SEAN PADDOCK - 4 yo (2006) - Smithfield (I-95; SE of Raleigh) NC

Five years after 4-year-old Sean Paddock was
suffocated to death by his adoptive mother, a civil court jury found
that his adoptive father was also responsible for the boy’s death.The
verdict Tuesday against Johnny Paddock and adoption agency Children’s
Home Society of N.C. was part of a lawsuit brought by Ron Ford, Sean’s
biological grandfather and administrator of his estate.The elder
Paddock was never charged in Sean’s 2006 death on the family’s remote
farm near Smithfield. But throughout the murder trial of his ex-wife
Lynn, relatives and others questioned why Johnny Paddock wasn’t held
accountable for the child abuse in his home, which went on for years
before Sean was killed. Lynn Paddock was convicted of first-degree
murder in 2008 and will spend the rest of her life in prison.
“It belies all common sense that Johnny Paddock didn’t know what
was happening to those children,” said Jay Trehy, an attorney for Ford.
“All we’re asking (the jury) to do is say to the world, to Johnny
Paddock, you’re a slayer too.”The attorney for the Children’s
Home Society, David Coats, said the evidence didn’t support a judgment
that Johnny Paddock participated in the “willful and unlawful killing or
the procurement of killing of Sean Paddock.”“It’s not ‘do you like Johnny Paddock,’” Coats said. “It’s not ‘should Johnny Paddock have done something.’”In
the end, Coats’ arguments didn’t sway the jury, who took just 30
minutes to reach a verdict. But their decision won’t put an end to the
lawsuit, and no damages will be awarded yet.This week’s trial was
intended only to determine whether Johnny Paddock was responsible – a
step that stops him from being Sean’s legal father. Under state law,
that finding is necessary in order to seek damages for the remaining
siblings. Attorneys for Sean’s grandfather plan to seek a second trial
for wrongful death to obtain unspecified damages from Paddock and the
adoption agency. Paddock wasn’t in the courtroom to hear the
jury’s findings. He didn’t attend any of the trial, nor did he send a
lawyer.


Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/07/19/1355829/father-found-responsible-for-death.html#ixzz1Sc7rk3no

SMITHFIELD - Five years after 4-year-old Sean Paddock was suffocated to
death by his adoptive mother, a civil court jury found that his adoptive
father was also responsible for the boy's death.



The verdict Tuesday
against Johnny Paddock and adoption agency Children's Home Society of
N.C. was the result of a lawsuit brought in Johnston County Superior
Court by Ron Ford, Sean's biological grandfather and administrator of
his estate.Johnny Paddock was never charged in Sean's death on
the family's remote farm near Smithfield in 2006. But throughout the
murder trial of his ex-wife Lynn, relatives and others questioned why
Johnny Paddock wasn't held accountable for the child abuse in his home,
which went on for years before Sean was killed. Lynn Paddock was
convicted of first-degree murder in 2008 and will spend the rest of her
life in prison."It belies all common sense that Johnny Paddock
didn't know what was happening to those children," Jay Trehy, an
attorney for Ford, said. "All we're asking (the jury) to do is say to
the world, to Johnny Paddock, you're a slayer, too."The attorney
for the Greensboro-based Children's Home Society, David Coats, said the
evidence didn't support a judgment that Johnny Paddock participated in
the "willful and unlawful killing or the procurement of killing of Sean
Paddock.""It's not 'Do you like Johnny Paddock,' " Coats said.
"It's not 'Should Johnny Paddock have done something.' "

Absent from court

While the adoption agency was a defendant in the case, the action that
concluded Tuesday was to determine Johnny Paddock's role and
responsibility. Whether the agency has any liability for the death of
the child it placed with the Paddocks will be determined in a second
phase of the suit.Paddock wasn't in the courtroom to hear the
jury's findings. He didn't attend any of the trial, nor did he send a
lawyer. That left lawyers for the Children's Home Society to defend him,
and Trehy was critical of his absence. Tuesday's verdict was a setback
for the agency because a successful defense of Johnny Paddock would have
ended the case."Did (Paddock) once walk through that door and
defend himself because we're calling him a murderer?" Trehy said. "He'll
send out his children to defend him. He'll get an adoption agency to
defend him."As in the 2008 murder trial, much of the case
centered on testimony from the Paddocks' other children, several of whom
are now adults. Others still live with Johnny Paddock. They said Lynn
Paddock often beat them with the plastic plumbing pipes she kept in each
room of the farmhouse. They said their mother also made them eat their
own feces and exercise for hours and taped their mouths shut.But
they largely defended their father, who they say never beat them and was
often away from the house or asleep when the abuse happened.

What did he know?

Lawyers for Ford say Johnny Paddock still knew what was going on and did
nothing to stop it - except on the night his daughter's screams were
keeping him from sleeping."Sleep was very important to Johnny
Paddock," attorney David Mills, who also represented Ford, said, adding
that Lynn Paddock wrapped Sean tightly in blankets to keep him from
disturbing her husband - the act that caused Sean to suffocate. "He
didn't care what she did to those children as long as it didn't bother
him."Mills said Johnny Paddock drove his wife to buy the plumbing pipes."He
admitted that he knew she used plumbing pipes to beat the children,"
Mills said. "He had to know that no one was allowed to go to the
bathroom without permission. He admitted that he knew Sean slept on the
floor in the kitchen for months."Coats, the adoption agency's
lawyer, questioned the children's testimony that led to those
conclusions. He pointed to inconsistencies in what they said in court
now and what they told investigators in 2006 and again at the murder
trial in 2008.Coats also reminded jurors that Johnny Paddock was
seen crying in the days after Sean's death, while his wife appeared to
be angry and spoke to no one. "Johnny's reaction and Lynn's reaction
were diametrically opposed," Coats said.In the end, Coats'
arguments didn't sway the jury, which took just 30 minutes to reach a
verdict. But their decision won't put an end to the lawsuit, and no
damages will be awarded yet.

What is next

This jury's finding against Johnny Paddock stops him from being Sean's legal
father. Under state law, that finding is necessary before someone can
seek damages for the remaining siblings. Attorneys for Sean's
grandfather plan to seek a second trial for wrongful death to obtain
unspecified damages from Paddock and the adoption agency.Ford
would not collect a dime of any money a jury awards Sean Paddock's
estate. That money would be directed to Sean's nearest relatives: his
siblings, biological and adopted. Ron Ford's standing as Sean's family
was erased the day the Paddocks adopted Sean, and he is not allowed to
see the boy's siblings.Still, Tuesday's verdict left Ford in tears, and he said
he's pleased to see the adoptive father held accountable."I'm very, very happy with this,"
he said as he left the courtroom. "I need someone to take responsibility."

http://www.theherald-nc.com/2011/07/24/19300/father-faulted-in-death.html