Mike Beaudet & Producer Kevin Rothstein
DEDHAM, Mass. (
[ MyFoxBoston.com ]
) -- The family of a disabled man attacked and killed at a state-run facility is outraged that the state agency responsible for keeping him safe cleared itself of wrongdoing even though the alleged assailant had a lengthy history of violence.
"People just loved him, he was just like a magnet for people especially the children in the family who were always around him," said David Perry, brother of Dennis Perry, who died last year after the attack. "To have him go that violently with nobody in his family around him was just a shattering image to have."
It was a violent death for a gentle man.
Perry had lived at Templeton for decades, thriving at the state-run facility for the developmentally disabled. Only recently, he had moved to a new group home, but he returned to Templeton to work at the barn.
That's where the assault happened.
"I got a phone call from my brother Billy saying that Dennis was in an accident, it was pretty bad, to get back, to get up to the hospital," David Perry said.
It wasn't until about two weeks later that the family learned it was no accident. By then they had already taken Dennis off of life support.
As they were getting ready for his wake, they read about an arrest in the newspaper.
"It wasn't until after he died that we found out that he was actually shoved into a boiler and he hit his head on the boiler," David Perry said.
"When you heard someone had been arrested, what did you think?" FOX Undercover reporter Mike Beaudet asked him.
"I couldn't believe that nobody had gotten in contact with anybody in the family to let us know that somebody had been arrested and arraigned," Perry replied.
That somebody was Anthony Remillard, and the more the family learned about what happened, the angrier they became.
Like Perry, Remillard is developmentally disabled. But unlike Perry, Remillard has a violent past,
Psychiatric records show he suffers from "explosive anger". That explosive anger contributed to his having 11 arraignments on his criminal record by the age of 20, including seven assault charges. One involved a baseball bat. Another, a knife.
The charges were dropped, but then in 2012 came another arrest, this one on charges of arson and breaking and entering.
His attorney worked out a deal to send him to Templeton while the charges were pending, saying jail or Bridgewater State Hospital were too dangerous for the man with an IQ of between 55 and 70.
"There was a fatal, literally a fatal decision made to allow Anthony Remillard into Templeton Developmental Center," said attorney Tom Frain, who represents the Perry family.
And it's a fatal decision for which the state is not taking responsibility, according to Frain.
The Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services, which runs Templeton, investigated Perry's death and cleared its own staff of wrongdoing.
"An investigation did not find any evidence that the employees on site violated any policy or failed to act; and no employee has been accused of criminal wrongdoing," DDS Commissioner Elin Howe said in a statement.
The Perry family has now asked DDS twice to reconsider its investigation. Attorney Frain is incredulous.
"I think they're trying to get out of liability. A man is dead for no reason. He died violently," Frain said. "This is a human rights travesty at the hands of the Commonwealth ofMassachusettss and they're trying to wash their hands of it."
The state has also taken steps to protect itself from liability. MassHealth filed a $3 million lien on Dennis Perry's estate, representing the cost of caring for him. So if the family sues and wins an award for the state's negligence, the state could then take at least some of the money back.
Paula Perry, Dennis' sister, said the family is considering a lawsuit but won't be deterred by the lien.
"We want answers as to why this happened to my brother," she said.
"It seems like adding insult to injury?" Beaudet asked her.
"Well it is," Perry replied. "My brother was murdered. He deserved to be in a safe place. It was his civil right to be in a safe place and it was the state's responsibility to keep him safe."
"And you believe they failed that responsibility?" Beaudet asked.
"Oh absolutely. He's dead," Perry replied.
The Department of Developmental Services declined to discuss the case on camera, though the statement from Commissioner Howe did add, "This was clearly a tragic situation, and our thoughts go out to the family of the victim. The Department takes its responsibility to protect our clients seriously, and safety is always a top priority."
As for the lien, DDS says state and federal law often requires them but a spokesman notes that only damages for pain and suffering, would be subject to recovery.