A negligence suit has been filed against Los Angeles County stemming from the death of an 8-year-old boy whose body was found dead inside a cooler in a Lynwood apartment in October, blaming the child’s death on the alleged failures of the Department of Children and Family Services.
The plaintiffs in the Los Angeles County lawsuit filed Dec. 29 are identified only as S.M., E.C. and A.H. and are the older siblings of the slain child, Isaiah Harrison. The complaint seeks unspecified general and special damages and also names as defendants the Department of Children and Family Services and a local school district.
Isaiah’s death was caused by the failures of DCFS, the suit alleges.
“Since the year 2017 to 2025, DCFS failed to abide by their mandatory duties causing the physical and emotional abuse of S.M, E.C., and A.H. and the tragic death of their sibling,” the suit states.
The DCFS released a statement regarding the suit.
“As an organization dedicated to the safety of children and well-being of families, we were deeply saddened to learn of the tragedy involving 8-year-old Isaiah Harrison,” the statement read. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family members and friends.
While we understand the public’s interest in children from the community who may have received supportive services from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, state law prohibits us from commenting on our possible involvement with families. Confidentiality laws protect those who may have come into contact with our department from emotional distress and stigmatization while complex family issues are resolved.”
Isaiah’s father, Daniel Alberto Monzon, 25, is charged along with the boy’s mother, Destiny Luckie Harrison, 25, and the boy’s paternal grandmother, Ana Carcamo Zarceno, 45. All have pleaded not guilty.
Harrison, Monzon and Zarceno are each charged with murder, torture and child abuse resulting in death, with an allegation of willful harm resulting in death. Monzon and Zarceno are also charged with being an accessory after the fact. The three are due back in a Compton courtroom Jan. 20. A date is scheduled to be set then for a hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to allow the case against them to proceed to trial.
If convicted as charged, the trio would face 32 years to life in state prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The suit alleges the DCFS ignored child endangerment reports and failed to investigate the children’s circumstances despite numerous alarming reports of abuse and cruelty toward the children. Before Oct. 24, allegations surfaced that the parents and grandmother were engaging in acts of “extreme abuse and outright torture of the children, yet DCFS employees took no action,” the suit alleges.
The state’s Child Welfare Services manual section requires social workers to respond to abuse reports either immediately, or within 10 days, as appropriate, the suit states.
“Tragically, DCFS did not,” the complaint alleges.
The plaintiffs have lost a lifetime of “love, companionship, comfort, support and affection from their younger brother,” the suit states.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded around 8:30 p.m. Oct. 28 to the apartment in the 3100 block of Euclid Avenue, west of Peach Street, to conduct a welfare check requested by an unidentified resident who went to the sheriff’s station, LASD Sgt. Nancy Veliz told City News Service.
Paramedics from the Los Angeles County Fire Department were called to the home and pronounced the boy dead at the scene. The criminal complaint alleges that the boy was tortured on or between April 1, 2024 and Oct. 24, and that he was abused and murdered on or between Oct. 23 and Oct. 24. The boy died early Oct. 24 as a result of his injuries, and was found days later “in a cooler filled with ice,” according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Authorities detained the boy’s mother, father and grandmother at the scene, where the three plaintiffs were also found. Those children — since described as being 16 years old, 14 years old and nine months old — were taken into protective custody by the DCFS.
Suspicions of child abuse and neglect may be reported 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling the Child Protection Hotline, 800-540-4000.