The claim says the boy endured years of extreme abuse, and despite multiple reports to DCS, his brother was killed in front of him.
PHOENIX — A notice of claim has been filed against Arizona’s Department of Child Safety after the death of 11-year-old Chaskah Davis. Chaskah died in January 2022. His grandmother, Stephanie Fasthorse-Davis, and her boyfriend, Thomas Desharnais, were arrested and charged with his murder.
Chaskah’s then 9-year-old brother was also subjected to years of horrific abuse, records show, and this new notice of claim is filed on his behalf. It says Chaskah and his brother were victims of torture and relentless cruelty, alleging DCS had done a search, they would have realized that Fasthorse-Davis and Desharnais did not have legal custody of the two children.
The claim states the two children were tortured with knives, forced to wear a canine shock collar, burned, and mutilated. Worst of all, it states that the surviving brother watched helplessly as Chaskah lost his life.
The notice of claim alleges DCS failed to intervene despite receiving five reports of abuse.
According to the notice of claim, Chaskah showed up to school with bruising and scratches on his face, alarming his teachers. Staff at the school reported their concerns to DCS. The document claims that Fasthorse-Davis and Desharnais were specifically named in the complaint as the people suspected of causing his injuries.
Following the first report to DCS, Fasthorse-Davis pulled Chaskah from the school he was attending and moved him to a different school. A few weeks after starting there, another report of abuse was made to DCS after he showed up to school with a black eye and a scab on his nose, according to the notice of claim. It alleges that the DCS investigator responded to the report and was told by Chaskah that Fasthorse-Davis hits and kicks him in the face.
The claim states that DCS then questioned Fasthorse-Davis and Desharnais, who denied abusing the children. The children remained in their custody.
Three months later, a teacher reported suspected child abuse to DCS. During DCS’s interview with the child, he had a scrape across the center of his forehead.
Fasthorse-Davis then withdrew the boys from that school and cut off all contact with DCS before fleeing the state.
The notice of claim says Fasthorse-Davis and Desharnais moved back to Arizona with the two boys in 2018, and they lived at an Extended Stay motel near Old Town Scottsdale. A front desk receptionist at the hotel, who was also a trained court-appointed special advocate for neglected foster children, called DCS. She reportedly saw the boys routinely wearing dark sunglasses with their hats pulled low.
One day, she allegedly saw one of the boys remove his sunglasses, revealing a black eye. She reported this and other concerns to DCS and requested that they conduct a welfare check. The notice of claim alleges DCS did not follow up, conduct a welfare check, or return her call.
The fifth report allegedly came after reports surfaced of screaming coming from the family’s hotel room. The same hotel employee again reached out to DCS to report suspected child abuse. The notice of claim says DCS did not follow up.
Chaskah was murdered on January 30, 2022.
‘He was stripped of his humanity’: Notice of claim says surviving brother is forever traumatized
The notice of claim said the surviving brother was in the bathroom as Chaskah was covered with scalding hot water and freezing cold water, ultimately drowning.
He was the one who called 911.
During a forensic interview, the surviving brother recalled the details of his brother’s murder and of the years of abuse the two had faced. An examination of him at Phoenix Children’s Hospital uncovered too many injuries to count, according to the notice of claim.
There were signs of prolonged torture and cognitive injuries.
“The educational deprivation [the surviving boy] suffered during his formative years has caused irreversible damage that will profoundly shape his future,” the notice of claim says.
The claim, which is asking DCS for $60 million, states that DCS owed the boy a duty of care, alleging the department was negligent in its failure to perform a background investigation, substantiate any of the reports to DCS, and failure to remove the children from Fasthorse-Davis and Desharnais’ care.
A notice of claim is a precursor to a lawsuit.
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