Lawsuit in Pasadena Foster Mother Case Due Back in Court Tuesday

A status conference is scheduled in a lawsuit filed by  two women against Los Angeles County for releasing information that allegedly allowed a woman to hunt down and kill a foster mother in Pasadena.

According to sisters Lorie Hope and Tanya Juhasz, the Department of Children and Family Services employees negligently gave Mary Jean O’Connor information that allowed her to locate their mother, Jeri Douglas, at her Pasadena condominium in 2018 and strangle her. Douglas was a foster mother who had temporary care of two of O’Connor’s children.

A status report in the case is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Alhambra.

Prosecutors have charged Mary Jean O’Connor with one count of murder in the death of Jeri Douglas.

O’Connor’s son was placed in Douglas’s care after O’Connor was deemed an unfit mother. Douglas’s daughter Tanya Juhasz later adopted the boy.

“Beyond Douglas’ premature, tragic and unnecessary death, DCFS’s apparent failure to protect its foster parents is a violation of the public trust and unreasonably puts some of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable children and most selfless citizens at risk,” the lawsuit charges.

DCFS is the largest child protective services agency in the nation, responsible for ensuring the safety of 2 million children, according to its website.

Police arrested O’Connor in a mobile home in North Hollywood in late December 2018 and charged her with one count of murder. She has pleaded not guilty. O’Connor faces 25 years-to-life if convicted.

Later, O’Connor had a daughter that also became Douglas’s ward, according to a report by City News Service.

Her bail has been set at $2 million.

O’Connor proclaimed her innocence to Pasadena Weekly reporter Carl Kozlowski in January 2019, but refused to discuss the case further on an open phone line.