‘Profoundly preventable’: Family of 2-year-old killed by mom’s boyfriend awarded $130 million after state and daycare missed warning signs

The family of a 2-year-old girl killed by her mom’s boyfriend was awarded $130 million after a Washington jury found that the state and the child’s daycare failed to keep her safe. Sarai Brooks, who had been removed from her mother’s care due to suspected abuse, was allowed to return home before she was killed by her mother’s boyfriend in 2022. The little girl’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2024, accusing the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families, and Love and Laughter Learning Centers, Inc., of ignoring signs of abuse and failing to take measures that would have saved her life. A jury ruled in favor of the estate of Sarai Brooks on Tuesday, with a verdict that was the largest of its type in Washington state history, Dearie Law Group, which represented the estate, said in a news release. “This verdict gives Sarai a voice,” said the family’s lawyer, Ray Dearie. “The jury had the very difficult burden of hearing in graphic detail exactly what Sarai endured, and how many opportunities there were to save her.” The family of Sarai Brooks was awarded $130 million after a jury found Washington state and her daycare ignored warning signs that she was being abused at home (Dearie Law Group)It was not clear who was part of the estate. A spokesperson for the law group told The Independent that the funds will be overseen by the court approved executor.Over a five-week civil trial last month, the jury heard from attorneys for the state and Love and Laughter Learning Centers Inc., who disputed allegations of wrongdoing. Both blamed Sarai’s mother, Jharmaine Baker, and her mother’s boyfriend, Augustino Seu Maile, for her death, The News Tribune reported. Sarai was found dead in her family’s Parkland apartment by a social worker on March 11, 2022. She died from blunt-force trauma to the head and was found with bruises from her face to her feet, abrasions on her face and lacerations on and in her mouth, the outlet reports.About a year earlier, Child Protective Services under the state’s Department of Children, took Sarai and her two brothers from their mother due to suspicions of severe abuse. The agency later learned that Baker was letting Maile regularly abuse Sarai, the lawsuit, seen by The New Tribune, says.The wrongful death lawsuit accused the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families and Love and Laughter Learning Centers, Inc., of ignoring the signs of abuse and failing to take steps that would have saved Sarai’s life (Dearie Law Group)Baker, was also being abused by Maile and was pregnant with his child, got her children back in December 2021 under a court order that prohibited her from seeing or being in contact with Maile. Evidence presented during the trial showed that after the state returned Sarai to the family’s home, Maile remained present despite the court order. The trial revealed that there were repeated “warning signs” that went ignored, including missed daycare attendance and visible injuries on the toddler, according to her family’s lawyers. Court documents also revealed that the staff at Sarai’s daycare observed visible injuries, including a black eye and marks on her thigh, but did not report them to authorities, as required by the law. “The most painful part of this case is how profoundly preventable it was,” Dearie said. “All it took to save this child’s life was for one person to do their job: a call to a social worker, a report from a mandated reporter, or any attempt at follow-up by the state.” “Any of those actions could have saved Sarai’s life,” Dearie said. The jury apportioned liability between the state and the daycare center as 90 percent and 10 percent, respectively, Dearie Law Group said. Both the state and the daycare said that Sarai’s mother and her mother’s boyfriend were responsible in her death (Dearie Law Group)A spokesperson for Washington State’s Department of Children, Youth and Families told The Independent: “DCYF is unable to comment on the specifics of this matter as we evaluate our legal options. DCYF remains dedicated to the safety and well-being of children.”The Independent has contacted Love and Laughter Learning Centers, Inc., for comment. A lawyer for the daycare, Mary C. Butler, told jurors last month that the state failed to tell the childcare facility that there was abuse and that Baker was untrustworthy, according to The News Tribune. Maile and Baker, who were 29 and 21 years old at the time of Sarai’s death, were both charged with her murder. Both entered into plea bargains, and Maile was sentenced in 2024 to 194 months, or just over 16 years, after pleading guilty to manslaughter and other felonies. The girl’s mother, Baker, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2023 after she pleaded guilty to criminal mistreatment and two counts of second-degree child assault.