An Iowa teen “violently shoved” a youth group home worker who was trying to stop him from running into a busy street — causing her to fall and slam her head on the ground, killing the 50-year-old. The victim’s family is suing the youth home, saying it ignored warnings about the teen’s aggressive behavior.
“Everyone in my building and my cottage knew,” Chloe Williamson, daughter of victim Kathleen Galloway-Menke, told The Des Moines Register a month after her death in May 2024. “We tried telling Ellipsis this was a problem and (the child’s placement) wasn’t the right fit, but we didn’t have the support.”
Court records viewed by Law&Crime show that Williamson and her sister, Camille Menke, have filed a lawsuit against the youth group home where Galloway-Menke worked, Ellipsis, in Johnston. The sisters allege that Ellipsis knew 15-year-old Jovahn Mathis was dangerous and displayed “extremely violent” behavior toward Galloway-Menke and other female employees but failed to do anything about it, the Register reports…