$31.5 million settlement reached in lawsuit over California girl's starvation death

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SAN DIEGO (AP) — A lawsuit over the death of an 11-year-old California girl who was allegedly tortured and starved by her adoptive family reached a settlement Friday totaling $31.5 million from the city and county of San Diego as well as other groups.

The suit was brought on behalf of the two younger sisters of Arabella McCormack, who died in August 2022. The girls were 6 and 7 at the time. Their adoptive mother, Leticia McCormack, and her parents, Adella and Stanley Tom, are facing charges of murder, conspiracy, child abuse and torture. They pleaded not guilty to all charges, and their criminal case is ongoing.

The lawsuit alleged a systematic failure across the city and several agencies and organizations to not report Arabella McCormack's abuse.

The settlement includes $10 million from the city of San Diego, $10 million from San Diego County, $8.5 million from Pacific Coast Academy and $3 million from Rock Church, the sisters' attorney Craig McClellan said. The school oversaw Arabella McCormack's homeschooling, and her adoptive mother was an ordained elder at the church.

“The amount is going to be enough to take care of the girls for the rest of the lives,” McClellan said. But it “isn't going to be enough and never could be enough … to replace their sister, nor is it going to erase the memories of what they went through.”

The lawsuit said county social workers did not properly investigate abuse claims and two teachers at the Pacific Coast Academy failed to report the girl's condition. It also said a San Diego police officer, a friend of the girl's adoptive mother, gave the family a wooden paddle they could use to hit their children with.

San Diego sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a child in distress at the McCormack home Aug. 30, 2022. They found Arabella McCormack severely malnourished with bruises, authorities said. She was taken to a hospital where she died.

Her sisters are now 9 and 11 and living with a foster mother. They are in good health and “doing pretty well considering all things," McClellan said.