gott, Manitoba’s advocate for children and youth, is also conducting a review.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Head Start

Weekday Mornings

A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day.

Sign up for Head Start

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Myah-Lee was found dead in the Carman home, after RCMP discovered Clearwater’s body in a ditch south of the town and those of the children near a burning vehicle north of Elie.

Manoakeesick was arrested near the vehicle.

In her voice notes, Myah-Lee claimed Manoakeesick had threatened to kill Clearwater and kicked her while she was trying to pick up their baby.

The teen said Clearwater threatened to call police if Manoakeesick, who was repeatedly coughing in the background of the recording, didn’t go to a “mental hospital” that night.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.