TN: Medical Examiner says death of Chad teen was homicide

Note: Another older article about the murder of Omega Leach at the Chad Youth Enhancement Center.

Patient died of strangulation
By NATE KARLIN
The Leaf-Chronicle

http://www.wrcbtv.com/news/index.cfm?sid=209

The death of former Chad Youth Enhancement Center patient Omega Leach, 17, was ruled a homicide, according to an autopsy report.

Tennessee Medical Examiner Bruce P. Levy, found that the Philadelphia teen died of strangulation after being restrained by a staff member at the Chad Center.

Levy found that Leach had “multiple hemorrhages” of his neck muscles from the June 2 incident.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ted Denny said he couldn’t discuss the investigation.

“All evidence we collected was presented to the district attorney’s office and a grand jury for future possible indictment,” Denny said.

The center is a privately-owned, 90-bed, residential facility that specializes in rehabilitating mentally disturbed youth between the ages of 8 and 18.

Leach died June 3 after being restrained by Chad staff on June 2 at the center on Oak Plains Road in Ashland City.

Leach attacked staff member Randell Dale Rae Jr. following an argument over leaving his dorm room, according to investigators.

Rae eventually placed the 5-foot-8, 148-pound Leach in a hold and pinned him to the floor. Rae and staff member Milton Gerald Francis, 31, kept Leach in the hold for seven to eight minutes until he became calm — and unresponsive.

Staff members immediately tried to resuscitate Leach, according to investigators.

On June 19, the Department of Mental Health placed Chad on a 120-day admissions freeze and made weekly unannounced visits

The center was directed to improve its restraint procedures and to retrain the staff on restraint procedures, CPR, suicide prevention and risk management, which involves identifying and resolving trouble situations before they escalate.

On the day Leach died, Philadelphia had 44 children and teens in Chad, all under city oversight. The Philadelphians — some from abusive homes and others with arrest records — made up the biggest share of the 85 residents who slept, attended school and got therapy at Chad.

Chad is owned by Universal Health Services Inc. of King of Prussia, Pa., which owns more than two dozen hospitals and 110 behavioral-health facilities in 33 states.

Nate Karlin covers county government and the School Board. He can be reached at 245-0276 or by e-mail at natekarlin@theleafchronicle.com.

http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071012/CRIME/71012039/1002/rss

Death At TN Youth Center Ruled Homocide



A coroner's report says a troubled Philadelphia teenager who was sent to a Tennessee youth center died of strangulation after a confrontation with staff members.

The death of 17-year-old Omega Leach at the Chad Youth Enhancement Center near Clarksville on June 3rd has been ruled a homicide.

The coroner found that Leach had multiple hemorrhages of his neck muscles.

Leach had scuffled with two staff members at the center. A sheriff's spokesman says a grand jury will have to decide if charges are warranted.

The Philadelphia Department of Human Services has sent scores of emotionally troubled youngsters to Chad since 2001, saying no Pennsylvania facility would take them.

The Philadelphia Inquirer says all but eight of those youngsters have been removed from Chad.

The center is owned by Universal Health Services Inc., a for-profit corporation based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.